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How The Recession Can Boost Your Business Savvy

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The media is full of stories of economic downturns, bankruptcies, and businesses going out of business. While you can look just about anywhere and find the “bad” that is out there, the recession can actually do small businesses some good as well. Instead of bemoaning your situation, change it around and find some positive aspects to focus in on.

Its been said that some of the strongest, healthiest companies in the world were started during hard economic times. It may be because you have to watch how you spend your money and what you invest in. Here are a few things that can help you increase your business savviness over the coming months.

Make savings a priority

Because we’re in the middle of a recession with no clear end in sight, assume this is the new “norm”. What can you do today to make next year at this same time even better? Getting loans is more difficult than ever. Lines of credit are all but extinct. And the last thing you want is to bring on more credit card debt. Make a conscious effort to live within your means, and create a savings account now for life’s little emergencies. Even if you can only add $50 a month to it, consider it as an investment towards your future.

Pay debts on time or ahead of time

When you are living paycheck to paycheck, every dollar counts. And if you fall into the “fee” trap you’ll quickly find yourself in a difficult position. Banks don’t make money if you pay on time; they like the clients that don’t make payments, have their interest rates go up, and are assessed fee after fee for late payments. Make it a habit to pay ahead of time, or at the very least on time. [Read more...]

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7 Ways To Make Money For The Holidays

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Only 52 more days until Christmas.

Even if you don’t celebrate Christmas, chances are some of your clients do. And with the many other holidays that fall around the end of the year, there is always something to celebrate somewhere.

This year, times are tight. People are out looking for more meaningful gifts that cost less, yet still show how much they love them. What could be better than photography?

But with only 52 days left until the big day, what can you do now to bring in some business in the coming weeks? Give these ideas a try.

1. Give A Gift Certificate

For many people, the holidays is the only time of the year the entire family is together. People come from near and far to celebrate together, then head off to the far corners of the world for the New Year. A gift certificate could brighten a mother’s day when she knows she’ll have a current portrait hanging on her wall to enjoy all of next year. It’s the perfect gift to give on the big day, and use a few days after Christmas to capture the entire family together. And you can print a colorful certificate on your printer, and frame it in a keepsake frame perfect for the final image.

2. Special Events Over The Next Couple of Weeks

Set up a special event and shoot over the next couple of weekends. Depending on where your studio is at, it can be on the beach, in a park, or right in your studio. Here in Colorado, it’s a great time of year to take snow portraits. Or use something that says “holidays” and put together a unique background. Put together a package that gives them a framed image perfect for holiday giving. If you make it a limited edition, you’ll be able to build on this concept year after year.

3. Sell Seasonal Packages

Want to sell more to your best clients? Set up a 4 seasons package. Over the next year, they can come in for 4 special portrait sessions all based around the 4 seasons. Then you’ll frame it in a limited edition frame – perfect for giving next holiday season. [Read more...]

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1 Simple Rule To Making Money Over Night

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It’s easy to make money.

It’s easy to start up a business from scratch and have it make a full time income your first month.

It’s easy to become a millionaire.

Yep, you can hear and read statements like that everywhere. And it always seems like when times are bad and things are at their worst, those “promises” turn up more regularly than ever.

But if they are true, why don’t we see more people jumping into their own businesses and becoming profitable “overnight”? Why don’t we read about the millionaires instead of the people hard on their luck?

The problem with most of these promises is they are simply not true.

Yes it may be easy to make money – if you have a great job, have a solid business in place, and have products and services people are willing to buy.

Yes it may be easy to start up a business and have it make money the first month – if you understand what it takes to make that happen.

And yes, it may be easy to make a million dollars – but only if you know what it takes to make a million dollars.

There may be the case studies and the examples of people that have “been there, done that”. But for most of us, that isn’t reality. And the only way it will truly happen is if we follow the one simple rule needed to make money … [Read more...]

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10 More Sites To Peruse For Freelance Photography Jobs

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A while back I created a post 10 Sites To Find Freelance Photography Work. While all of these places are still available to help you find immediate work, I knew there had to be other places as well. Below is a list of more photography job sites for you to use and start finding the perfect job for you.

Simply Hired

A job posting board for a variety of occupations, including photography.

The CreativeLoft

A premium jobsite that posts only the best job offers within the photographic industry. Search by state, occupation or field.

[Read more...]

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What Does Photography Income Mean To You?

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A number of years ago, I was given a book that literally changed my life. It’s called Rich Dad Poor Dad. You’ve probably read that one, or one of the many Robert Kiyosaki has written in the decade since that one debuted. (If not, go and grab a copy today.)

At that point in time, we had an extremely successful business. We photographed around 30 weddings per year, averaging 4 to 5 figure sales per wedding. Yep, we were making a very healthy six figure income, and having the time of our lives flying all over the place to capture wedding memories.

Yet even though we had a blast doing our 30 weddings per year, this book made us look at things a bit differently.

Our entire livelihood relied on 25 to 30 clients per year. Not only did we have to work hard to find those 25 to 30 clients every year, we had to work hard to keep them happy.

Okay, that wasn’t difficult. We loved what we were doing.

We had to be very careful with the way we “played”. Skiing in the winter? Forget it. What if we broke a leg? Ever tried being a wedding photographer with a broken leg? So even though we loved what we were doing, we were still making conscious choices about how we lived.

Okay, that still isn’t too bad right?

But what about if the economy turned and it became harder to find those 25 to 30 people? Or what if one or two of them gave you all sorts of problems? The stress could literally eat you up for months at a time. Add in increasing competition, and you can quickly see that choosing one path like this for a lifetime of income isn’t the smartest thing to do.

Rich Dad Poor Dad opened up our eyes to that, and we quickly started to change.

Changing Your Goals

The goal is to develop several forms of income that allows you to make money in a variety of different ways. We decided to leverage all of our skills and knowledge, and use it to make income in a variety of ways.

The first part is understanding the different types of income.

[Read more...]

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More Than 3 Packages Could Ruin Your Photography Business

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The human brain is an amazing thing. We can learn everything from a foreign language, to complex scientific formulas. Every day can be filled with the excitement of learning something new.

But if you think about how you learn things, chances are you learn a small part of something in one day, and quickly begin to block other things out. That’s because we learn in short bursts. If someone is talking, we tend to retain less than 20 percent of what was said. That’s why in training programs you’ll hear the same things again and again, trying to make the most important items stick with you.

No matter how much a person is interested in your photography, after awhile they’ll begin losing attention, and getting lost in your words. It’s not they aren’t interested; you’ve just reached their retention point. So if you have a huge pricing structure that takes several minutes to go through, they’ll retain the first minute or so, and be completely lost after that.

Instead of creating a long, complicated package list, keep it simple. Present everything you do in three clear ways. Don’t have multiple packages where each package increases slightly in price with just one or two difference. Make them distinctly different, and make it clearly obvious that you get a better deal by moving to the next package.

In my Pricing Guide I talk at length about building packages for you, not for your client. The ultimate goal of a package isn’t to give your client a good deal (though they ultimately do), the goal is to get you the sales you need for your business, and the profit you need to stay in business.

By sticking with three packages, your client won’t lose interest as you talk about each one, and they won’t get confused over the differences in each package. Make each package distinct and stand alone. You should never have to think about the differences – they should be obvious. You should also concentrate on making your middle package being the best – the package you would love to sell again and again to every client. Because ultimately that’s what you’ll do. People love the middle – the smaller one seems too “cheap” and the higher one seems a little “extravagant”. Which means the middle one is “just right”.

If you sold 100 packages over the next few months, 10 at the bottom level, 10 at the top, and 80 in the middle, would that make your business? If the answer is yes, then you’re on your way to creating perfect packages.

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10 Fun Ways To Turn Your Photos Into Sales

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Ever get tired of the client who comes in and buys one image from you? Change that around, and give them more to buy.

1. Sell your Moo cards. I love Moo cards to market my business, but why not sell them to your clients too? Perfect for engagement photos, have the bride and groom give them out as favors, or as thank you cards on the table.

2.Create customized iPad or iPhone covers. Why not take one of your photographs, and convert it into a crowd-pleasing iPad or iPhone cover? You’ll be the talk of the town.

3. Put your photos on, well, anything. Thanks to Zazzle and Café Press, you can put your photos on just about anything, and sell them to your customers. Corny? Maybe. But why not use it to boost up your business, especially when they are doing it anyway.

4. Sell to the microstock houses. You’re out shooting anyway. Why not take some for your client, and some for a microstock site? Make sure you get model releases if you photograph people, otherwise use the surrounding area for inspiration.

5. Turn your photographs into art. Head over to Etsy, or check out one of Stampington & Company’s magazines – I love Artful Blogging. There are some amazing ideas there, and you’ll quickly discover you can do anything with a little imagination.

6. Design a bag. From purses, to handbags, to book bags, you can put a photograph on just about anything. Why not let them carry your photographs?

7. Digitize your images. Instead of selling loose photographs, why not load them up into a digital frame? With many different styles now, you’ll be able to give this your own unique style.

8. Stay on top of everything cool about photography. Visit sites like Photojojo often, and come up with ways to use some of their cool and exciting products. Maybe a special baby or teen promotion.

9. Teach instead of take. Everyone has a digital camera these days, but know one knows how to use them. Teach a class, and let them see your true talents.

10. Create your own line of greeting cards. Many companies make greeting cards these days – create several and package them up. Create different themes, and you’ll quickly have a great side business.

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Raising Your Photography Prices For Crowd Control

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One of the most common ways of determining a price for your photography is to ________

How would you fill in the blank?

Pricing your photography is one of the most difficult parts about your business. Now with the Internet, you don’t actually have to price shop. You just visit Google and find out what others are charging for a shoot similar to your own.

And that’s how many photographers handle the pricing issue. Yet when you price low, you attract a low paying customer that has high demands and little budget. You stay busy. And you stay broke. There is simply no way you’re ever going to create a successful business that gives you a great lifestyle at less than minimum wage.

Once you have your prices set, its time to monitor your business by raising your prices at the appropriate time.

Raise them by the season. Wedding photography is the perfect candidate for season price increases. Create a price list now for your 2011 season – you may start booking weddings for early next year now. Automatically increase your pricing by a certain percentage across the board. While you may not choose to raise the prices of your 8×10’s, raise your package or sitting fee instead.

Raise them by time frames. The best way to get people to take action is to give them a time limit on how long your pricing is good. Especially for wedding photography where the client can book 6, 12, even 18 months in advance, it could easily be a couple of years before you see an order. We always put in a clause that allowed them to order at their stated pricing guide for 60 days after delivery of the “proofs”. Any time after that was subject to our price increase.

Raise them to change your client level. A $100 portrait client is completely different than a $1000 portrait client. Different mindset, different requirements. If you are ready to reach out to a new client base, put together a new pricing structure to reach out to the new level. Keep in mind that your referral base will cut off almost completely when you make major jumps. Do it as quickly as possible if you want to move into new income brackets.

Ready to learn more about Pricing Your Photography?

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Photography or Greeting Card Business – You Decide

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Do you know how successful the greeting card business is?

  • Americans purchase 7 billion greeting cards every year
  • The average person receives 20 greeting cards in a year.
  • Women purchase 80% of all greeting cards.

That’s a lot of cards.

As a photographer, I know you have a ton of images just sitting in your computer gathering dust. So why not pull out your best, and create something new? How about a box of greeting cards?

Many photographers have used the concept of greeting cards to sell to individual clients. They come in for a portrait session, and they buy 20 or so greeting cards with their favorite image. That’s a great way to increase sales. But you’re only selling in sets of 20.

Why not take your best images – your award winners -  and turn them into a whole line of greeting cards?

If you show faces, you have to have a model release. But if you shoot from a different perspective, you can have an entirely new side business that you can promote just about anywhere.

We created a line of cards that went along with our gift book a number of years ago. We took 4 of our favorite images, and put them in sets of 12. They could be used for note cards, thank you cards – a bride has many uses for cards around her wedding. You can also sell them to other vendors in the wedding industry.

Start with a quality card – Moo has some, or check with your favorite print house. Then create a customized box to package and sell them in. With the Internet, you can sell them anywhere, and quickly have another way to sell your images.

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12 Ideas To Make Money With Your Photographs

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Instead of sitting on the images you took this past weekend, why not sell them instead?

Even if you didn’t have a client, and spent time with the family at one of the kid’s soccer games, chances are you took some great photographs. Why not find a way to turn them into some extra income? Take a look at these 12 ideas to make money with your photographs, and see how much you can get done this week.

1. Create a photo book. There is always opportunity – you just have to look for it. If you’ve attended your kid’s soccer games for several weeks, and helped coach the practices with your camera in tow, why not turn it into a fun photo book memory for the families? Or have a great idea for a vacation guide to your hometown? Check out Blurb for an easy way to make a photo book.

2. Network. Head over to MeetUp and find a few networking groups. You can work with the organizer, and offer headshots for use on social sites for a nominal fee. Give them quality images, and you exposure.

3. Design your own line of products. With companies like Zazzle and RedBubble, its easy to design your own line of products.

Ideas To Make Money With Your Photographsimage source

4. Find a mom and pop café. Take a drive around town – you’re sure to find a few coffee shops that aren’t part of a national chain. Head in and chat – can you help decorate their walls?
[Read more...]

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