How To Look At Your Money Life

Photography + Small Business + PIPA and SOPA = Death To An Industry

A couple of weeks ago, I posted Why SOPA/PIPA Affect All Of Us to help you better understand two bills that were before congress and the impact they could have on us all. I’ve been involved in groups for the past couple of years that have been watching and fighting this “concept” as it makes its way through both state and federal levels again and again.

I was happy to see both tabled and not put forward for a vote. But again, they were merely tabled, not stopped. Which means they will surface again. And probably again.

So of course I keep following what people are saying and what industries support these types of bills – and which ones are against it.

I was very surprised a week or so ago when PPA came out with a post on their site and also proceeded to email it out to their members. If you haven’t read it, head over and read it now.

SOPA and PIPA – Don’t Be Fooled

There are many things wrong with this lines of thinking – so many I could literally go line by line. But the one item in particular that stands out to me is:

“So when a behemoth corporate money-maker like Google attempts to stand on the backs of photographers to increase its profits, we as your association take exception.”

Yes I will agree, Google is a huge money making company. Yet they stand up for keeping censorship at bay and work to give everyone free reign to promote and do as they will to make money as a small business. They work to keep the playing field as equal as possible for everyone online. Google isn’t alone – Wikipedia and others all have the same approach to Internet regulation. Which is why a great majority of them went dark to support defeating the SOPA and PIPA regulations. And will continue to do so again and again.

There are two ways of looking at business today: old school or innovative.

The Internet made old school obsolete. If you’ve ever read the book “Who Moved My Cheese”, old school associations and businesses are still in the old store room, looking for “cheese” that has long since disappeared. Yes, there are still ways of making money with old school thinking, but they are drying up quickly. Not just in photography, but in every industry out there – think newspapers and book publishing.

Yet the Internet is what is allowing small businesses to be truly innovative. You can use sites like Google, Yahoo, Facebook and Pinterest with simply an investment of time (occasionally a little money) and a whole lot of magic to create a business beyond your wildest dreams. Its you, your innovation, a little time, and magic can truly happen.

Who is threatened by that? Old school businesses who like things the way they always were. We will never go back to the way things were. The only way to move forward is to allow us to keep the playing field as equal as possible.

Here are how others are sounding off

The Foolish PPA is Pro PIPA and SOPA

An Open Letter to David Trust and PPA

Photographers Supposrt SOPA and PIPA?

Open Letter to PPA and David Trust

And a few statistics to show you where others stand:

SOPA and PIPA Internet Blackout Aftermath

What’s your opinion?

Filed Under: Future Trending Tagged With: bill, censorship, Congress, law, Photography, PIPA, regulation, small business, SOPA

Why SOPA/PIPA Affect All Of Us

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

I normally keep this blog political free and completely related to running a photography business. But after following net neutrality issues for years, I know the only way to stop things is to become active. When groups gather on the capital steps to show support for leaving the Internet “free” – I’m there. And when large groups are doing whatever they can to stop America censorship of the Internet, I’m there as well.

If you haven’t heard of SOPA/PIPA, take a few minutes to learn more.

Both the Senate (PIPA) and the House (SOPA) have sponsored bills to pass Internet censorship. And while the House has tabled the bill – not killed it, just tabled it for the moment – its still live and active in the Senate with final voting to occur January 24th.

SOPA/PIPA impact far more than just US citizens. It impacts everyone who uses US-based IP addresses and VPNs to access the Internet. That includes travelers, educators, journalists and businesses that have International clientele.

Now is the time to make your voice heard. You can get active in a variety of ways – visit the American Censorship site for more information.

If you are in business for yourself and you want to continue doing business online, this will impact you. Take a stance now to make sure you have the freedom to run your business anyway you choose now and well into the future.

Filed Under: Future Trending Tagged With: America, bills, censorship, Congress, free, House, Internet, PIPA, Senate, SOPA, US

31 Questions You Should Be Asking In December

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

What do I want in 2012?

How did I end up where I am today?

Is this really where I want to be?

What three things are the most important to me right now?

What’s holding me back?

What don’t I believe I can do it?

What am I afraid of?

Has anyone ever tried it this way before?

What if I say yes?

What if I say no?

What is the worst that could happen?

Do I expect enough out of myself?

Do I expect too much from others?

Am I on the right track?

Can I choose a different path?

How do I define success?

Am I being too hard on myself?

What makes me smile?

How do I envision my life?

Are my goals and dreams big enough?

Have I always made the right choices?

What is the biggest major change I can make in my life?

Do I really want success?

Am I too comfortable where I am?

What do I want to achieve?

How can I make this work?

What are my options?

How can I stay motivated?

Can I make a difference?

Is all of this worth it?

What am I most thankful for in 2011?

Filed Under: Life Balance Tagged With: life balance, planning your life, planning your photo business, questions about photography

Why There Are So Many Photography Experts

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

I hear 20 year professional photographers say it all the time.

“A few years ago, I was one of just a few photographers advertising in this magazine. Now the pages of photographers goes on for 30 pages. There’s no way I can compete with this many photographers out there. So I’m lowering my prices and doing what I can to survive.”

Being an expert at photography is a lot like being an expert at social media.

Over the last two years, everyone has been jumping on the social media bandwagon. They sign up for a Twitter account, sign up for a Facebook account, read a little, build up their accounts to a 3 figure friend level. And then they start thinking.

“Hmmm, I’m not making any money at (whatever it is they do); maybe I should see if I could make a hundred bucks or so selling a Facebook page setup to business people.”

I can go to any networking group in town and find someone who fits that description. In fact I just received an email from a lady who has been selling an MLM product for the last couple of years – she is now a social media expert and will design your Facebook page for you.

So the question really is “what does ‘expert’ mean?”

Because you can buy the camera, the lenses, the “professional” looking bag, and have a pile of gadgets. You can read several books about photography and get a pretty good idea of how to take a decent picture. You can be the shutterbug in your family, fire off a bunch of shots, and probably end up with one or two that are pretty good.

But having the stuff doesn’t make you the expert.

You have to walk the walk.

Being able to design a Facebook page that ends up with a few hundred friends is easy. Its having the nohow to design a great page that brings in the right people, that converts as many people as possible to paying clients that matters most.

Instead of firing off a hundred shots, hoping you’ll get one or two great ones, an expert has the ability to fire off a few shots, knowing they have a few great ones. Every time.

Dig Deeper: 5 Reasons Not To Quit Facebook

And knowing you can rely on that photographer to give you expert results in every condition, no matter what the time of day, or what’s happening around you – that’s what changes a person from someone who loves it, to someone who is an expert at it. They don’t think; they do.

So how do you sell expertise? First, you have to be a true expert. Then question your potential clients. Make them curious about the so called expertise in the “cheap” photographers. Make them question whether they want to rely on someone who needs a few hundred shots to get a few good ones. Or whether they want to hire someone who gets great shots every time, no matter what the conditions.

Filed Under: Six Figure Photographer Tagged With: photography experts, professional photographers, what makes a photographer an expert

Want To Advance Your Photography? Boost Your Creativity

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

Photographers are naturally the creative type, right? It’s a left brain right brain thing. And any time you are in the arts, you tend to be a bit more creative than the general population.

But overall, studies are showing that we continually are losing our creativity, even though we may be increasing our IQ and doing better on critical thinking. In fact since 1990, our creativity has decreased significantly. Yet our need for creativity is at an all time high.

Creativity controls your ideas. The more ideas you come up with, the more you’ll want to act on those ideas. And the more flexible you are, the more you’ll end up creating and inventing.

Creativity controls your ability to start a new business and take risks. It controls your ability to jump in to a new environment and play with ideas to see what will work and what won’t. And if everything has to be neat and tidy and in the right order, your chances of finding success in a completely new way continually go down.

So, is it time for you to boost your own creativity? Give these ideas a shot.

Take an art class

While I recommend a lot on this blog to head out and take a class or two, there is a difference between a small business marketing class and a pottery class. While both can help you grow, only one will spark your creativity. Get into that pottery class and get messy. Throw some clay on a wheel. Make an abstract figure. Play with the paints and get as wild as you can be. It doesn’t have to be perfect – you’ll never sell it. It’s just a way to release your inter-creativity.

Small Business Marketing

Marketing can be a lot of fun. Come up with a brand new campaign for your business – something that pushes you way outside the box. Find a book on creative marketing campaigns, talk with a marketing promotions expert, or find a class that teaches creative marketing techniques. Don’t stick with the “same old” techniques. Look for a way to completely set you apart from your competition. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Life Balance Tagged With: boost your creativity, life balance, photographer skills, working at your photography business

How The Recession Can Boost Your Business Savvy

by Virtual Photography Leave a Comment

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...]

Filed Under: Make Money With Photography Tagged With: business savvy, depression, education, hard economic times, learning, photography tips, recession

7 Ways To Make Money For The Holidays

by Virtual Photography 1 Comment

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...]

Filed Under: Make Money With Photography Tagged With: christmas, holiday portraits, make money for the holidays, selling your photography

1 Simple Rule To Making Money Over Night

by Virtual Photography 4 Comments

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...]

Filed Under: Make Money With Photography Tagged With: creating a plan, making money over night, making money with your photography, Photography Business, planning, simple rule

How To Look At Your Money Life

by Virtual Photography 2 Comments

A couple of years ago, we began looking at our life a little differently.

The economy was heading downward, with little end in sight. Businesses were changing, with many of them going out of business, or simply putting little value on the traditional “employee” model.

And we started looking at where our money was going, and what we wanted to do with it in the coming years.

Yep, we had a great life. Large house, great school system, lots of things to do in the area, and the occasional vacation. But when we really started analyzing our life, we discovered we weren’t quite where we wanted to be.

What Does The Future Look Like?

I often mention here on this blog that you should plan goals, think about where you want to be in the future, and then take the necessary steps to achieve it.

When we did that for ourselves, we discovered that even though we had the American Dream, our vision of the American Dream had slightly changed.

Sure, we had a great house. But did we really need that much space?

And we went on the occasional vacation, but were two weeks here and there really enough?

The answer was no on both accounts.

So we started looking at what it truly means to own a home.

Part of the American Dream was to own a home, have it go up and value, and use that appreciation to finance different phases of your life. But is that even possible anymore? In the short term, we found ourselves saying no.

Owning a home today means paying a mortgage, knowing full well the value might just come down. We’ve owned for almost 10 years, and as we are leaving, we’re walking away with a small profit. That profit has dropped considerably over the past 4, yet we’re happy to walk away with some.

Is owning a home truly where its at? Or are there other opportunities?

We started digging a bit deeper.

Where Is The Money Going Today?

Have you ever sat down and calculated where your money goes each month. And then really sat and thought about it? While we “write the checks” and knew exactly what we were paying, we never really thought about it.

Then we started putting it down on paper. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Six Figure Photographer Tagged With: building a photography business, life transition, money life, travell, wealth building