If you’ve always worked for the “boss” and haven’t had the experience of working for yourself, you’re in for quite a shock when you first quit and venture out on your own. Its hard to lose the “job” mentality and start doing everything from an entrepreneur’s mindset.
Yet if you’ve ever jumped over to your own business, you know there are some things you inevitably do that when you look back on, you simply laugh at your actions. “Did I really do that?” Yep, I’ve had a lot of those moments over the years.
And some of those moments stand out more than others. Here is some advice for those of you that have recently crossed over to your own business.
1. Making mistakes with your contracts.
We’ve made this mistake more times then I’d like to admit. Never:
Assume someone will sign a contract because they say they will. Have your policies set up and stick with them – “I’ll fax over a contract and hold the day for you for 3 business days. If we don’t receive it back with payment, the day will open up to others.”
Assume a handshake is good enough. You may have a great relationship in the beginning, but things change when demands start in. A contract is there to cover you and the client. Always use it to maintain the relationship.
Assume they won’t change your contract. We sent over a contract in Word early on in our career, never thinking a client would change our copy. They did. They signed it and returned it. We signed it without reading it again. We only discovered it when the client began making unusual requests after the wedding – things we couldn’t uphold because we simply didn’t have the capability. When they began questioning why we weren’t living up to the contract, we went back and read it. We spent six months living in fear doing whatever the client requested to avoid a lawsuit – and we learned a very valuable lesson.
2. Spending too much money.
You’ve finally made the break from the job, and your time is your own. Since the clients aren’t flowing in, you have a chance to sit back and dream. That’s when you can start getting into trouble.
You dream about the perfect studio. And with a little research, you find a backdrop system you can’t live with out, a room full of props, a computer program that will help you with all of your photography management chores, and a new camera that will make everyone say “WOW”.
Maybe you put a little cash away to help build your new business. Or maybe you’re dipping into the credit cards. But if you fall into the “buy it today” philosophy, you’ll quickly be regretting everything that made you want to start your own business in the first place.
Ask yourself a question every time you are about to spend money – “Do I really need this right now to move me forward?” If the answer is no, put it off for awhile until you can truly afford it.
3. Spending too little money.
People love to spend money on the “things” within the photography business. Yet the “necessities” often fall by the wayside.
A necessity would be anything that will help you grow and profit from your business. Anything else is simply a “shiny object” that gets in your way of building a successful business.
A fourth lens that photographers have been raving about on Facebook would be a shiny object. A new website to help you attract new clients would be a necessity.
The difference is one is required to build your business and help bring in clients, and therefore profits. The other is simply something you justify to have because you want it. Learn to spot the difference from the beginning. [Read more…]
