I recently wrote a post 13 Ways To Make Sure 2013 Doesn’t Suck For Your Photography Business. I’ve been doing a lot internal planning with my own business for 2013, and I used that post as a trigger for all of you to start thinking about what you want the New Year to bring into your own lives. In order to stick with that theme, I’ve decided to run a “13 Days Of Photography” feature throughout December to help provide you with a ton of ideas and tips on things you can do for your own business starting on January 1st. Here is 7…
What does a healthy business look like? Lots of customers. Lots of sales. Lots of profits. There are many different ways of looking at it.
But some things matter more than others.
What if you were suddenly forced to shut your doors and move 2000 miles away to a place you’ve never been before? And you were only allowed to bring seven things with you. What would those seven things be?
All you would really need is the essential foundations of building up your business. You need the assets that turned your business into a successful venture.
Assets are the foundation of a healthy business.
And while there are many things that could be lumped into the asset column of your business, different assets have different priorities in your “take” list. Yes, your camera equipment may be an asset. But cameras are replaceable. If you lose it today, you can buy an identical one tomorrow. And the moment you purchase it, it begins to depreciate in value – meaning it won’t sustain you for the long term.
So … what would be on your asset list to take with you across country?
In my mind, your real business asset are the things you’ve built yourself and have complete control over – no one can ever take them away from you.
1. Your content
Your content includes a variety of things. It includes your portfolio of images. It includes the letters you’ve written and the brochures you’ve created. It includes the content on your blog posts and the articles that have been published about you in the local newspaper. Your content is what defines you and what turns you into you.
2. Your list
A business is only as good as the people on their lists. It may include your past customers. It may include people that follow you in your social sites. It may include vendors that you’ve worked with in the past or would love to work with in the future. The more thorough the list, the more successful your business will be. [Read more…]