My advice on opening a business... And building a house.

[MLeeK]

[h=3][/h]
A couple of years ago my( then) 12 and 14 year old kids along with their friends built a “house.” It even had a second story and a roof. They were pretty clever and resourceful in building this house. They used lumber that their grandparents, us and friends donated.
One of the other parents found them a great piece of plastic/rubber for them to use as roofing material. They ran electric to their house by way of a REALLY long extension cord and had a TV and gaming system out there. They found some “furniture” by raiding the dealership for some car seats, swiping a cooler for a stand... It was really a pretty great idea. They thought they were pretty amazing.

I promise you it wasn't pretty. In fact it was so scary we made them remove the second story because it was so dangerous. As they were deconstructing it my son fell through the 'floor' onto the sofa (aka vehicle seat.) Thankfully no one was injured other than their pride.


The kids didn't plan for anyone to fall through the floor or for their house to have major issues. They just knew they had the raw materials and they could do it! As adults we wouldn't build a hose with no plans and no clue how construction is done. How could you expect it to be sturdy, pass codes or last? Those raw materials don't come cheap and I sure wouldn't want to take a risk of throwing all of that away because I didn't have any plan or knowledge of how to build it.


Going into business as a photographer (or anything else) is like building a house with no plan. You have some awesome raw materials and you know what you want your house to be in the end. You just need a plan on how to get there.You aren't going into business to fall through the floor, you are going into business to make some money doing something you probably love. At the very least you are hopeful that it will at least pay for the camera addiction we all have.
Why hang your shingle out there and take that huge chance of failure? This industry sees THOUSANDS of "photographers" come and go in the business every year. Most of them fail not because they are bad photographers. Some are even pretty damn amazing photographers. They fail because they didn't have a plan to succeed.


Back in the day when I used to play pool competitively a coach once told me

"Plan your shot. Then shoot your plan"​

It is the best piece of advice I have EVER been given. It translates to every aspect of life. It doesn't even have to translate to be applied to photography. When you create an portrait you plan how you are going to do it-posing, lighting, settings, etc. Then you shoot it. If you have planned well you get an image that is exactly what you expected to get.​

It's the same in business. Plan your success, then follow your plan. Will you have to ad-lib in there somewhere? Sure. Your plan will change often over the years, but if you are planning for that change you will succeed.​

Here is the key to everything:
Business is far more difficult than photography.
A person who is good at business and mediocre at photography can succeed wildly.
A person who is phenomenal at photography and mediocre at business will usually fail.


My first suggestion? Get a business education. It should be part of your plan. Plan to learn what you don't know. Because you just don't know what you don't know.
If you are going to school for photography change your major to business. You can get a photography education anywhere and it's much easier to learn than numerous aspects of running a business. Take photography as your minor and business as your major.

 

[tirediron]

Excellent post MLeek!

 

[xyphoto]

Very well said. Two thumbs up! It is certainly not easy to start any business from ground up. It requires time and dedications. Sometimes there is also a luck factor. To that point, I wish everyone a good luck to succeed in this business.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

Excellently said, but sadly few will listen. I suspect the only ones who will adhere are those of us who have already learned our lessons.

 

[IByte]

So I'm thinking MLeek is challenging me to a pool match?? Great post btw .

 

[KmH]

Yep. MLeek ran the table.

 

[Superfitz]

Excellently said, but sadly few will listen. I suspect the only ones who will adhere are those of us who have already learned our lessons.

I don't think the problem is people won't listen. I think the problem is people won't take the time to read that long of a post. Which is unfortunate, because it is a good story.

 

[IByte]

Yep. MLeek ran the table.

But does she still have what takes to beat me at billiards? lol

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Sorry. I disagree. Running a business isn't that hard.
It really, really, isn't.

 

[amolitor]

Sorry. I disagree. Running a business isn't that hard.
It really, really, isn't.

Neither is photography!

I think the point isn't that either one is hard, but that there is actually stuff to know and learn in both cases. Jumping rope or riding a bicycle isn't that hard either, but if you don't know how it's still not going to work out all that well the first few times.

If you're going to cut a few corners, cut the photography corners not the business ones. It's not about degree of difficulty, it's about how well you have to do it to succeed.

 

[PhotoWrangler]

Sorry. I disagree. Running a business isn't that hard.
It really, really, isn't.

But you do agree that it takes at least some business knowledge and at least a plan written in big crayons.

 

[MLeeK]

So I'm thinking MLeek is challenging me to a pool match?? Great post btw .

9-ball?

Yep. MLeek ran the table.

But does she still have what takes to beat me at billiards? lol

I just might! I had just hit an 8 when I quit playing APA

 

[MLeeK]

Sorry. I disagree. Running a business isn't that hard.
It really, really, isn't.

I think you need to add an addendum to that: It isn't hard IF YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
BUT... If you didn't know how to do your own legal stuff, taxes, accounting, marketing, pricing, etc... how easy would that be?

 

[MLeeK]

Sorry. I disagree. Running a business isn't that hard.
It really, really, isn't.

Neither is photography!

I think the point isn't that either one is hard, but that there is actually stuff to know and learn in both cases. Jumping rope or riding a bicycle isn't that hard either, but if you don't know how it's still not going to work out all that well the first few times.

If you're going to cut a few corners, cut the photography corners not the business ones. It's not about degree of difficulty, it's about how well you have to do it to succeed.

You hit that nail on the head.

 

[jhodges10]

I'm one of those people that hopes to turn photography into a business and I assure you I read every last word and appreciate your time and knowledge that you've shared.