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

[MLeeK]

There is more up there, rattling around in my brain to go with this... I'll get it out eventually!

 

[jaicatalano]

Very well said. Do you follow someone's marketing plan or are you creating (have) your own based on experience?

 

[MLeeK]

I am marching to the beat of my own drummer with marketing-for the most part. My biggest advertisement: Being on the sports fields. I do no advertising for weddings now. I don't really want to do more than maybe 5 a year. I usually end up with more than that, but I am also a sucker.
I do the yearbooks for seniors, but I honestly don't know as it truly gets me a return. I do it just to support the kids-which I do a LOT of. It pays me back greatly in family, senior and newborns. I seem to have a rush on newborns among the teachers right now.
I am involved with the school board and any projects in the community. My theory is anything that will get me seen and give me the chance to talk. I have gotten very adept at chatting and plugging without even sounding like I am plugging. In the 4 small towns I am busiest in I've gotten to know A LOT of people and it's pretty easy to mention something about when I photographed their friend, neighbor, family member...
As for any true PAID marketing I do I target the local country clubs/yacht club crowds based on the "artwork" angle. Between that and the teachers/student's parents I am pretty busy. Sometimes more than I want to be.

I said for the most part-I REALLY subscribe to Jim Garner's theory "give it away, it will come back to you tenfold..." I know I couldn't do it if I hadn't gotten pretty damn good at what I do and bring in the income level I am at. As my confidence in myself grew so did the instant respect for my 'art.' I think that starting out if I had done that I would have failed miserably!
Putting my marketing theories into writing is one of the things on my list to do.

 

[CCericola]

All of this only applies to people who freelance or open their own business. There are other employment options if you want to be a photographer.

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[PhotoWrangler]

All of this only applies to people who freelance or open their own business. There are other employment options if you want to be a photographer.

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JcPenneys, Sears, Walmart, Glamour Snots....

 

[CCericola]

And there is more than just retail photography.

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[MLeeK]

All of this only applies to people who freelance or open their own business. There are other employment options if you want to be a photographer.

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But employment isn't what this is about-it's about starting your business (or freelancing, because that is a business in itself.) Which is why the title is my advice on opening a business.
Employment in the field is a completely different ball game.

And there is more than just retail photography.

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Again, that's not what this is about or who it's written for. It's written for those who want to open a retail business.

 

[janineh]

Nicely written. Its all a learning curve.

 

[12sndsgood]

I'm working on building a solid foundation and trying to get my ducks in a row before i jump to just trying to get job after job. but even after 6 or so months I still feel like my foundation is shaky lol.

 

[IByte]

So in a nutshell if you're going to any hobby or project do your research, "measure twice, cut once" philosophy? Makes sense to me.

 

[MLeeK]

I'm working on building a solid foundation and trying to get my ducks in a row before i jump to just trying to get job after job. but even after 6 or so months I still feel like my foundation is shaky lol.

It's REALLY a LOT of research that goes into a thorough business plan! You've got to be everything: Secretary, Executive, Grunt, Accountant, Legal, Web designer, Marketing guru, creative.......... The list is endless and you have to do it all if you are a sole proprietor!

 

[mjhoward]

So in a nutshell if you're going to any hobby or project do your research, "measure twice, cut once" philosophy? Makes sense to me.

If you fail to plan, plan to fail.

 

[MLeeK]

So in a nutshell if you're going to any hobby or project do your research, "measure twice, cut once" philosophy? Makes sense to me.

If you fail to plan, plan to fail.

My kids!!! I am forever telling them that failure to plan on your part does NOT constitute an emergency on my part!!!

 

[orljustin]

So in a nutshell if you're going to any hobby or project do your research, "measure twice, cut once" philosophy? Makes sense to me.

If you fail to plan, plan to fail.

To learn my teachings, I must first teach you how to learn.

He who questions training only trains himself at asking questions.

When you can balance a tack hammer on your head, you will head off your foes with a balanced attack.

 

[pgriz]

Further to what MLeek said...

Business is about finding an (unfulfilled) need, convincing prospects that you are the one to fill that need, and to do it effectively/efficiently enough to make it worthwhile.

Retail is servicing the public, which implies many small transactions. There is a wide range of possible price-points, ranging from boutiques (customized, relatively high margins) to commodity (standard product, very thin margins, reliance on high volume). At each price point, it is possible to make money, but the marketing, process of delivering the product, expected transaction volume, and investment in equipment/administrative systems/procedures/training is very different from level to level. Figuring out which segment you are best equiped to serve is not a trivial task. Learning about business gives a prospective business person some basic tools (and even an MBA gives only basic tools) to determine which components of the business model are relevant to their situation, and once the basic organization is done, to customize one's activities and processes to the specifics of the niche market they are trying to serve.

I run several businesses, and have, over the years worked in and with businesses ranging from multinationals, to one-person specialty shops. Probably the most frequent reason for going out of business is the lack of sufficient planning. The second most common reason is lack of sufficient financial resources. Third most common is not managing the cashflow. Over the longer term (10 years or more), businesses fail by not adapting to changing circumstances.

Keith (KmH) often refers to links discussing the business plan. MLeeks has referenced several links with very good business advice. The foundation of any business has to be a well-though out business plan, which starts with a deep and detailed look at the prospective market one wants to exploit. What are the existing characteristics, buying patterns? Who are the preferred suppliers to that market? Is there an untapped potential in that market? Who are the "heavyweights" in that market, and why are they successful? Are there any societal/environmental trends that may change the dynamics of that market?

Once the market is researched and understood, the next challenge is to determine how to generate prospects in that market. What are the characteristics that define the most valuable prospects within that market? What/who are the authority figures that these ? the influencers? Which media do the prospects use to find the services they want? Where they shop/eat/entertain themselves? What are their "hot buttons"? Assuming that you reach them, how do they contact you? What is the process you use to log and follow up your prospects? How many steps are there before a signed contract is obtained? How do you follow up with the prospects that did NOT go with you, and what can you learn about why you did NOT get their business? Are there direct competitors who are winning away your most valuable prospects? If so, what are they doing right that you are not?

Once you have a contract, what is the process for ensuring a smooth production? How do you identify, quantify and minimize risk? Tim Campbell did a very good writeup in another thread (on weddings) where he described some of the prep work needed for a wedding. Each production project needs to have a similar level of thinking and planning. How do you cover equipment failure? How do you minimize communication failure? Do you have a plan and schedule for the event(s), the post-production, and the final delivery? What measures are you taking to ensure that you get paid?

Once the contract is complete, do you have a plan for the post-mortem? What went wrong, and what could have been done to prevent it in the first place? What opportunities presented themselves for new business? Are you dealing with the most valuable prospects, or do you have to re-evaluate that? What about your production efficiency - which activities took more time investment than you planned? Why? What could be done to improve the effectiveness? What changes to the process can you see to improve the client experience? to improve the marketing prospects? to reduce risk?

What administrative processes are you planning/using to stay on top of commitments? what followup are you planning/doing to ensure your investment in marketing is not wasted? What is your cashflow projection and how does your actual cashflow compare to your projections? What has to change to improve the cashflow?

and so on.

On the financial side, there has to be enough financial reserves available to buy/rent the production equipment needed, pay for operating and living expenses for about 6 months, and to remit to the various levels of government the appropriate permits, taxes, fees that need to be paid by a operating business, to pay for (some) legal advice and paperwork, and to cover (some) accounting services. If you've borrowed money to start the business, then the financial costs and available credit must be carefully tracked and managed.

And then there's the daily monitoring of the cashflow. You had a plan, how's it actually working out? Are you getting enough revenue in your bank account to match your cashflow projections? Are your collection timelines reasonable? Are your outflows all budgetted or are there many unexpected drains?

Business can be both fun... and when things go wrong, they usually go really, really wrong in a hurry. Business is not for amateurs.