Planning
THE PLAN
What the heck??? Now you want me to
PLAN THE PLAN? This is getting kind of like looking in
a mirror with a mirror behind it... it goes on to infinity.
OK. Never mind. Let's call it the
research stage.
As with any business there is a LOT
that goes into photography and you have to find out what you don't
know; gather all of the information and options and THEN you can really
begin your plan.
You also have to make a few decisions before you can
start the plan.That's where we are today-those decisions.
1. What? What kind of photographer are
you and what do you want to do? Are you a child photographer?
Portrait photographer? Wedding Photographer? Pet Photographer?
Landscape? Maybe at this point you are thinking a little bit of
everything? Decide what your business is going to be.
There are
several different schools of thought on whether you should define
yourself to solely one thing or to do it all. They all have great
points. You have to decide which school of thought is for you.
I suggest you get involved in the prominent photography forums. You can gather some incredible wisdom from the people that are there working in the business as well as their opinions and experiences. From their experiences you can get a pretty great feel of what is for you and what isn't. There is no right or wrong. Only what's right for you and your business.
2. Where? Where will you be located at?
Your home? Storefront? On-location? There are pro's and con's to all
of them. Maybe you want to start from your home studio or on-location
now and plan to move to a storefront down the road...
Home Based Studio.
There are some great benefits here if you have the space to do it.
Obviously your commute is... well it isn't. Your overhead is much
less than it would be if you had to maintain a separate location-that
doesn't mean you don't have a rent/mortgage and utilities. There is
then a portion of those things that would be an expense of the
business (we'll touch on that in pricing.) It would just be
significantly less than renting or purchasing a completely separate
location.
Con's-sure, there
are some. It's your home. You have pepople in your home and you give
up space, privacy... It does not have the same “cachet” that
having a storefront location has. Hey, a studio is even awe inspiring
to most of us IN the business! A home based studio can say “AWAC”
if it's not extremely well done...
We do all know the
term AWAC? Right? Amateur With A Camera. Let's face it, going to
someone's house to have your portraits done kind of feels like going
to your neighbor's for a discount hair cut. That can be spun into a
great positive-a home based studio keeps the cost to the client
down significantly AND the professional comes to the client, takes the photograph where the client wants it taken and everything about the whole experience is customized!! Is the glass half full or half empty?
It is a matter of managing expectations and creating the
experience for the client.
Storefront Studio. There are some incredible benefits to having a storefront. Visibility, presence, ease of shooting... feeling REAL. There are also some drawbacks. There is more overhead with a storefront than a home based studio. You have to recoup those costs somehow and that is always passed down to the client. The profit margin is lower in a storefront studio than a home based one. This is where that membership to
PPA I have been preaching about comes into play. Their Benchmark Survey is a wealth of knowledge on this topic.
3.
Operating Format. Sole Proprietor? LLC? Incorporation? You can
find more information regarding the different business formats and
their pro's and con's at the SBA's website. I am not here to re-write the book, just to gather it all and get you started. Check out these articles:
4. Naming Your
Business. MANY schools of thought on this one. You'll find it often said that you should use your name as your business name. It does make some sense, but it's not the answer for every photography business ever made.
You are always you. If you shoot some landscapes, some portraits and some weddings, you are still YOU, Jane Pinkerton.
If you are photographing newborns now and you decide you like Pink Paisley Newborn Photography it's all great. Cool name! However, if you decide down the road that you also want to do senior portraits there is a little problem. Adding another name to your business is a little more complicated. Not to mention another website, facebook, twitter, Google+ and so on down the line.
If you go with "Jane Pinkerton Photography" you can always have "Newborns by Jane Pinkerton Photography" OR even "Pink Paisley Newborns by Jane Pinkerton Photography" and "Weddings by Jane Pinkerton Photography" and "Senior Portraits by Jane Pinkerton Photography..."
Is that what you HAVE to do? Heck no. You have to do what's right for YOUR business. If it's not right down the road even though you committed to it today-it CAN be changed. It's just a little more work.
Those are the first big steps you have to make here. They're actually fairly monumental! THIS IS IT! You are on the path to your dream now! WOOOT, WOOOT!