What is a Contributing Photographer?

With over 13,000 photographers using PhotoBiz, we realized that there is an abundance of talent and knowledge here. The goal of our blog is to share our news, share industry news, and educate. With that said, what better way to educate than to utilize some of the best photographers in the world.

Larry Perez :: Rockstar Photographer

About LP: For 18 years I was entrenched in corporate America. It was a great thing because I gained invaluable business knowledge. I had no idea it would lead me here. After my last days in the twisted circle of working for the man I walked away. Not because I wanted to but because I experienced a divorce after 13 years of marriage. I was awarded sole custody of my 3 kiddos so it was “what do I do now” mode for me. It has all worked out for the better as most things do. I’ve always been a very artsy person by nature. I guess. I’m half right brained & half left brained so at times I have conflicts about this and everything else. The point to all of this is that many of you are venturing into business for yourselves because of similar situations. Maybe it was a corporate downsizing, a desired career change, etc. Whatever the reason, I’m here to help you feel more comfortable about the transition.

At one point I was a corporate trainer. I helped newcomers understand the why and how. I also helped them to apply the things that were being taught so that they too can experience success. So, this is comfortable territory for me and I love sharing this wealth of knowledge and am excited to do this for you!

Welcome! I couldn’t resist taking this great opportunity to share some of the things that have been instrumental in my growth as a photographer. I just feel a strong obligation to give back and be thankful for the wonderful things that have come my direction since going into business for myself. It isn’t that you have to run right out and do exactly as I have done because we are all different and the things I practice won’t work for all of you. So, please take a few pieces that you feel may work for you and give it a go. You have nothing to lose by trying and being open minded. As a business owner if you are to remain successful you have to be willing to change with the times. Something many photographers just aren’t willing to do. I promise this…if you think outside of the box in your business ideas you will be rewarded for much of it. Man…I just watched the movie Yes Man! Great story about coming out of your comfort zone and attracting things you deserve! Of course, I love Jim Carrey! Start attracting what you want!

Out of that Box NOW! (Marketing on a shoestring)

So, since you’re in this business to be a professional photographer then my hat is off to you! It’s a fun business and can bring so many wonderful rewards into your life. BUT! It’s going to take MORE than just following what everyone else does so try and grab something from this little blog. I’ll begin with saying “I love the idea of the zero budget marketing.” It works for me. HOW MANY OF YOU HAVE PAID FOR ADVERTISING AND REAPED NO RETURN? Most of you that have tried “advertising” have I’m certain. Here’s my take…”I don’t believe in advertising.” OK. Got that out there now. Yeah yeah yeah, LP is tight, he’s stingy, he’s not the norm, say whatever…..I’m not giving in. I’m sorry, I just CANNOT bring myself to spend “net” earned dollars on advertising in a magazine or newspaper or yellow pages etc. What the heck is a phone book anyways?

read full blog entry…

This is the last article in our series for creating an effective website.  Previously, we wrote about: (1) Targeting each of your customers with sub sites that are geared toward each of your customer’s needs  (2) How to create an effective splash page to give the best first impression.  Now we will attempt to put all of the pieces together as we talk about the overall presentation.

  read full blog entry…

Creating an Effective Website Series

Splash Pages and SEO 

This is the second article in a series of how to effectively build a site for your business.  Previously we wrote about how you can effectively target each of your customers with Sub-Sites.  Splash pages are a very important part of your overall web presence for a few main reasons:

1. Overall organization flow
2. Search Engine Optimization
3. Presentation & Design (Pulling things together)

 
read full blog entry…

I previously wrote about “How to create a Successful Business Plan for Photographers” and received a great response from it!  Many of you wanted to know a little bit about how to determine your prices and evaluate your competitors.  There are a few easy steps that we can take to better understand this section of the business plan.

Step One:

First of all, it’s important to note that you should NOT determine your prices based on your costs!  Of course you want to cover your costs; and the more money left over in the end, the better.  This is called profit margin.  But if your prices are not comparable to your competitors based on quality and reputation, then it doesn’t matter if you are covering costs or not because you will have no customers.

Background Research:

The first step you will want to take is to get a lot of background research.  Try to find “ALL” of your competitors or at least 25-50 and list them in an excel spreadsheet.  Get a general idea of their prices, quality, location in proximity to you, etc…  The more information that you have, the better off you are.  Here is a basic graph that I made comparing Photography companies.

**Take some time to truly evaluate where you should be positioned in this map!  Ask friends, customers, mentors, etc… to give you a true assessment.

What does this graph mean?
This graph is a basic comparison of you business versus your competition based on your quality and prices.  The dotted line represents an “average” or “fair market value”.

• If you are to the right of the dotted line, you are offering your customers a better “value” based on price and quality alone.
• If you are on the dotted line, you are offering a “fair” market value.
• If you do not know your prices yet, determine where you stand in regards to quality and start on the dotted line.  If you are able to go down on price and maintain the quality, you should see an increase in business as you are offering a better “value”.
• Due to a changing industry and your changing skills, you will want to re evaluate this periodically.

PLEASE LEAVE US YOUR COMMENTS, QUESTIONS & IDEAS

Having a solid business plan is vital to the success of any start-up.  This is going to become a very big part of your future not only in time but also as a personal investment.  Taking just a little time before you take these big steps will really pay off in the future.  There are some obvious advantages to starting a photography business over most other businesses.  In relative terms, it can be much less risky, less capital intensive, and started part time while still working your “real job” as I hear very often. While writing your business plan, I would recommend that you follow two basic rules:

1. Keep an open mind
2. Have a realistic projections and assumptions

Fist key, keeping an open mind, is being open to suggestions and constructive criticism. If you go into your business plan with tunnel vision, you may find yourself “fudging numbers”.   This can happen when you have invested yourself and are passionate about your idea.  Now don’t get me wrong, these are key ingredients to making your business successful, but if you come across something that seems to be critical, be true to yourself and stick to facts. 

Second objective is to have realistic projections and assumptions.  You want to minimize the amount of assumptions that you will have, but the ones you make should be backed up by a lot of facts and well thought out ideas.  This will become very evident when putting together financial statements.  Good working financial statement will take time to put together.  Get the majority of your research, and writing done before you get too heavy into this section.

What do I put in a Business Plan?

Most of you reading this are probably not looking for any type of funding so you want to keep in mind that this plan is for YOU!  This plan will help keep you on track to meet your goals, overcome potential problems and be a map for your future.  Here are the main sections of a business plan:

Executive Summary- Highlights of the whole business plan in 1-2 pages.  Many will say that if you can’t do this, you don’t know your business.  Ironically, you want to do this last.  Believe me!

Business Description–  General description of your unique product of service, industry background, goals, and potential.

Management– Team and legal structure!  An “A” team with a “B” idea is better than a “B” team with an “A” idea!

Marketing–2 parts – (1) Research on who your target market is, market size, and trends, etc… with competition analysis and estimated market share.  (2) Marketing plan, pricing, promotions, and strategy.  *PhotoBiz has some great tools to help you here!

Financials– Forecasting the money.  This can take a lot of time but is one of the most important aspects.  It should include balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements for the 1st 3-5 years.

Operations– Location and its advantages.  You should have a reason why you do everything.

Critical Risks– Potential problems, obstacles, risks; and what you will do to avoid and overcome them.

Milestone Schedule– Goals are very important, give yourself a timeline and deadlines.

Exit Strategy– What happens in the end?  Successor, transfer of assets, etc…

Appendix– If you are trying to get funding, tell the investors where you are getting your information from.

*** Don Kuratko, who is one of the best entrepreneurial instructors in the country, recommends 40-50 pages in length.  (This does not include financials or appendix)

This is a passion of mine and I would be glad to go into more detail if we get a good response from readers on this subject.  This is just touching the tip of each section so please let me know where you would like us to focus with your comments!