Reply To: Starting a business…

[rookie35m]

I would lean towards Stef’s advice when thinking about starting a business. The technical stuff.. how to file your legal entity, licensing, contracts, setting up your books, etc is easily handled by research or getting professional counsel. The part where you are on your own is in marketing and sales. Every business is a success or fail based upon their ability to market and sell. That may make your average passionate photographer or hand-made jewelry maker cringe but it is reality. These are some tips I have learned to establish in 25 years of multiple start-up companies:

• Who is my market and is that market viable? In my case I live just outside of Philadelphia. I’m surrounded by affluent suburbs, pricy venues and dense population.  There is a very lucrative market for wedding shooters and portrait photography.

• Am I properly capitalized? With little-to-no client base, the investment in equipment and advertising comes out of pocket. The biggest death sentence for start-ups is running out of money. (having a full time job while starting a business can be grueling but gives you a safety net). I agree with the above that business and your personal money are completely separate. Its okay to seed a startup with personal capital but that should be treated like a loan from a bank and paid back on a timely and consistent basis. That leads into:

• How much do I charge? Whatever you think it costs to run a business, double or triple it. Just because you filled up the family SUV with gas doesn’t mean that the fuel you use driving to a gig isn’t a business expense. To know what to charge you have to know your overhead. Here is a good calculator to give you an idea of expenses and how they will parlay into your billing.   https://nppa.org/calculator

• Am I dedicated enough to this endeavor? Everyone starts with passion. That’s why you hang out a shingle that reads, “Photographer”. As Stef mentioned, that quickly fades into having to live and breath your business. Can you work eight hours per day at your full time job and come home and spend 4 hours editing, doing your books, making calls, scheduling, handling customer service, performing equipment maintenance, designing your next marketing piece, and updating social media? Add in the actual shoots and there goes the last bit of personal and family time you may have previously enjoyed. One has to look hard at reality and beyond the passion for holding a camera to answer that.

None of this is meant to scare. There are so many benefits to owning a successful business and making money by doing something you love. The problems arise when people put the benefits in front of common sense. A very good book to read is E Myth. It tells the story of how being a good technician has little to do with business success and outlines quite a few things many business owners do in their race to failing. Once you correct (or preclude) those mistakes, things start to make sense and you make money.   Good Luck!