common sense business tools for portrait photographers

I’m suffering from gear envy, and then Nikon announced the D800 & D4…I’m really tempted…

Oh gear envy — will you EVER be satisfied!?

There’s only one question standing between you and that shiny new D4:

Can you afford it?

(Note that I did not say: how can you finagle your finances from your food budget and debt payoff plan so you have enough credit on your Visa?)

It’s a simple question that doesn’t require you to do crazy number crunching. Can you afford it?

Your business is not going to see any growth from upgrading your equipment.

Unless of course you are upgrading from a disposable camera…but I think it’s safe to say you’re beyond that at this point.

Even if you still own a Rebel XTI or a Nikon D50 — not one of your clients is going to notice that you upgraded. Sure, you’ll notice, and it’s possible your photographer peers will notice – but your peers don’t pay the bills.

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Other people’s upgrades can be really great for your business. I bought my 5D used from another photographer who used it as a backup. When I purchased it, the camera was barely used and I got it for half the price of what the photographer bought it for when she bought it new.

She HAD to have the 5DMarkII as soon as it released. She actually sold the body immediately because she knew the new Canon was coming out and wanted to have the money for it the day it released. I have no idea where her finances were and whether she made the wisest decision for her business….but I can tell you that for me, I made the best decision for my business and was able to take advantage of her desire to upgrade.

I also own a couple L lenses which I purchased “used” in pristine condition for a fraction of the price from other photographers.

The 5D that rocked my world the first time I held it in my hands after upgrading from the 20D is still the same camera that rocks my world now, despite the fact that I’m sure it’s referred to as a vintage body.

I’m in no hurry to upgrade because I know that there will always be something even more amazing about to come out.

Yes, everyone values different things. I understand new gear envy.

I’ve got some amazing things that I own that I know people swoon over. I have a beast of a juicer, folks, and it’s worth every penny. It wasn’t cheap, but I spent less on it than the new top-of-the-line Nikon or Canon. And, there is a huge difference in the quality of juice.

But the difference between owning a $2500 juicer and owning a $3500 camera is that I’m never ever going to upgrade again. It improves the quality of my life and my family. For our family who values health and improving the quality of life, a juicer is darn important.

Can you say the same for your camera?

Even if you can afford the latest gear, will it improve the quality of your work?

How about the quality of your business?

Most likely, you’ll have to stretch pretty far to justify the ways that top-of-the-line equipment is going to improve your business.

To take it one step further – and this one is the most uncomfortable of all – is this question: “Can I learn to be content with what I have?”

When you find contentment with the gear you have, your desire to own the latest spectacular release from Nikon or Canon won’t be nearly as tempting, and your happiness won’t be wrapped up in more megapixels, more features, more buttons, or more doodads.

Doesn’t mean you won’t upgrade ever again – just means next time, you’ll upgrade because you really can afford it, not because you’re chasing the latest gear and everyone else seems to be getting shiny new boxes from B&H. ;)

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on May 15, 2012 at 7:35 am, filed under Business. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

I want to start selling in person, but don’t know where to start. Help?

I started my photography business in a place where I had to do everything as cheaply as possible, because everything I invested into my business was being taken out of very tight and limited finances.

My choices for selling my photography to clients appeared to be:

a.) invest in an online ordering system that was around $300,
b.) invest in an in-person system that would require an elaborate studio projection setup, or
c.) invest in an in-person system that would require me to invest in a better laptop (since mine took 2 hours to batch 30 images in Photoshop)

By all calculations, online was the way for me to go while I was doing 3-5 sessions per week — and while having a husband who was taking 19 credits in college — all without childcare assistance.

My starting (read: low) sales made me realize that I had to keep refining my pricing to let my system do the sales for me and get higher sales.

It was a whole lot of price increases (which were good) but it took almost 2 years to get to the point where I was bringing in the consistent sale that allowed me to do only 1-2 sessions per week. My online sales were excellent….but then, I knew the whole time that they could have have been better if I had done them in person.

So when my business was finally to a point that I was able to have the in-person sales, I decided to give ‘em a try.

I had the studio, and I even bought software to try it out. But I let my fear of sales hold me back.

I had no reason NOT to do them in person but I could give you plenty of reasons why online ordering was still better. It all came down to fear. The whole thing freaked me out, and online was far easier for me to stick with because it was safe.

Online selling was what I knew. It was safe. It was consistent. But it wasn’t phenomenal.

My clients were missing that personal touch of customer service I knew full well they deserved, but I was too scared to step out of my comfort zone and just give it a try.

Kristen’s free Sales Without Shame sampler would have revolutionized my sales from the beginning.

The concept that you don’t need all the fancy-schmancy equipment or the software — and that everything I had…everything I was…that would have been enough. Mind blowing.

I know I’m enough NOW — but back then, just starting out — no one (let me emphasize: NO ONE) was saying that.

It felt more like the theme was – you’re not enough unless you have ____. (Fill in the blank – I know you’ve embraced this to some capacity somewhere in your business).

The idea that I could have been able far more profitable at a faster rate from the beginning was just something that I assumed was impossible without the constant price tweaking.

The pricing is very significant, the tweaking very necessary – but sometimes, when the pricing isn’t working – the sales session could save you.

Your pricing could be fine – it could be perfect…but the one element you may be missing is the in-person touch. By selling in person, you walk away KNOWING exactly what is working and what isn’t.

You don’t have to wonder because you can’t read what your clients are thinking. You don’t have to wait and watch for trends….they are unfolding right before your eyes. Refining your business practices happens first hand.

Yah, it’s scary. But I KNOW that the greatest things that will ever happen to your business will not come from the things you do out of fear— but out of crazy, fearless leaps of faith and trying new things. THAT’S when you will soar. And you don’t have to spend tons of money. In fact, you don’t have to spend any money.

You just have to click here and download the freebie, then put it to work.

You can do this. You are enough, you have enough…and I can’t wait to see you start selling in person.

XOXO,
Alicia

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on May 4, 2012 at 7:04 am, filed under Business. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.

Alicia, did you just call me CHEAP?

Recently I wrote an article and in it I said that with “cheap” photographers, you get what you pay for. Boy did that stir some people up! I still stand by that, but I need to clarify something.

Being “cheap” is not any sort of judgment about your skills, your talents, or your creativity.

In fact, I’ve seen far too many amazing photographers underselling what they do. I’d pay 10X what they are charging and it would still be worth every penny! 

“Cheap” photography competes with box chain studios, price-wise.

It does not reflect upon your talent, your training, your value as an artist, or your value as a human being. It is simply a statement of fact.

I want you to keep from underselling yourself. As a custom photographer, it’s safe to say that you are offering perks far beyond anything those Wal-Mart studios are able to offer their clients!

Perks like going on location, answering e-mail(!!!), offering a higher quality paper for prints, editing images, and packaging your work in anything beyond flimsy cellophane wrapping…. We can go on and on, but you get my point.

You are doing far better customer service and are willing to go above and beyond for your clients, whereas chain studios have very clear limitations.

If your pricing is equal to or less than that of, say, Wal-mart or the Picture People, your photography is competing with theirs for clients. I’m guessing you’re here because you want to grow beyond this price point. You know you have amazing potential that needs to get out. You aren’t here because you are comfortable with where you are, price-wise, and you long for the day when you can rise above that to reach your business and financial goals. 

Unfortunately, your pricing and sales determine your customer service limitations.

If you are taking in 20 clients per week and making only $100 each, you don’t have the time to handwrite them a thank you note. Likewise, you don’t have the time to drive to each client’s home to deliver because you’re too busy shooting massive amounts, and you’re up against rising gas prices every day. Your pricing limits your customer service ability.

Likewise, if you are making a $150 sale with each client, you aren’t able to give clients $25 gift certificates to a local small business as a thank you note. You are limited because you need every penny from that sale to cover your expenses and — with any luck — give yourself some income. 

Giving phenomenal customer service isn’t always about spending more on the client; it’s often just giving that client more time.

Yes, you can still give good customer service and be on the lower end of the pricing spectrum. But to give phenomenal, amazing, above-and-beyond customer service that keeps clients coming back to you because of your business practices AND keeps them sharing word of mouth, you probably have to free up some time. 

Time you can’t give if you’re swamped with work, no matter your price point. Raising your prices so you can take on less clients can allow you to give future clients more of your time and energy, which helps to make their experience amazing from start to finish.

Time is the most precious commodity you have, and pricing helps to determine how much of it you’re able to lavish on each person you do business with.

If you’re ready to work on your pricing for the sake of better service for your clients, you might be interested in Easy as Pie — or if you felt the little ping that means you’re ready to take a stab at phenomenal customer service, pick up a copy of Lux Undercover.

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on April 24, 2012 at 7:45 am, filed under Business, Customer Service. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

You’re about to have baby #6, right? HOW do you go on maternity leave without your clients freaking out or forgetting about you?

Since I have been in business for myself, I’ve had 3 pregnancies and let me tell you, I’m FINALLY figuring this one out. This will be my very first official maternity leave that will take place while the baby is a newborn. I’m pretty excited.

A brief history of the major maternity leave mistakes I’ve made:

When I had Allie, I was in the middle of my busiest season in the first year of my business. I was shooting sessions up until the week before I had the baby. We couldn’t afford for me to put my feet up and enjoy the last weeks of my pregnancy, whether I wanted to or not.  I was editing session with a brand new baby and business ran as normal. I was even answering e-mails from my laptop during late night feeding sessions. I knew I had to stay on top of things. My clients were amazed at what I was accomplishing and business kept running smoothly….but ask me how those first few weeks were of having a newborn and it’s a fog. I worried more about what my clients thought of me than I did about making sure I was well rested and taking the best care of my newborn and my family. My family suffered and my business flourished.

Lesson learned: even if I was still shooting sessions, I had the ability to take more time off than I was giving myself.

Even if it was just a week. Informing each of my clients in either a handwritten note or a personal phone call that even though I was about to have a baby, I wasn’t going to drop the ball on them. I could have set up a different expectation for them “instead of the typical 2 week turnaround, there will be a 4 week turnaround. If you have any questions, I will be close by my computer to answer your e-mails within 48 hours.”  I was still maintaining my usual turnaround and I was answering e-mails within 2-6 hours. It was my usual amazing customer service, just with a breastfeeding newborn by my side. I’m positive now that my clients would still have been amazed that I was doing business AT ALL right after having a newborn.

Even if you don’t have the ability to take time off, give your clients the understanding that things are going to be a little different and adjust their expectations.

You don’t need to lower them and this doesn’t mean letting them down. It just means saying, “I’m still going to do what I say I will do….that hasn’t changed a bit.” The only thing that changes is your timeline.

For the next baby, Cubbie, I was forced to take some time off. Not because I was going to enjoy my pregnancy, but because my hubby and I had decided to close my studio in Montana to focus all my energy on my business consulting. With the potential of less money coming in, we also decided to reduce our cost of living by selling our home and moving out to the sticks of Pennsylvania and living just on the other side of off the grid. And we decided to make this move when the baby was 3 weeks old. Moving cross country forced me to be out of touch with my business during that time. I prepared my clients the best I could by having an autoresponder stating that I was on maternity leave and moving cross country and would be answering e-mails when I returned on X date. I gave my clients what to expect and everyone was incredibly patient as they waited for my return date. The only problem was….returning was incredibly painful for me. Even if people are being incredibly patient and understanding, I still had hundreds of e-mails to respond too which made me dread coming back. 

I’ve come to the conclusion that you can not walk away from your business for more than a week without having someone taking care of it if you want to come back to it and not be immediately overwhelmed at the state of your e-mail inbox.

Lesson learned: I should have hired an assistant.

Even if it was just someone to log into my e-mail account once a week for an hour to organize and delete the e-mails for me, that would have been a lifesaver. I could have come back having knowledge of what e-mails needed to tackled first, issues that had to be resolved, and I wouldn’t have had to spend hours reading through stuff that just needed to be deleted when I could have been handling more important matters during that time. It might have cost me a few hundred dollars for that month of being away, but it would have been a business expense that saved me hours of reading, sorting, deleting, and dread. (Because an inbox bursting with hundreds of e-mails is never something you want to dive right into, right?)

So, for baby #6, I’m taking a whole month off. I might not even turn my computer on! I’m doing this because I finally have that longed-for assistant. (If you ever e-mail me at Served Up Fresh- you’ll be chatting to the very lovely Suzanne!) I used to believe that no one could run my business better than I could and for me to stay in touch with my people, it needed to be me and only me. I was wrong. Having someone you trust to take care of the little things makes you better for handling the big things….and those big things are usually the things that have the most impact with your clients.

Sometimes, people don’t care who they talk to, they just want their problem solved ASAP. Having your business running and functioning as if you were there is worth the extra little bit of money you will be spending on hiring someone to help you out.

 

If you need to walk away for awhile and have someone that you trust to help you run things while you are gone, assistants range in pricing from $15-$60 an hour. You pay them as a contractor, they file their own Schedule C for taxes and pay their own. You don’t need to do a lot of crazy tax tweaking to figure out how to handle an employee.

It really is worth it to hand over the reigns to a trusted helper for a short time. You may discover that the benefit of having more time to focus on the things that are really important is worth far more than the cost of hiring reliable help!

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on April 10, 2012 at 7:13 am, filed under Business, Customer Service. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

No matter what, my clients balk at my prices. Right in front of me! What am I missing?

It’s what every photographer dreads – the person who can’t contain their shock at seeing the price list. If you aren’t 100% completely confident in your pricing….that client’s shock can make you completely question EVERYTHING you are doing with your business. Worse, it can make you question who you are as a business person: “Do I really suck and I’m priced too high? Do they hate the way I’m dressed? Should I just throw in the towel now and give up on the idea of getting beyond giving away what I do? Should I have used more psychology in my pricing, leaving off dollar signs or pricing the items in a certain order? Do I smell? Why do they keep looking at me that way?!” 

There are three simple reasons a client balks at pricing:

#1- They might just be a cheapie.

(What’s a cheapie? It’s someone who expects far more than they are willing to pay! Read more about identifying this person in the first free chapter of Easy as Pie right here.) 

#2- Are you dealing with sales objections?

It’s totally normal, folks, which is why Kristen at Brand Camp has created a fab new program called “Sales without Shame.” Keep an eye out for that sales-y goodness, hitting on May 30th!  

#3- Most likely, you might not be talking about and presenting your pricing correctly.

If everything seems to come as a surprise to the client, poor reactions are totally expected.

No matter what you do, you will always have someone whose jaw will drop.

I’ve seen it happen just as many times priced as a $200 photographer as I did as a $5,000 photographer. Actually, I may have seen it happen more times on the lower end of the pricing spectrum — but I wasn’t keeping a tally sheet back then. ;)

The best way to reduce the number of price list balking clients (at least that you have to witness face to face) is to make sure that you are talking comfortably about your pricing in several different ways while you are communicating your services to them.

Be up front and honest at all times when addressing your pricing. I’ve seen far too many photographers do bait and switch pricing (cheap session fee but ridiculously high priced prints, etc) and they may get hired up front….but they don’t retain their clients. We are going for clients that stick with us for the long haul! 

To reduce the chances of facing down those surprised-at-pricing client stares, put basic pricing on your website.

Tell peeps your session fee and all that is included with it. Prevent those people asking “Does that include a disc of the images?” by stating exactly what the session fee covers. No need to make it flowery, just tell them exactly what to expect.

Some more questions that are great to answer when whipping up your website’s pricing info:

What print pricing starts at, i.e. “8X10′s start at $X” 
What collection pricing starts at, i.e. “Collections start at $xxx”)
What the average client spends with you.

That whole “What the average client spends with you” suggestion is optional. It worked for me, but it may not work for you. If you are currently happy with your average sale, share it! And if you’d rather not put your average sale out there, don’t share. No biggie. Just don’t falsify the information — skip it instead.

Most importantly, give a Minimum Order Requirement, or MOR. Let the clients know what they can expect to spend with you no matter what. If they can’t handle that MOR, they most certainly aren’t going to be happy when they see the full price list of everything that you offer.  I cover the MOR in great detail in Easy as Pie. 

Finally, when a potential client calls, make sure you ask them if they have seen your basic pricing information on your website.

If they haven’t, tell them right then and there what it is.

The more confident and comfortable you are with talking about your pricing, the more your client can trust you.

There is nothing more uncomfortable feeling than talking with a business person about what they do and they only allude to vague pricing but never come out and say what it is. It feels yucky.

Saying your pricing out loud may make you want to dry heave, but if you want to move on and grow, you’ve just plain got to get over it.

Be honest with yourself, here: are you wanting to throw up because you know your pricing isn’t what it should be, or are you heaving because of the fear of the unknown? 

DO NOT LET THE FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN RUIN YOUR ABILITY TO DO SOMETHING INCREDIBLY AMAZING WITH YOUR BUSINESS. You’ll regret if for a lifetime.

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on April 3, 2012 at 7:37 am, filed under Business, Customer Service. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

I can’t afford Easy as Pie right now, but I’m in pricing h-e-double-hockey sticks…any quick wisdom for me?

Whenever I work with photographers one-on-one with their pricing, the first thing we do is eliminate EVERYTHING that doesn’t make a profit from the price list.

I don’t care how much you love that photo necklace or those custom photo handbags – if you can’t price them for profitability because it makes you want to vomit when you see the retail price, they need to go.

Your clients may love these things, but they are huge profit killers. A client who spends $600 with you will not realize that you’re paying $250 for a purse and bracelet, meaning you’re taking home way less profit than if you sold only prints for that same price point.

Your product focus needs to be on what makes you money. Reduce those offerings for clients that scream “Pick me, I’m shiny!” and that simply aren’t profitable for you to sell.

Often, the best tweak you can make to your current pricing is to simply limit what you offer.

There is nothing wrong with saying that you only offer prints, or just digital files, or whatever it is that sells the best for you at a healthy profit margin.

Even if clients beg and plead for you to offer certain things, it’s okay to say that you just don’t offer them.

What’s the worst that can happen? You sell a single digital file (major profit) to a client who wants to order her own photo necklace (score for her, right!?)

Here are my top ways to quickly and easily refine your pricing while you save your money for Easy as Pie:

#1- Eliminate any fluff pieces on your pricelist aren’t making you AT LEAST a 4X markup.

Yes, I said eliminate.

If an item costs you $30 to procure, it should be sold for at least $120. Canvas, album, knick-knack, thingamabob – 4X markup or it’s history, baby.

This ensures that you’re putting your business focus on profitable products, not just shiny stuff!

#2 – Make sure you aren’t underselling your digital files.

My rule of thumb? Each digital file should be at least three times the cost of a single 8×10” print.

If your 8×10” prints are currently $12, each digital file is $36. If your 8×10” prints are currently $30, each digital file is now $90.

This makes darn sure your clients choose prints over digital files unless they absolutely NEED the digital file. Which is exactly what we want.

#3 – Tweak your price list to the bare minimum.

Don’t panic, this is a temporary change to help simplify your business as you get clear about what makes you profitable.

Getting rid of canvases to be able to sell more prints isn’t going to damage your business at all.

Again, it’s okay to have a price list that looks like this:

5X7 $ X
8X10 $ X
11X14 $ X
16X20 – $ X
Digital file $ X

#4 – If your collections aren’t working for you, just get rid of them for now.

Collections are the most effective when they are priced for profitability, not because the client can just get a ton of stuff for super cheap. Wait to build these until you have the formula in your hands that comes from perfectly priced products and strategically-built collections.

Again, there is nothing wrong with selling prints and only prints.

#5 – Don’t be afraid to make your prices higher than those of a chain studio.

I recently chatted with a sales person at a Wal-Mart studio, and she told me that her average sale ranged from $150 to $300. We can totally get you to $300 sales, so long as you’re not afraid to do steps one through four!

Psstt….and just a head’s up…both Easy as Pie AND Happy Place will be on sale for 50% off on March 30th & 31st! I offer this deal only twice a year, once in the Spring and once in the Fall.

Oh, and Lux Undercover will be available then, too! Mark it on your calendar!

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on March 27, 2012 at 7:55 am, filed under Business. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

I just want to make some money and get a few more clients for my photography business. Is that okay?

I can’t say it enough…when it’s your business, you have every right and every privilege to define what your business is setting out to accomplish. Only you, no one else.

When you go to photography conferences, attend workshops, and read business planning books – everyone, whether intentionally or unintentionally – defines business success on their terms. I haven’t come across many business books that talk about decreasing the amount of work you invest into your business. Actually, I haven’t come across any.

The goal is always bigger, better, more profit.

In a world that wants more more more, it’s hard to give yourself permission to take on just a few clients and make just a little bit of money with your business.

But you can do it. You just have to establish what you want your business to accomplish, how you will achieve that, and then set out to make it happen.

When you meet the goals you’ve set, your business is successful. Period.

If, however, you don’t make goals and just hope for “more” or “different” or “better,” you’ll never feel like your business is a success.

It’s up to you to define what your business is about, and to define the goals that will make your business a success.

If you want a just a few clients — how many?
If you only want to make “some” money to add to your families income – how much?
Is your pricing set up to accomplish sales that achieve both those goals simultaneously?

Simple math equations & number crunching here:

The money you want to make divided by the number of clients you want equals your average sale.

It’s the easiest way I know to figure out whether your pricing aligns with your goals.

No matter what you decide you want your business to achieve, write it down.

It’s only by getting your plans out and written down that you can define your own success in business.

A successful business is achieving what it sets out to accomplish.

It took a lot of courage for me to get to the point of saying “I only do 2 sessions a week” when owning my studio.

You have no idea how hard that was for me! I needed for our family’s income to be sustainable on doing just those two sessions per week. Setting that boundary stirred up all kinds of fears, like: will others around me think I’m not as serious about my business? What will photographers think of me when they see that I’m only posting 2 sessions a week? Does it look like like I’m failing when in fact, I’m really doing quite well? How will people know that I’m doing exactly what I want to be doing?

I had to discover that it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of how I’m achieving, exceeding or even maintaining my business success.

Yah, there may be gossip or rumors….but…won’t there always be rumors, no matter what you are doing?? I still get people assuming that I closed my studio because it failed, not because I chose a path of becoming a consultant. Talking about business makes me feel like I’ve come alive, no matter how many hours I day I talk about it, and it lights me up.

Your business plan is about finding a way to get to the place that lights you up.

Go to a coffee shop for an hour or two and put together your business plan so you know exactly how YOU define business success. Freestyle it up in a notebook or use my Happy Place Business Plan for guidance.

Know right now what it is that you are doing and where you are headed.

You won’t believe how quickly the fears begin to dissolve, how quickly you move from a state of overwhelm to a state of contentment.

You and only you can define what your business is all about. Refuse to accept anyone else’s definition of success – make your own path!

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on March 20, 2012 at 7:50 am, filed under Business, Plans. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

Is it just me, or is the economy killing the photography industry?

Ask any photographer that is currently struggling why they think they are failing to bring in the money, and I bet they’ll blame the economy. 

And sure, the economy has some part to play. But you wanna know what I really think?

I think we killed the local small business economy on our own.

After doing a quick poll, I found that almost every photographer I asked was putting back only about 5% of their business income back into the local small business economy. With online photo labs, online packaging companies, hiring designers across the country to do our site & logo design, going to photography workshops out of state, etc, etc, etc….the photography industry is probably one of the worst when it comes to supporting small businesses. If you recently went to WPPI, you’ll know exactly what I mean — so many phenomenal options to improve your business means sending your small business money to another small business (which is good!) — but it kills your local small business economy. And that small local business economy is the one that puts the food on your table, as photographers are typically serving people within a 100-mile radius of their homes.

Do some math and really see how much money you are putting back into the local small business economy with your business income.

Get broader and see how much your personal finances are going to local small businesses.

When you eat out, are you dining at small, locally owned restaurants or major chains? Do you get coffee at Starbucks or that darling little coffee shop on the corner, which is locally owned? Do you get your groceries from Wal-Mart or a chain supermarket — or do you get from small health food stores & co-ops? The list can go on and on. There are always local options for almost everything that you spend your money on, including using locally owned small banks and credit unions.

All those large corporations are telling you that the instant savings you get from sticking with them and not spending locally is more important than the long term importance of investing locally.

Sure, we can save $28 a month at Wal-Mart, but we’re losing the local bakery, the local produce store, the local book store and the local kids’ boutique for that savings. Is cheaper Macaroni & Cheese worth it?

Please, start finding ways that you can keep your money local, thus doing your part to support the local economy that is going to be supporting you.

Better yet, get to know other local business owners while you’re shopping! This can lead to great partnerships and marketing opportunities for your business, and it means you’re doing your part to fight the tide of big box business.

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on March 13, 2012 at 7:26 am, filed under Assumptions, Business. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

I’m new and trying to set my business up, but all the legalities for taxes are making my head hurt. HELP!

Of all things that are dreadful when it comes to starting your business, the legalities with paying taxes reign supreme. Every state is different, so asking your photog BFF’s what they are doing around the nation isn’t going to help you much.

I put together this free e-course to help you get “started” getting all your legal ducks in a row. Please take it and run with it. Beyond that, though…

I can’t stress to you enough the importance of hiring a professional to help you to take care of the tax side of things. No matter how competent you think you may be — unless you’re fully trained in the art of accounting, legal matters, and tax law — you aren’t competent enough. And I mean that in the most loving way possible. 

Hire a tax professional to help you get your business and its bookkeeping set up.

It’ll cost you some money, up to a few hundred dollars, yes. But the comfort of knowing you have everything in place is worth the money you spend, and you save yourself from making costly mistakes. Trust me, I know from experience. It’s painful. 

If you have the luxury of having several tax professionals in your area to choose from, shop around!

Ask a couple what you should be doing — and go on, get second and third opinions. I made a very costly mistake by sticking with a tax guy for years, later finding out that I was paying in WAY more than I should have been. He didn’t care to divulge all the pertinent information to me I needed because it was going to take him more time and energy to set me up as an S-corp. I’m talking big money lost to the tax abyss over the last few years, so take this seriously. 

Again: hire a tax professional.

Most of them are incredibly awesome and are fantastic for answering every question you have so you don’t need to go online and ask random people on forums or Facebook to give you their best guesses.

Call tomorrow to get a meeting set up, okay? Let them do what they do best so you can do what you do best.

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on March 6, 2012 at 7:39 am, filed under Business. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.

Everything I think about business keeps proving itself to be untrue….please tell me I’m not the only business idiot out there!

This article by Danielle LaPorte, “What’s one dumb thing you used to believe in?“…took me back to the early stages of my business and some of the things that I used to believe that over time proved themselves to be completely untrue. I wasn’t the only one thinking these things, I had tons of people surrounding me that thought the same thing. Wanna hear?

Dumb thing #1: “You are an amazing photographer, you should do this as a business!”

Totally fell for this one. If a friend or family member tells you that your work is awesome and you should go into business, this isn’t a confirmation that you are ready for business. This is a confirmation that you have something wonderful that others enjoy. You may have the photography skills, but photography skills alone do not qualify you to run a business. Encouragement is a wonderful thing, as it gets you through hard times and it lifts the spirits. But it should not be a confirmation that this is your life calling. YOU and you alone need to be the one to have the confidence that you should be in business.

Dumb thing #2: “Figure it out as you go — just get started!”

Yes, fools rush in. Within 3 months of getting my first DSLR, I was in business. It took me a whole year before I was legally set up to be operating a business and accepting money. I stuck my toes into the business pool to see what it was like and before I knew it, I was a full-fledged business and I wasn’t ready and I had no idea where to start. Strangely, most forum talk about business is about pricing or something like that, but no one seems to be excited to talk about business legalities. I was clueless about where to go for the answers, so I just hoped they would just magically come together.

That first year of trying to sort out taxes and all the legal matters was something I don’t ever want to relive. If you want to be in business, take care of the legal matters. It won’t hurt anything if you decide a month down the road that maybe you don’t want to be in business. But it will hurt six months down the road when you still don’t have legal matters taken care of and you start losing track of time. I’ll even help you — just sign up for the free Business Basics course and voila! You’re set.  

Dumb thing #3- “Business Plans are only for those who are making lots of money or who want to make lots of money.”

I used to think that because my business was a temporary means to provide an income, and thus wasn’t something I was planning on doing long term, that I didn’t need to know where I was going with it. I just needed to survive.

It doesn’t matter if you are driving across your state for the first time or taking a trip across the country: you need to know where you’re going! You need a map and you need to know what is going to be required of you so that you can make sure you have all that it takes to make it there in one piece.

Please — I don’t care if you use my business plan or someone else’s — write your thoughts down and make a solid plan of action that gets you through the coming months. Snag the free chapter here.

5 more dumb things I believed, my friend.

And yes, I’m limiting it to just five so you don’t think I’m a total moron.) 

Dumb thing #4: If someone doesn’t value my photography, they don’t value me as a person.  

I have lots of friends and family who still love me but will never pay me for what I do because it’s not what they value. I am still loved, and so are they. 

Dumb thing #5: Everyone who loves what I do is a potential client.  

Not necessarily. If your whole mommy playdate group is encouraging you in what you do, don’t count on them to be paying your bills. Count on them to keep encouraging you whenever you need the boost.  Loving your work and buying your work are two separate things.

Dumb thing #6: The naysayers are right.  

Maybe they are, maybe they aren’t — but believing the naysayers is a dangerous path to tread. If everyone else is telling you that you can’t do something — listen, heed their advice — but don’t allow it to make you afraid to take risks. Don’t allow someone else’s fear of failure to feed your own fears. 

Dumb thing #7: Forums and Facebook are the best resource for feedback on business decisions.  

They’re not. Unless of course, you have a highly successful business guru who is willing to take the time to give you the feedback— most of the people who are giving their .02 cents are the people who are probably in the same boat as you. Kind of a blind leading the blind kind of thing. 

Dumb thing #8: If you are an amazing photographer, you don’t need to market yourself.  

The word of mouth will just come rolling in on it’s own, right? Wrong. No matter your skills in photography, expect to work very hard at marketing — and then expect to have your patience tested while you wait for the marketing to do its work. 

What about you?? Tell me about your dumb thinking in the comments so we can laugh about it together!

 

This entry was written by Alicia, posted on February 28, 2012 at 7:38 am, filed under Assumptions, Plans. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Trackbacks are closed, but you can post a comment.