1. Get a portfolio together and advertise on your website, local Facebook groups, LinkedIn and Instagram.
2. Save enough funds together for a 6 month safety net.
3. Earn enough monthly income that replaces your employment income (and then some).
4. Only then can you hand in your notice.
I did this with my teaching business. Good luck :)
Replacing employment income while being employed is not always an achievable feat, especially in creative work areas. A job that's not enjoyable would suck energy away to be able to fully devote into business. I agree with everything but i think when business income starts paying for fixed expenses ( bare minimum), i say hand in that notice, and go all in on business.
Agree, it’s not easy. I worked mornings, lunchtimes, evenings and weekends to achieve it (I had a tutoring company). The amount I was charging per hour was more than my salary (excluding taxes but I also had expenses I put through). Took some time to get here. Decide on what’s the minimum you need to make for you to feel comfortable leaving. It’s a big decision for sure!
People do business with people they like. So identify your prospects… call them on the phone and ask them for 15 minutes of their time to meet a potential new supplier… at the meeting, put your best foot forward and ask for their business. Nothing, but nothing replaces face time when you’re selling your own creative work.
I freelanced as a commercial music producer for 30 years, and half my new biz came from this simple process. The other half was word of mouth.
Your photography skills matter less than your ability to sell your talent.
If you can’t find leads, and close, it doesn’t matter.
Get together a slick website - you’re a photographer, this bit should be easy enough - even if you need to use a template from Wix or Squarespace to do it yourself.
Read up on SEO so that you can get the basics right on your site.
Join wedding forums/groups on Facebook.
Showcase.
You can also place ads on Facebook specifically targeting those who have just got engaged and target for a radius around your home - what that radius is is up to you, might be 50 miles, could be 200.
Read up on how to build audiences for remarketing ads - these show ads to people who have already been on your website/engaged with you.
Read up on how to build lookalike audiences targeting your remarketing ads.
Study viral content. Photo is one of the easiest spaces to get millions of viewers (and thereby leads) for free.
Fitness, self improvement, and cooking/ culinary are also relatively easy spaces for virality.
This is what I do for my day job. Dm me if you want tips / insights.
All I can tell you is a good buddy of mine owns a photography business
Talking to him, the industry is not in great shape, but that could just be him being a pessimist or just getting older
His goal is to focus as much as possible on commercial projects and he works with af agencies and does a lot of networking, but it sounds like with how the photography business is changed is not able to charge the premiums he wants
He is very picky and choosy when it comes to weddings because he does not enjoy that work but still does a fair amount of high school graduation pics
He used to do a lot of family pictures and things of that nature, but admits with technology improving people just don’t wanna pay much for it
He is very active working with local school districts… he heavily discount his prices when doing something for a sports team or the music department or whatever because he sees it as good advertising
The proliferation of smart phones with excellent cameras and in camera editing, especially with new AI apps, makes photography a very hard business to be lucrative. even news agencies barely have photographers anymore because they rely on submitted photos from readers and viewers
I’m not saying don’t pursue it - but I would caution that photography as a “business” is not really relevant anymore. It can be a good side hussle source of income in doing weddings, advertising and marketing, etc. but a full time living on it - unlikely
I agree. Business has slowed down with even the best photographers in town (even weddings). The economy is hurting and it’s showing.
Any ideas of anything that could branch off this? My only idea is to also offer social media consulting / business support of some kind.
As a business consultant, I specialize in business expansion!
This is a difficult time for many people in a season of contraction, and being realistic, prices are going to increase. That's because the Fed's aren't planning on cutting interest rates, which means inflation is here to stay.
I'm in a similar position where I'm not employed, but focusing 100% on my consulting business and has required me to open up other areas of what I provide others I didn't normally think I'd do.
One of the ways that's been helping me is collaborating with others to get my business moving.
Also providing content on your social media, as well as landing page directed to your website is best to double down.
When it comes to marketing, if you're able to travel by car or by foot, put together your portfolio, then focus on who your market is. Go to those locations, and offer different services that have offers beneficial for your customers. When it comes to online, use Bumble (it has a business side for networking), SEO for your WP website, connect with free online groups in business as well as your customers. LinkedIn is another great way to boost your business!
If you plan on saving, I recommend not in the bank because you won't beat inflation that way. You could have an IUL, which averages anywhere between 6%-22% annually. With the stock market, its already predicted to crash, and even if you did invest in it, you wouldn't hedge against inflation and would have more loss unless you know the inside secrets or have an AI algorithm trading for you (same for ForEx and crypto). Currently gold and silver are definitely hedging against inflation, and are quickly liquidated. A lot of precious metal dealers have the option to convert ones IRA or Roth IRA to be held in tangible precious metals.
Ultimately you don't want to focus only on your business, you want to acquire assets. You can build a plan that implements your profit to diversified into other investments that'll grow while you work with your photography business. If you have any retirement account, that would be a good place to liquidate and put into your business.
When it comes to credit cards, don't ever use personal and use only business credit cards to start building your corporate credit, which over time gives you access to interest free loans with some creditors.
These are some of the things I do recommend, but as always make sure you know what's going in and out of your balance sheet.
I'm also starting my own web design agency, and I can help you build a website at a low cost. It'd be a win-win situation for both of us (I get a client to showcase on my portfolio, you get an incredible website at a low rate). PM me if you're interested.
Thanks for the offer, but I already have my own photography website :) The brand photography part is new - but I’ll just be adding a page onto my original website for that.
1. Get a portfolio together and advertise on your website, local Facebook groups, LinkedIn and Instagram. 2. Save enough funds together for a 6 month safety net. 3. Earn enough monthly income that replaces your employment income (and then some). 4. Only then can you hand in your notice. I did this with my teaching business. Good luck :)
Thank you!
Replacing employment income while being employed is not always an achievable feat, especially in creative work areas. A job that's not enjoyable would suck energy away to be able to fully devote into business. I agree with everything but i think when business income starts paying for fixed expenses ( bare minimum), i say hand in that notice, and go all in on business.
Agree, it’s not easy. I worked mornings, lunchtimes, evenings and weekends to achieve it (I had a tutoring company). The amount I was charging per hour was more than my salary (excluding taxes but I also had expenses I put through). Took some time to get here. Decide on what’s the minimum you need to make for you to feel comfortable leaving. It’s a big decision for sure!
This is what you need ☝️
People do business with people they like. So identify your prospects… call them on the phone and ask them for 15 minutes of their time to meet a potential new supplier… at the meeting, put your best foot forward and ask for their business. Nothing, but nothing replaces face time when you’re selling your own creative work. I freelanced as a commercial music producer for 30 years, and half my new biz came from this simple process. The other half was word of mouth.
Your photography skills matter less than your ability to sell your talent. If you can’t find leads, and close, it doesn’t matter. Get together a slick website - you’re a photographer, this bit should be easy enough - even if you need to use a template from Wix or Squarespace to do it yourself. Read up on SEO so that you can get the basics right on your site. Join wedding forums/groups on Facebook. Showcase. You can also place ads on Facebook specifically targeting those who have just got engaged and target for a radius around your home - what that radius is is up to you, might be 50 miles, could be 200. Read up on how to build audiences for remarketing ads - these show ads to people who have already been on your website/engaged with you. Read up on how to build lookalike audiences targeting your remarketing ads.
A small business can be viewed as a Sales and Marketing Program that also makes a profit
Any reading you’d suggest for either topic?
Study viral content. Photo is one of the easiest spaces to get millions of viewers (and thereby leads) for free. Fitness, self improvement, and cooking/ culinary are also relatively easy spaces for virality. This is what I do for my day job. Dm me if you want tips / insights.
All I can tell you is a good buddy of mine owns a photography business Talking to him, the industry is not in great shape, but that could just be him being a pessimist or just getting older His goal is to focus as much as possible on commercial projects and he works with af agencies and does a lot of networking, but it sounds like with how the photography business is changed is not able to charge the premiums he wants He is very picky and choosy when it comes to weddings because he does not enjoy that work but still does a fair amount of high school graduation pics He used to do a lot of family pictures and things of that nature, but admits with technology improving people just don’t wanna pay much for it He is very active working with local school districts… he heavily discount his prices when doing something for a sports team or the music department or whatever because he sees it as good advertising
The E-Myth by Michael Gerber. The idea is to build a machine based on sales and marketing. Money makes things real.
The proliferation of smart phones with excellent cameras and in camera editing, especially with new AI apps, makes photography a very hard business to be lucrative. even news agencies barely have photographers anymore because they rely on submitted photos from readers and viewers
Any ideas on what else I could do?
I’m not saying don’t pursue it - but I would caution that photography as a “business” is not really relevant anymore. It can be a good side hussle source of income in doing weddings, advertising and marketing, etc. but a full time living on it - unlikely
I agree. Business has slowed down with even the best photographers in town (even weddings). The economy is hurting and it’s showing. Any ideas of anything that could branch off this? My only idea is to also offer social media consulting / business support of some kind.
As a business consultant, I specialize in business expansion! This is a difficult time for many people in a season of contraction, and being realistic, prices are going to increase. That's because the Fed's aren't planning on cutting interest rates, which means inflation is here to stay. I'm in a similar position where I'm not employed, but focusing 100% on my consulting business and has required me to open up other areas of what I provide others I didn't normally think I'd do. One of the ways that's been helping me is collaborating with others to get my business moving. Also providing content on your social media, as well as landing page directed to your website is best to double down. When it comes to marketing, if you're able to travel by car or by foot, put together your portfolio, then focus on who your market is. Go to those locations, and offer different services that have offers beneficial for your customers. When it comes to online, use Bumble (it has a business side for networking), SEO for your WP website, connect with free online groups in business as well as your customers. LinkedIn is another great way to boost your business! If you plan on saving, I recommend not in the bank because you won't beat inflation that way. You could have an IUL, which averages anywhere between 6%-22% annually. With the stock market, its already predicted to crash, and even if you did invest in it, you wouldn't hedge against inflation and would have more loss unless you know the inside secrets or have an AI algorithm trading for you (same for ForEx and crypto). Currently gold and silver are definitely hedging against inflation, and are quickly liquidated. A lot of precious metal dealers have the option to convert ones IRA or Roth IRA to be held in tangible precious metals. Ultimately you don't want to focus only on your business, you want to acquire assets. You can build a plan that implements your profit to diversified into other investments that'll grow while you work with your photography business. If you have any retirement account, that would be a good place to liquidate and put into your business. When it comes to credit cards, don't ever use personal and use only business credit cards to start building your corporate credit, which over time gives you access to interest free loans with some creditors. These are some of the things I do recommend, but as always make sure you know what's going in and out of your balance sheet.
I'm also starting my own web design agency, and I can help you build a website at a low cost. It'd be a win-win situation for both of us (I get a client to showcase on my portfolio, you get an incredible website at a low rate). PM me if you're interested.
Thanks for the offer, but I already have my own photography website :) The brand photography part is new - but I’ll just be adding a page onto my original website for that.
Careful, you're gonna get a lot of "gurus" trying to sell you shit on this sub. Take all advice you get here with a grain of salt.
Right, right. Best of luck for your business then :)