7 Things most photographers wish they knew before starting a business
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Plan B is crucial
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Success depends on determination
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Time for yourself is just as important
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People remember the experience
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Mistakes are lessons
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Goals are the lifeline
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You must always be open to learn new stuff
Opening a photography business isn’t the easiest thing in the world, especially since it’s getting more competitive with each passing day. Competition is fierce; the market demand is way lower than the supply, and all that on top of a lack of experience that most photographers, as creative with no backgrounds in business, face.
Here are some of the things that are usually learned the hard way. It’s not a shortcut or anything like that, but more of a guide as to what you should expect to learn.
Not to set you of with any negative thoughts, but it’s not always a good idea to dive head in. This is especially important when considerable amounts of money are being invested into gear. Like any business, it has a variable chance to fail, so you should have a safety net just in case things get ugly before they should.
You might want to do it, be a pro and making a full time living from photography, but unless you have the proper mindset, don’t expect things to magically happen for you. It’s all about perspective at the end of the day, and having the ability to stay determined no matter what is essential for making it.
Owning a photography business can be very time consuming. You might often find yourself burning the midnight oil editing, or making plans. The key thing here is to maintain a balance. All work and no fun will eventually turn you into a very frustrated person, one that is not a joy to be neither around nor for clients or family. Find time for yourself and enjoy it.
Having the right, professional yet friendly attitude is essential in this business, yet it’s not your actions that will be remembered by satisfied clients. It’s the way you made them feel. Whether they enjoyed working with you or felt uncomfortable is very important, and it might even surpass the outcome (the final photos).
You will inevitably make some mistakes along the way, and it can happen twenty years after you open shop, so don’t stress too much over it. What’s important is to acknowledge what you did wrong, learn from it, move on, and don’t repeat it.
Having goals in any business is vital to make it work. You need to know where you’re going, or at least have a clear sense of direction. You might always achieve those goals when you hope to, but fifty percent of success is having them.
You might have planned a recipe for the business, but it doesn’t always go like you would hope. It’s vital to have an open mind and realize that you might need to learn a new skill, a new way of doing things or a new marketing technique. By doing the same things over and over, you will eventually lose track of what’s going on in the market, and that’s always bad for business.
Image credit: kurhan / 123RF Stock Photo