Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Managing Expectations & Deadlines for Creative Work

Establishing deadlines and expectations for a creative service or product keep both the client and the creative happy in their working arrangements.  Without clear deadlines or expectations, the creative can infinitely revise their own work, or the client can continually expect service without an end point.  Many contracts outline the basics of payment expectations and deliverables, but a great creative working relationship will make sure to outline the following considerations before working together...

When the work will begin:
Let's say you have 10 projects on your plate and you can't even think about the client's project until the end of the month.  Discuss this in advance with the client, and what they can do to prepare themselves before the working arrangement begins so they aren't expecting you to be on call with their project right out of the gate.

When online or in-person meetings will happen for progress updates:
If your project has multiple steps that require client feedback or updates, establish a calendar of when those updates and check-ins will happen up front.  Get the dates into your calendar and into the client's calendar.  This way, even if your schedule or the client's schedule changes over time, you can renegotiate the check-in dates and expectations for updates and feedback.  Just having regular check-ins on creative work can help put a client more at ease than having nothing.

When middle parts of the project are due:
Consider the wedding photography internal deadline like the client family who needs engagement photos to send newspapers, or a framed photo order they want to place before the wedding.  Consider the website design client who may have a deadline for a landing page before the full site is ready, or a deadline for a product logo before the rest of the work is completed.  By discussing project deadlines that need to happen in the middle of the project, the creative creates more clarity around the process and internal deadlines that the client is expecting to have ready in advance.

When client contributions are due:
How many times have projects been delayed because the creative was waiting on the client to deliver something necessary for the creative to move forward?  By establishing client deadlines and expectations for contributions - AS WELL AS late fees and late consequence expectations for not delivering on deadline - the client and creative have opportunities to discuss the importance of the client contribution in advance of working together and signing a contract.  This also gives the client an opportunity to be better prepared to contribute in advance.

What are the communication expectations (video, phone, or email?)
In the age of a million ways to communicate, we now have to address HOW we should expect people to communicate with us.  If your client is a phone person and you hate talking on the phone as a creative, is the Video Call the next best solution for both of you, or do you need the client to send emails only?  What should the expected turn around response time be before a client asks if you received their email?  These things actually need to be discussed in advance now so that the creative and the client can have the best understanding of what communication method they should expect to be the most effective for working together.

When updates should be expected:
By scheduling project updates into your creative work calendar, you can help regularly reassure clients, who do not understand what happens the creative process behind the scenes, that in the silent moments between the time they hear from you and the time they don't hear from you, you're still working on their project.  This also helps set appropriate expectations that help the client know how often they should expect to hear from you, so that they don't expect project updates to be sent just because they want to check in regularly.

When creative or client won't be available (in case of vacations):
If there are periods where you simply won't be available or the client won't be available for long stretches of time due to vacations scheduled in advance, those should be outlined in advance to set the expectation of when someone should not expect to hear from you.  By putting it in the contract or in an advance schedule, the client will have a reference document to turn to rather than asking the creative random questions about why they aren't getting in touch.

When the project or contract will be finished:
Establishing the deadline for when all work will be completed and provided helps make sure that clients and creatives are not wasting each other's time with additional requests above and beyond the contracted arrangements.  Setting both a deadline as a date, as well as a full outline of what will be provided by that date, means establishing expectations that both the client and the creative agree upon in advance before beginning the work.  This also creates a clear and clean cut-off as to when the work and the contract have ended, so that a new contract for work can be established, or so that the creative and client can walk clean and clear away from a working arrangement they don't want to have anymore.

Have any other deadlines or expectations you think need to be discussed up front?  Comment and let us know!
Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a Creative Business Strategist and author of the Pricing Workbook for Creatives.  Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own creative businesses since 2004.  Stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.



Tuesday, May 21, 2019

4 Things Professional Photographers Need to Like

People often think being a professional photographer is just about taking great photos.  While great images are important if you're going to make professional photography your career, it's also important to like the four things below in order to enjoy running a business as a professional photographer:

1. Gear & Gadgets
The photo industry is full of gear and gadgets.  I am not a gear or gadget person.  I got along just fine on my minimal upgrade schedule by always having backups, but no matter how long I'd put off an upgrade (because I am not the early-adopter type),  it was still inevitable that my cameras, computers, and gadgets needed frequent replacing and upgrades just due to heavy professional usage.  So, a love of playing with new gear and gadgets all the time is very helpful if you're in the photography industry, because you will always need new gear and gadgets from one year to the next.

2. Post-Production
Even when I was able to get my images amazingly close to what I wanted in camera, I still always wanted to do some extra post-production on them.  It's also the biggest difference between what the camera sees and what the photographer envisions when taking an image.  I'm quite relaxed on how much post-production I like because I don't love staring at a screen for too long, but still can't really get away with not doing some post-production.  Even while post-production was my least favorite part of the job, I always had a hard time letting other people do it because I was still picky about it.  I only found a couple post-production people over the span of my career who could see color and brightness in the same way I did, and it was a dream when I could rely on them for client deadline work.  However, their paths all eventually diverged as they wanted to focus on other projects of their own and weren't available for post-production anymore.  If I loved post-production, I might have kept doing photography for a longer time, but I feel so much more free without needing to worry about finishing post-production on other people's deadlines anymore!

3. People
Most photography has some element of dealing with people on a personal basis.  If you're one of the lucky ones who makes money on fine art, landscapes, or nature - you probably still need to deal with the agents or gallery owners who sell your art or the clients who buy your art.  You have to like people if you're going to be a professional photographer, otherwise, you're going to end up turning down a lot of opportunities that could otherwise support you making a living.  If you don't like people, you could probably focus on post-production and retouching, and just mange inquiries and outcome online through email.  However, most photographers need to enjoy people to do their work.  Luckily, I like people- even people who probably don't deserve to be liked- so the people part of the job was always interesting to me.

4. Products & Sales
Photographers who understand how to sell their work, and how to sell products of their work, are far better off than photographers who don't know how to sell.  You can still get by without liking sales or doing a lot of sales, but you'll be much better off if you learn how to like sales.  Think about it- half the time you're selling something people might be able to get from a family member- so if you can't sell, than you're going to have a hard time positioning yourself as being more helpful than a friend or family member who can send digital files.  This is just the reality of public perception, and it makes understanding sales and how to sell a critical part of being a professional photographer who can sustain and grow their business for the long-haul.  I personally love selling and find it deeply satisfying to make sure a client is going to walk away with a physical representation of their images because of the products I was able to share with them and help them choose for their home and keepsakes.

What else do you think professional photographers need to like to do their work well?  Leave them in the comments and let's compare notes!


Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a Creative Business Strategist and author of the Pricing Workbook for Creatives.  Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own creative businesses since 2004.  Stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Toxic Email Replies that Hurt Your Business

Into every business, a series of problems will fall.  HOW business owners and service teams deal with problems when they arise is often MORE important than the problems and solutions themselves.  Let's look at some common creative business owner replies that lead to toxic client interactions, resentment, and lack of referrals for service businesses:

Client Email Example: "Hi, Just checking in on my project progress... can you give an update?"

In the client's mind, this is an innocent email that helps them understand where everything is in the process, what they may need to be aware of or how they may need to manage their schedule and expectations moving forward.  However, if a business owner is mired in stress, dealing with other difficulties, or feeling guilty about not making enough progress on a project, they may feel defensive and use one of the toxic email replies below that end up causing more harm to their client relationship, potential referrals, and future business success.

1. Business Owner Reply: "I'm sorry I was really busy on another project"

How client feels inside:
Well, thanks for letting me know you have another client who is more important and gets higher project priority than I do.  Glad to know my project is being put on the back burner while you deal with other people- not.
Client's actual email reply:
"I understand, thanks for letting me know.  When do you think we can sync up again?"


2. Business Owner Reply: "Life has been really hectic lately"

How client feels inside:
Uh oh, if life is so hectic that he needs to say something, does this mean my project is going to be delayed or given less attention?  Does he have the resources to manage life and business right now?
Client's actual email reply:
"I'm sorry to hear things aren't going well, I really hope things get better soon!"

3. Business Owner Reply: "A client/family member had an emergency"

How client feels inside:
I wonder what kind of emergency?  How long does it take to fix emergencies?  Is this going to delay my project?  Does this mean my project and deadlines are less important because they aren't emergencies?  What if I have an emergency?
Client's actual email reply:
"Oh no!  I hope everything is OK!  Let me know when you can chat again."

What's the BEST reply a business owner can give instead?

Best Business Owner Reply:
"Thank you for checking in!  I'd love to connect over the phone or zoom so we can make sure we're both on the same page for the timing ahead.  Which of the times below will work for you to sync up over the phone and talk about the next steps?
4/4  Monday 4pm
4/6 Wednesday 10am
4/7 Thursday  2pm"

The important ingredients of this reply are:
  1. Gratitude that makes the client feel seen and acknowledges their desire for an update.
  2. Affirmation of desire to work with client and move the project forward.
  3. Specific, detailed, date and time calendar options that give the business owner control of when they can offer headspace and time to focus on communication with client, to help the client manage the time until they feel like they will have undivided attention.
By keeping the response simple, light, and free of outside drama or issues, the business retains a high service standard without causing their client any alarms or insecurities about the business owner's ability to do or complete the work.  When a business engages the client in drama by sharing personal or client issues that don't have anything to do with the client's project, it creates a sense of doubt and concern about whether or not a project will be completed.  This creates a snowball of more fears and concerns that span not just one client project, but all projects the business is currently managing, which can lead to even more drama and toxic gossip that ends up hurting a business in the long run.

So, even if you're experiencing drama or issues that feel out of control in your business or life, save as many business relationships as you can by not spreading the drama or problems around your business.  It may make the difference between one client relationship blowing up and ten client relationships blowing up.  Minimize the damage by minimizing the spread of drama.


Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a Creative Business Strategist and author of the Pricing Workbook for Creatives.  Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own creative businesses since 2004.  Stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.

Friday, May 10, 2019

Before They Were Famous

As I've been getting nostalgic about my time in the photography industry, I've been digging into my own blog archives and keep finding moments of GOLD (as well as blog posts I probably should have deleted) that help the next generation of photographers understand where and how digital photography careers exploded 13+ years ago!  Before Facebook, before Instagram- when our social outlets to connect online were through public blogs, RSS feeds, and member message boards that no longer exist.  Luckily some blogs are still on archived servers for your time-traveling pleasure.

Thanks to letting all of my own cringe-worthy-archives stay out in the open... I can go back in time through links to other photographers and see where they started out as well!  I think it's important to share archives so people don't think it all happened overnight.  I also think what you'll see in these various archives and journeys is that Photography can be a gateway drug to other forms of entrepreneurship...

Christine Tremoulet - 2000-2018
http://bigpinkcookie.com/2001/
Our very own PhotoLovecat author/editor was blogging before anyone else knew what the heck to do with a blog.  Blogger and perpetual web geek, turned photographer, and now business consultant.  I give Christine mad props for keeping all of her archives online this long.  I mean, her blog history is basically as old as a blogs themselves.  I think the only thing that came before her blogging was AOL and Netscape!

Jules Bianchi - 2005-2019
http://blog.julesbianchi.com/2005/06/
Jules has often flown under the radar in a lot of ways as far as the photography fame stuff goes, but I've always had a soft spot for her ability to be authentically quirky and offbeat.  She's moved her business a few times and shifted focus like many photographers do, but has maintained her blog archives all along to show how she has grown and changed over all these years, and that really helps others understand the journey doesn't happen overnight.

David Jay - 2005-2010
http://opensourcephoto.blogspot.com/2005/
David Jay has been an entrepreneur and tech geek from an early age.  He started out as a wedding photographer who developed community on OpenSourcePhoto as a place to have open conversations in the photography industry (a competitor to Digital Wedding Forum, which was a private paid forum, where OSP was free and open).  This also allowed him to engage in photography industry problems he could solve with tech solutions.  His presence has been controversial among the industry, but it's never stopped him from creating new businesses.  He developed ShowIT, PASS, Shoot & Share, and now Agree.

Corey Ann - 2007-2019
http://coreyann.com/blog/wedding/justin-jenny-122107
Another PhotoLovecat author and editor that has been in the industry and seen it all over the last decade!  Corey Ann has probably maintained one of the most consistent photography industry profiles I know of in the last decade.  Sustaining her presence as an Ohio wedding photographer and really only expanding to hold the line of justice and call people out against doing stupid things in the photography industry through the PhotoStealers blog.  She has dealt with some of the worst sociopaths the industry has seen and somehow continues to maintain a sense of humor about it all!

Christopher Becker aka [b]ecker - 2007-2018
http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/index.cfm/catID/2/StartRow/500
Wedding photographer, photography teacher, and now Keto-Coach, Becker has had a journey that launched in SoCal and now resides in Missouri.  I think Becker himself would be wise enough to say that he didn't mind ruffling a few feathers along the way in the photo industry, and people either loved it or hated it.  What you can't disagree with is that he's hustled with a lot of heart, and often shared what he's learned with others along the way.

Jessica Claire - 2008(?)-2019(?)
http://www.jessicaclaire.net/blog/7165/jessicaclaireartcom-launches
Jessica has hidden the actual dates on her blog and done a very good job of curating her archival content that remains on her current blog, however, based on the context of some early blog posts, I'm guessing the content in this blog started circa 2007/2008, but she also eludes to having another blog prior to this that is no longer available online.  Jessica went from wedding photographer to ShootSac lens bag creator, and now she has the bug for wedding photography again.  Welcome back, Jessica!

Jasmine Star - 2006-2007
http://jasminestarphotography.blogspot.com/2006/02/
Jasmine Star got her first round of fame in the photography industry after David Jay photographed her wedding and Mike Colon started using her as a workshop model for his workshops (perhaps someone else can figure out the order of events on this based on the archives in her blog and David Jay's blog).  She then caught the photography bug herself, attended a lot of workshops, started teaching workshops, made some public social media mistakes, but has continued pushing forward and sharing everything along the way.  She now teaches online courses focused on boosting social media presence.

BluDomain - 2006-2007
https://bludomain.typepad.com/blus_daily_blog/2006/10/index.html
BluDomain was one of the early photography portfolio website providers to crank out a lot of affordable website templates full of good design and solid navigation tools.  They blogged about a lot of "popular" people in the photography industry at the time in order to raise their own profile.  It worked and they secured a lot of photography industry clients in a few short years.  What they've left behind on this archival blog is the treasure chest of where people were and what they were doing in 2006-2007!  Check out their archives to see a lot of familiar names, faces, and photos from 13 years ago!

Are there some archival blogs out there that you think should be added to this list?  Add them to the comments and let's have a nice walk down memory lane together...

Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a Creative Business Strategist and author of the Pricing Workbook for Creatives.  Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own creative businesses since 2004.  Stay in touch on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook.