tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19560130132564242562024-03-17T00:50:49.354-05:00PHOTO LOVECATFree business resources, reviews, and advice for photographers and artists.Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.comBlogger291125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-36061263268735495352019-06-11T07:25:00.000-05:002019-06-11T07:25:00.595-05:00Listen to Your Excuses<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
What excuse do you use the most to not do something that you know will move your business forward? Time? Money? Energy?<br />
<br />
Often times we let our excuses stop us from taking action on something. However, if we take a moment to examine why we don't have what we feel we need to take action, we can evaluate what changes we may need to make in order to reclaim control over the things which feel like they are currently holding us back.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><u>TIME:</u></b></div>
Why don't we have enough time? <br />
What are we prioritizing instead? <br />
How are we setting up our schedule in a way that continually limits our time and makes it impossible to have time for improvements or exploring something more beneficial? <br />
How can we improve our time management in order to gain more control over our time?<br />
<br />
<b><u>MONEY:</u></b><br />
Why do we feel like there isn't enough money?<br />
Where has our money been going instead?<br />
How are we setting up our spending habits that restrict our ability to invest in business building opportunities or hiring help that would create more revenue?<br />
How can we improve our financial management in order to gain more control?<br />
<br />
<b><u>ENERGY:</u></b><br />
Why do we feel like we don't have enough energy?<br />
Where are we directing most of our energy?<br />
How are we setting ourselves up to feel drained of our energy so that there's no additional energy left to add anything else to our plate?<br />
How can we improve our personal energy levels so that we can accomplish more?<br />
<br />
Examine your excuses to identify where you need to make changes in the way you manage your life or your business. The solution is often just within reach when we realize that we have the power to make the necessary changes by simply thinking ahead and identifying what habits need to be changed.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmannconsulting" target="_blank">Creative Business Strategist</a> and author of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2LiezQm" target="_blank">Pricing Workbook for Creatives</a>. Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own <a href="https://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/search/label/annual%20report" target="_blank">creative businesses since 2004</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-22431359499543401082019-06-04T07:35:00.000-05:002019-06-04T07:35:00.123-05:00Asking the Right Offer Questions<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Online groups are a great place to test an offer or get feedback on how to deliver an offer. However, I often see people asking questions that won't be very helpful for getting good feedback, so I wanted to address one of the most common questions that gets asked, and what a better question to ask would be instead...<br />
<br />
<b>THE UNHELPFUL QUESTION: "How much should I charge?"</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
This is question will quickly deliver a variety of responses that may not be helpful. It's often followed by comments like:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>Do you know what your expenses are?</li>
<li>Have you done your numbers?</li>
<li>What area are you in?</li>
<li>My so-and-so charged this.</li>
<li>I would pay this. </li>
<li>I've never bought that before, but I could afford this.</li>
</ul>
<div>
None of these are going to be as helpful to learning more about how to deliver an offer or identify an ideal client. What they accomplish instead is just delivering a wide range of opinions that may not apply to you or what you're offering.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>THE HELPFUL QUESTION: "</b><b>I'm planning to offer a</b><b> </b><b>(product/service) </b><b>photography package</b><b>, for </b><b>(estimated price) </b><b>$950, in </b><b>(specific location) </b><b>Sedona, AZ and I'm curious what else you would need to know to help you make a decision about wanting this offer?"</b><br />
<b><br /></b></div>
This question delivers an example of an offer you'd like to test, and asks questions that help reveal the hidden fears, concerns, and questions that people need to have answered in order to move forward. With this question, you can better understand the need-to-know factors that go into whether or not clients feel ready to take action on an offer. The types of questions that follow are much more helpful for refining your offer or understanding client needs:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;">
<li>How much time will it take?</li>
<li>Can I see examples of previous work?</li>
<li>How many images will I receive?</li>
<li>Can you do it in a different location?</li>
<li>What do I need to prepare in order to begin?</li>
<li>Do you offer payment plans?</li>
</ul>
<br />
These questions reveal actionable and answerable items that can be delivered with your offer in order to bring client clarity to a product or service. Try using this question the next time you want to test an offer in a local group or marketplace in order to get more helpful information that will ultimately make your offer easier to act on!<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmannconsulting" target="_blank">Creative Business Strategist</a> and author of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2LiezQm" target="_blank">Pricing Workbook for Creatives</a>. Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own <a href="https://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/search/label/annual%20report" target="_blank">creative businesses since 2004</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-69238941011769149762019-05-28T07:08:00.000-05:002019-05-28T07:08:03.391-05:00Managing Expectations & Deadlines for Creative Work<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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...<br />
<br />
<b><u>When the work will begin:</u></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><u>When online or in-person meetings will happen for progress updates:</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><u>When middle parts of the project are due:</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><u>When client contributions are due:</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<b><u>What are the communication expectations (video, phone, or email?)</u></b><br />
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.<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><u>When updates should be expected:</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><u>When creative or client won't be available (in case of vacations):</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<b><u>When the project or contract will be finished:</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Have any other deadlines or expectations you think need to be discussed up front? </b><b>Comment and let us know!</b></div>
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmannconsulting" target="_blank">Creative Business Strategist</a> and author of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2LiezQm" target="_blank">Pricing Workbook for Creatives</a>. Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own <a href="https://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/search/label/annual%20report" target="_blank">creative businesses since 2004</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-80978716334011334112019-05-21T19:34:00.000-05:002019-05-21T19:34:07.950-05:004 Things Professional Photographers Need to Like<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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:<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>1. Gear & Gadgets</b><br />
<div>
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.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>2. Post-Production</b></div>
<div>
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!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>3. People</b></div>
<div>
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.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>4. Products & Sales</b></div>
<div>
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.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
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!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmannconsulting" target="_blank">Creative Business Strategist</a> and author of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2LiezQm" target="_blank">Pricing Workbook for Creatives</a>. Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own <a href="https://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/search/label/annual%20report" target="_blank">creative businesses since 2004</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<div>
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-91537827697946271292019-05-14T06:04:00.000-05:002019-05-14T06:04:00.159-05:00Toxic Email Replies that Hurt Your Business<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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:<br />
<br />
<h3>
Client Email Example: "Hi, Just checking in on my project progress... can you give an update?"</h3>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<h3>
<b>1. Business Owner Reply: </b><b>"I'm sorry I was really busy on another project"</b></h3>
<b>How client feels inside:</b><br />
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.<br />
<b>Client's actual email reply:</b><br />
"I understand, thanks for letting me know. When do you think we can sync up again?"<br />
<h3>
<br /><b>2. Business Owner Reply: "Life has been really hectic lately"</b></h3>
<b>How client feels inside:</b><br />
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?<br />
<b>Client's actual email reply:</b><br />
"I'm sorry to hear things aren't going well, I really hope things get better soon!"<br />
<br />
<h3>
3. Business Owner Reply: "A client/family member had an emergency"</h3>
<b>How client feels inside:</b><br />
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?<br />
<b>Client's actual email reply:</b><br />
"Oh no! I hope everything is OK! Let me know when you can chat again."<br />
<br />
<h3>
<b>What's the BEST reply a business owner can give instead?</b></h3>
<b>Best Business Owner Reply:</b><br />
"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?<br />
4/4 Monday 4pm<br />
4/6 Wednesday 10am<br />
4/7 Thursday 2pm"<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>The important ingredients of this reply are:</b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ol style="text-align: left;">
<li><b>Gratitude that makes the client feel seen and acknowledges their desire for an update.</b></li>
<li><b>Affirmation of desire to work with client and move the project forward.</b></li>
<li><b>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.</b></li>
</ol>
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmannconsulting" target="_blank">Creative Business Strategist</a> and author of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2LiezQm" target="_blank">Pricing Workbook for Creatives</a>. Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own <a href="https://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/search/label/annual%20report" target="_blank">creative businesses since 2004</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-58709834253668925062019-05-10T11:44:00.001-05:002019-05-10T12:49:39.873-05:00Before They Were Famous<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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.<br />
<br />
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...<br />
<br />
<b>Christine Tremoulet - 2000-2018</b><br />
<a href="http://bigpinkcookie.com/2001/" target="_blank">http://bigpinkcookie.com/2001/</a><br />
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!<br />
<br />
<b>Jules Bianchi - 2005-2019</b><br />
<a href="http://blog.julesbianchi.com/2005/06/" target="_blank">http://blog.julesbianchi.com/2005/06/</a><br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>David Jay - 2005-2010</b><br />
<a href="http://opensourcephoto.blogspot.com/2005/" target="_blank">http://opensourcephoto.blogspot.com/2005/</a><br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>Corey Ann - 2007-2019</b><br />
<a href="http://coreyann.com/blog/wedding/justin-jenny-122107" target="_blank">http://coreyann.com/blog/wedding/justin-jenny-122107</a><br />
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!<br />
<br />
<b>Christopher Becker aka [b]ecker - 2007-2018</b><br />
<a href="http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/index.cfm/catID/2/StartRow/500" target="_blank">http://blog.thebecker.com/index.cfm/index.cfm/catID/2/StartRow/500</a><br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>Jessica Claire - 2008(?)-2019(?)</b><br />
<a href="http://www.jessicaclaire.net/blog/7165/jessicaclaireartcom-launches" target="_blank">http://www.jessicaclaire.net/blog/7165/jessicaclaireartcom-launches</a><br />
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!<br />
<br />
<b>Jasmine Star - 2006-2007</b><br />
<a href="http://jasminestarphotography.blogspot.com/2006/02/" target="_blank">http://jasminestarphotography.blogspot.com/2006/02/</a><br />
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.<br />
<br />
<b>BluDomain - 2006-2007</b><br />
<a href="https://bludomain.typepad.com/blus_daily_blog/2006/10/index.html" target="_blank">https://bludomain.typepad.com/blus_daily_blog/2006/10/index.html</a><br />
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!<br />
<br />
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...<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann helps creatives find smarter solutions to common business problems as a <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmannconsulting" target="_blank">Creative Business Strategist</a> and author of the <a href="https://amzn.to/2LiezQm" target="_blank">Pricing Workbook for Creatives</a>. Her wisdom is steeped in the experience of managing her own <a href="https://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/search/label/annual%20report" target="_blank">creative businesses since 2004</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-2250045684771003282019-02-19T06:30:00.000-05:002019-02-19T06:30:13.401-05:00Why It's Hard to Talk Pricing Publicly<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Anyone who knows me, knows that I'm happy to talk pricing and pricing strategy. I love digging into profit strategies with small business owners during consultations. It's like digging for hidden nuggets of gold within their business. Unfortunately, it's not as easy to do this in public forums. A strategy that works really well for one person may be a complete waste of time for another person based on who they are, what they sell, and what kind of people are valuing their work- which is why it's really difficult to talk pricing publicly.<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
Each individual has their own unique world-view of what ideal creative pricing looks like to them in the scope of their experience:</h3>
<ul>
<li>One person may need to support a 5 person family on their creative income, and have a stay at home partner who can provide a lot of household or business support.</li>
<li>One person may have a full time job for income and only be doing creative work on the side.</li>
<li>One person may say that they only take projects for $10,000 or more, however they may also mean that every project they do requires a team of 10 people who are all working overtime to turn a project around in an amount of time that is usually unheard of to an individual doing it all on a solo basis.</li>
<li>One person may say their rates are $150 a project, which might seem unfathomably low for your costs and overhead, but what they may not be saying is that they do 6 of those projects in one day and then do extended sales sessions or additional licensing from those projects that add an additional $1350 in profit after each project.</li>
<li>One person may say they give away all files in a $3000 package, but they may not say that those files are only good for viewing on the web and not printing larger than 4x6 or putting in an album.</li>
<li>One person may say they only include 20 album pages $3000 package and files are extra, but they may not say that they'll include the files if someone enough pages to their album.</li>
<li>One person may say they include all the RAW files in a $3000 package, but they may not say that the editing of those files is extra or only included when they order an album.</li>
</ul>
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
All of these are examples of why discussing pricing is so difficult in open forums or even privately among other creative professionals. </h3>
What works well for one person may be a terrible idea for another person's way of working. Someone who hates sales would quickly fail by setting up their pricing in a way that requires them to do more sales and someone who hates working solo would total fail by setting up their pricing in a way that requires them to work solo.<br />
<br />
We can never assume that the way someone else has set up their pricing is the same way we would or should set up our own pricing. Which is also why you can never judge another professional based on their pricing alone- because you have no idea what goes into their pricing or what each term means in the way they define it.<br />
<br />
This is also why the "what should I price this at" question is a terrible question to ask in forums. You can get 10 different answers all based on how different people work and live, and none of those answers may even be applicable to you and your situation! Super frustrating, and it doesn't lead to more clarity, only more confusion.<br />
<br />
It is far better to figure out the numbers based on your business and understand how to price your service and products based on your actual costs, products, delivery, and costs of doing business so that you aren't jumping on a bandwagon that will send your business off a cliff!<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a retired <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 13 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, architecture and interiors. She loves to travel the work and spend any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-36470736447577062432019-02-12T07:00:00.000-05:002019-02-12T07:00:04.874-05:00Do I Need To Run Online Ads?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Do you have a product or service that requires you to show up in person? If so, your best advertising focus may be an OFFLINE advertising strategy in a local area.<br />
<br />
Do you have a product or service that can be purchased and delivered online, without any in-person interaction needed? If so, than you definitely benefit from an ONLINE advertising strategy.<br />
<br />
Too often people get stuck in the idea that they need to do everything and anything to promote their business, which is a great way to throw money down the drain and waste time on marketing or advertising strategies that are not going to be as effective.<br />
<br />
If what you do requires you and a client to be in the same location when you provide your product or service, than you will miss an entire population of people who aren't checking the online market with any frequency to make a difference for your business, but who may be walking right by you every day in your cafe or local retail shops.<br />
<br />
A local business needs to focus on local strategy to reach its ideal clients where they already are.<br />
An online service or product based business needs to focus on online strategy to meet clients online.<br />
<br />
Are you aware of all the ways you can market offline? Check out this <a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2012/12/annual-marketing-evaluation.html" target="_blank">Annual Marketing Evaluation</a> to see how many strategies are out there for marketing your business and which ones you may be missing out on if you're a local business!<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a retired <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 13 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, architecture, and interiors. She now spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-23112594530878962682019-02-05T07:30:00.000-05:002019-02-05T07:30:19.337-05:00How Many Clients Do You Need?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I used to think I needed as many clients as I could get, but that was a fast recipe for disaster until I had systems in place that allowed me to take on more work than I could personally handle. Many people only learn what their limits are when they actually go beyond their limits. This is a natural learning curve for new entrepreneurs and businesses, and hopefully you learn it early enough to benefit from finding your creative work boundaries early as well.<br />
<br />
Once my client list got too big to personally handle, I started to outsource, insource, and run a team of more people to help behind the scenes. The more distance I had from my own work and serving clients directly, the more I came to realize how much I missed being personally involved and having a part in each step of the process for clients so that I could assure great communication and quality imagery at every step. I also realized how much more time and administrative function was needed to manage a team of people rather than operating as a boutique customized personal service business.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
The grass is often greener, until you have to actually mow the lawn.</h3>
<br />
Some people get into business to grow profits and then sell-off or exit the business. However, providing a creative product or service offers the opportunity to be more boutique, more custom, and more hands-on in a business, which is often what I love most about being in business at all - getting to help people directly.<br />
<br />
Reaching the point of having too many clients to handle, and then experiencing what it was like to move from artist to manager in order to serve so many more clients, taught me exactly how many clients I could take on while still giving the boutique level of one-on-one service I preferred. It also forced me to realize that in order to provide that boutique level of high touch and personal service, I also needed to have the appropriate price for that much intensive client care.<br />
<br />
In order to deliver very personalized service to each wedding client, I maxed out at 30 clients and felt best at 20 clients. In order to deliver very personalized service to each architecture & design client who had multiple projects over the course of a year, I maxed out at 25 clients and felt comfortable at 20 clients. Some clients took 20% of my time and some clients only took 2% of my time, but together they all kept me busy as a full time photographer, and my pricing was designed to help me support this high-touch level of one-on-one service for each client.<br />
<br />
When you think about how you want to grow or expand your business in the future - consider how growth may also change the type of work you do and how involved you want to be with clients versus your team of contractors or employees. If you hate dealing with client issues and would rather deal with a team you've hand-selected, than expanding your team and training your staff is going to be your sweet slice of pie! If you love working directly with your clients, you may want to focus on the boutique business model and use outsourcing & contractors supporting you behind the scenes.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
When you look into the future of your business, what feels right for you?</h3>
<br />
Once you know what feels right for you- you can then decide if what you're focusing on going forward is to bring in fewer clients who value your work at a very high level, or focusing on more volume with value-minded clients who will help you support more staff that you can mentor and rely on to grow the business together.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a retired <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 13 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, architecture, and interiors. She now spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-16607752033632862122019-01-29T12:08:00.002-05:002019-01-29T13:04:50.969-05:00PhotoShelter Review from a Commercial Photographer<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Before deciding to use PhotoShelter in 2016 for my Commercial Architecture & Interior Design Photography business in New York City, I had been a long-time user of Pictage for my Professional Wedding & Portrait Photography business while living in Massachusetts, Indiana, and Michigan from 2005-2015. Before I had settled on either of these solutions for my photography business, I had investigated a lot of other solutions first. I mention this just to provide some context and background for my time and experience with professional image vendors in the photography industry.<br />
<h4>
BEFORE USING PHOTOSHELTER:</h4>
<div>
When Pictage closed in 2015, I had to scramble to find a way to transfer my 10 years of professional image archives out of that solution and into a new solution. The quickest answer that I could manage online at the time was to FTP all client image archives from Pictage into Dropbox. This wasn't the best solution, but it was the solution I had time to manage, along with the help of a virtual assistant that I had hired to make sure the task was completed properly.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
My NYC Real Estate, Rental, Architecture, & Interior Design Photography clients had very different needs than my Wedding & Portrait Clients. Wedding & Portrait clients needed some print fulfillment options for greeting cards, wall prints, framing, sharing images with guests, selecting how private their images would be based on who was looking at them, and album proofing, printing, and binding to help them pull together family and wedding albums. Commercial clients needed no professional print fulfillment from me, just digital solutions.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Commercial & Residential Real Estate, Rental, Architecture, & Interior Design Photography clients needed to be able to share the images with multiple vendors, have a variety of image licensing options, have a variety of downloading sizes and file types (TIF, JPG, PDF), and have a sense of privacy and control over who could see and access the images. I also needed to be able to store some RAW files to collaborate with retouchers and post-production specialists who were based in other states or cities and give them access to download those files easily. The total file size needs were not in giga-bytes, but in tera-bytes, so I needed an unlimited image storage solution that could deliver fast uploads and downloads.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In my scramble to find an interim solution, I found that Dropbox was awful for images. Color accuracy was atrocious, which ruined all the careful white balancing I'd done for commercial architecture and interior clients who spent hours picking out the right colors for their projects and relied on me to nail that color accuracy in photos. The colors were fine after they were downloaded, or if they were being viewed offline, but online- terrible. I almost lost some clients over this issue, so I really needed to find another solution other than Dropbox for my commercial clients.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
I shopped around comparing various industry photo hosting and storage vendors, and found that many of them were mainly focused on catering to the needs of wedding & portrait photographers. Which is, after all, one of the largest photography industry markets, so I get it. Many fewer businesses need professional photography than number of people getting married or having families.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<h4>
MY FIRST IMPRESSION OF PHOTOSHELTER:</h4>
<div>
Photoshelter appeared somewhat small in terms of photography market share of users. They had been slowly and steadily building their platform and it appeared that they were focusing on users that came out of the New York market of clients. Photojournalists, Fine Art Photographers, and Commercial Photographers dominate the New York photography landscape. Professional Real Estate and Rental Photography has only exploded in the last 5 years. Interior Design & Architecture will always remain a very small niche market of photography mainly focused in the top cities of the world. So the question came down to whether or not Photoshelter had everything I needed as a commercial photographer? The following is a run-down of what I've found to be good and what can be improved after using PhotoShelter for a couple years.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>UNLIMITED STORAGE: *****</b></div>
<div>
Initially, they didn't have an unlimited storage option, so it was tough for me to sign up right away, knowing that I would have limits on the number of files I'd be able to manage on their platform without incurring extra upcharge fees that might be unpredictable. Luckily, they started offering an unlimited option under $50/mo shortly after I started considering them, which made it much easier for me to bring all of my commercial image needs onto their servers. I had been paying Pictage $100/mo for unlimited image proofing & storage, but they also provided many other services I needed as well. I had been paying Dropbox $50/mo for shitty image proofing & storage of only 500GB, so PhotoShelter was a much better choice simply on the unlimited storage to cost ratio and the fact that I could integrate several other things into the same online service.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>VARIETY OF IMAGE FILE TYPES: *****</b></div>
<div>
Since I provide different types of image files to different types of clients, I really needed a solution that could handle a variety of image files from RAW to TIF to JPG... and even PDF... and I was happy to find that PhotoShelter was able to manage all of these file types and provide color-accurate online previews of the files no matter what type they were being stored and offered in. This made my clients happy to see such great color accuracy and quality detail on their images, and it made me happy to not have to explain to every new client that the color and quality would be better on download. My clients purchased more images because they looked great- which is super important when you enter a realm where images can be licensed one by one for hundreds or thousands of dollars.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>PRIVACY & CONTROL OPTIONS: *****</b></div>
<div>
One of the other important factors in commercial work was being able to control who could access the images, who could download the images, what file size and type they could download, as well as how long they would have access to those downloads. I was happy to see that PhotoShelter had built-in options for offering different file sizes from one original download, as well as giving me the ability to limit who would be able to download based on email or password, and how long they would be able to download, based on expiration date or a one-time download link that lasted a few days.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT: *****</b></div>
<div>
I wasn't really expecting to get a portfolio included with my online image hosting & proofing provider, but with PhotoShelter I did, and it was so easy to drag and drop images from the unlisted proofing side of the website to the listed and visible website portfolio side of the website. There are also some built-in image SEO tools, watermarking options, and website layouts that make setting up and revising your portfolio as easy as just dragging and dropping from your latest projects.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<b>COMMISSIONS & ONLINE SALES: ***</b></div>
<div>
For photographers who want to keep their money where their images are, PhotoShelter is OK, but it takes a bigger cut of your sales than other solutions. So, I had to make a decision about whether I was going to run my client invoices and sales through PhotoShelter or continue using other options that I'd already started using after Pictage closed. Unfortunately the commission and online sales structure through PhotoShelter took too much of a percentage for my tastes. I'm not giving up 8% of my commercial client invoices, sorry guys. It might be great for someone occasionally selling fine art, who is comparing another online gallery ownership take of 15-50%, but I came from using a business solution that took no more than 3%, so the 8% commission option on the pro plan was a killer for wanting to use their sales engine for commercial work or invoicing. I just chose to avoid that entire part of their services completely, since I already had another solution that worked better and gave me more profit from my sales.</div>
</div>
<div>
<b><br /></b></div>
<div>
<b>CUSTOMER SERVICE: **</b></div>
<div>
I had a very close relationship with Pictage when I was using their service. They had tiers of customer service response based on how heavily you were invested with them, so pro users and members had no issues talking to someone right away with their pro client concierge service. They had round tables where they would discuss improvement ideas with power users, so improvement ideas were valued when they came from the community of users. It was a level of service that feels rare in the online marketplace now. Anyway, that's what I'm comparing to when I talk about customer service.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Photoshelter has OK customer service. It exists at a minimum level. It's still better than Dropbox. It's still better than a platform solution you need to install and manage yourself. Even though I've been a pro-member of PhotoShelter for a couple years, the two occasions I reached out for help didn't yield that much help. If I were a first time online proofing solution user, this might be a problem. Luckily, their system is mostly streamlined and works quite well in general, so you may not need much customer support. Just know that it may be limited if you do need that support. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
The Photoshelter office is literally up the street from me, and I've been several times for their community events, so I asked about sitting down with the team to talk about some issues my clients were expressing with regarding to downloading their images. I knew that these comments could create some great UX improvements, but the support team pretty much came back to me with the comment "we're always working to improve" but no follow-up to actually hear about the ways it could be improved. They were looking at the system through their experienced eyes and seeing no problems, rather than taking some time to look over the shoulders of some people who weren't photographers or UX designers and who hadn't used their system before and were clicking the wrong buttons at the wrong time and getting the wrong results because of the UX design. I digress. It's an area they can improve upon, and I hope they do improve upon it.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
At the end of the day, their UX for proofing and downloading images still gave my clients fewer headaches than using Dropbox as an interim solution, so it didn't stop me from using the service. My design and commercial clients were just mildly frustrated that they kept making the same mistakes when downloading their images because of the way the site was designed.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>OVERALL: ****</b></div>
It is still one of the more robust online proofing & delivery options for commercial photographers. So yes, I'd recommend it and I think it's a solid solution for professional photographers. Just go into it knowing that you may need to hand-hold your photography clients through some mild confusion if they miss some steps in the proofing & downloading workflow.<br />
<br />
<div>
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a retired <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 13 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, architecture, and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
</div>
<br />
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; orphans: auto; text-align: left; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-25668651495292250942018-09-05T15:00:00.000-05:002018-09-06T09:29:35.360-05:00Old Equipment - Sell, Trade, Rent, or Donate?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8ffXSBInvStg7kL4_FhHS2G3HTjZDa-wKsmgOVEuO1560u6CBvt_SfMH4dhaYtbVPKfO-0acH2c98EsInN4jmUVBZVHPqHT75BopkAPquOezYXHEYjGdtwI6NMgbZQIE04yWZXjilb0/s1600/old+Equipment%253Fsell%252C+Trade%252C+Rent%252C+or+Donate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjk8ffXSBInvStg7kL4_FhHS2G3HTjZDa-wKsmgOVEuO1560u6CBvt_SfMH4dhaYtbVPKfO-0acH2c98EsInN4jmUVBZVHPqHT75BopkAPquOezYXHEYjGdtwI6NMgbZQIE04yWZXjilb0/s400/old+Equipment%253Fsell%252C+Trade%252C+Rent%252C+or+Donate.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
As I've been taking a look at all the assets I built in my photography business and what I might do with them now that I'm <a href="http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2017/11/changes-at-anne-ruthmann-photography.html" target="_blank">focusing more exclusively on consulting and reiki work</a>, here's the process I've been going through...<br />
<br />
<b>1. Decide How Long You'll Keep the Equipment As Backup</b><br />
<br />
Maybe you're just upgrading equipment and want to keep some backup equipment around. In my case, I decided that I'd hold onto my equipment for 6 to 12 months after announcing to my clients that they'd need to start finding another photographer. I created a timeline on how long I'd keep gear so I could really gauge for myself how much I'd actually use my gear for my own personal fine art or creative interests once I wasn't doing commercial photography work full time. Gear loses value pretty quickly as new gear comes out, so months eventually become dollars lost too.<br />
<br />
If you've already got great working backups but still have a few pieces of equipment laying around after your upgrade, act sooner rather than later to help get a return on your upgrade cycle.<br />
<br />
I needed to know if I'd realistically have any desire to pull out my professional equipment, after some time and distance from the daily work of commercial photography would open up my creative juices again. It took me about 4 months, but today I actually thought of a photography project I would need my specialized equipment for and might actually want to spend time doing when I need a break from working on other things. <br />
<br />
I share this just as an example of how sometimes we can feel really, fully, done when we make a decision about something, but given some extra time and space, we may change our mind about a few things. I can always rent equipment whenever I want, but that takes some planning, and I didn't want that to be a barrier for those spur of the moment creative ideas I might have.<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>2. Assess The Remaining Value & Demand</b><br />
<br />
Once you've decided what pieces you're definitely willing to let go of, take a look at what it's actually worth right now when sold as a USED piece of equipment. Also, take into consideration how old that piece of equipment is with regard to how in demand it would be for someone to search for it online and want to purchase it. <br />
<br />
For example, if it's a digital camera body that's more than 5 years old, you might try to sell it, but it may be highly unlikely that anyone will actually want to buy it. A lens is likely to hold more value over time, but take a good look at your equipment to see what kind of shape it's in and if you'd considering buy it in that condition from someone else. Taking a look at the USED sale value of items should help give you a more accurate picture of what is actually worth selling and what has such low value or demand that you might as well keep it or donate it.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Listing What's Worth Selling</b><br />
<br />
I'm not a fan of craigslist because of the number of scammers that seem to troll the site, so I'm more a fan of the Facebook Marketplace or specialty Facebook Groups for selling equipment under a certain manufacturer from one person to another. At least there's a little more accountability and specialized interest in the equipment you have to offer and a better idea of where people are located when they're inquiring, but if you can't sell it there, try EBay next, then Craigslist as a last resort.<br />
<br />
Buyers are 10x more likely to buy used equipment that has fully accurate, detailed photos of the actual condition of the equipment. They want to see any scratches, worn paint, dents, etc. Don't try to hide these things or make it look better than it really is, just be super real in order to establish trust with a future buyer. If you use stock photos or don't show detail of equipment, expect less interest and more questions. Accurate photos save you time in your effort to sell.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Trading In What Has Value but Isn't Worth Listing</b><br />
<br />
If listing your equipment and managing inquiries about sales is your least favorite thing in the world and you don't care that you'd be losing money, one last ditch effort to get some value out of your equipment that might be using it as trade-in value for something else.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://tradein.bestbuy.com/client/#/catalog" target="_blank">Best Buy</a> has a trade-in program that will take working equipment and provide a trade-in value that you can use at Best Buy toward a current product in stores. This is a great way to get rid of your equipment soon and not deal with shipping hassles or negotiations.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Renting What's Worth Keeping</b><br />
<br />
In the last few years of crowd-sourcing, we now have the option to also crowd-source our gear and rent it out to other image creators and professionals. As photography rental outlets become more difficult to rent from and require more up front business identification and insurance, crowd-sourced rentals become easier with insurance options built into the renting process.<br />
<br />
One of the companies currently pioneering this effort is <a href="http://fbuy.me/kafTi" target="_blank">KitSplit</a>. Before listing your own gear, you can search for the gear you're thinking of renting and see what options are already available in your area. If you're outside of a major city, my guess is that you may actually dominate your local area as a rental option if you want to, otherwise you can see who else is in your area and how often they appear to be renting out their equipment or equipment similar to yours. This is also a great option to share with the other image makers in your area who know you already- and may want to rent some of your gear when you're not planning to use it. Do you know of any other crowd-source rental options available? If so- post them in the comments!<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>5. Donating What's Not Worth Keeping, Trading-In, or Selling</b><br />
<br />
If it's really old gear that no one is likely to search for, and it's just taking up space as a hazard or liability sitting in your storage area, it would be much better put to use as a donation to a school or a youth organization that doesn't have the budget to update electronic equipment each year. Schools and youth organizations absolutely value any working gear that could be provided to help students with their projects, and think about how much happiness your equipment can give someone else when it isn't sitting in your storage area.<br />
<br />
Before clearing out my portrait studio, I got in touch with the local Boys & Girls Club and asked them if they'd like my office supplies, old photo equipment, and other odds and ends like markers and poster board, etc. They were SO HAPPY to get so many creative tools donated! They turned around and gave me a tax-deductible donation form that I could record with my accountant that year, which was worth way more than letting it all continue to gather dust in my closet.<br />
<br />
<b>6. When It Isn't Even Worth Donating</b><br />
<br />
Sometimes schools or youth programs will actually take equipment that doesn't work in order to be used for electronics dissecting or other electronic repair projects, but always ask first before dropping off something that doesn't work. <br />
<br />
One last way to make your old equipment do just a little more good in the world, is to send it to <a href="http://www.recyclingforcharities.com/how-recycling-for-charities-works.php" target="_blank">Recycling for Charities</a>, which takes old equipment and donates any income earned from the donation to the participating charity of your choosing.<br />
<br />
<b>If you aren't going to use it, give it a chance to get into the hands of someone who will.</b><br />
<br />
If you have other great resources for selling, trade-ins, rentals, or donations - please add yours to the comments!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a constantly evolving creative soul based in New York City. With over a decade of success as a full-time professional photographer, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a> and finding more ways to travel the world. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-78165465942678405702018-05-09T05:52:00.000-05:002019-02-23T05:54:05.785-05:00Maximizing Productivity with Time Blocking<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
*This blog post was originally written on The Photo Life Blog - ShootQ on May 9, 2011.<br />
The company has since stopped updating, so it is being saved here for preservation.<br />
<a href="https://shootq.com/2011/05/09/creating-a-schedule-to-maximize-productivity/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://shootq.com/2011/05/09/creating-a-schedule-to-maximize-productivity/</a><br />
<br />
<span font-family: "titillium web"; font-size: 15px;">When we work for other people, having work hours, weekly meetings, and daily tasks is practically expected. However, when working for ourselves, it’s very easy to let time slip by if we don’t create a schedule for our productivity. The great thing about working for ourselves is that we can create a schedule that works with our own peak productivity and distraction times. If we know that we are most productive with post-production late at night, and we have the freedom to wake up later in the day, than we can create a schedule that allows us to focus in this way. If we know that we’re most alert to responding to emails first thing in the morning, than we can create a schedule that works with our peak alertness. By simply planning out when we will deal with our regular tasks for a typical week, we can quickly increase our efficiency.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #404447; font-family: "titillium web"; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR SCHEDULE</strong></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>1. Shooting Days and Times –</strong> Stay in control of your schedule and your time by letting clients know when you’re available, rather than asking them when they’re available. Designating shooting times in your schedule allows you to easily provide clients with your next three available times and days. If you’re a wedding photographer, you may not want to schedule engagement shoots on Saturdays during your peak season in case a wedding opportunity comes along at the last minute. If you’re a portrait shooter who works outdoors with natural light and you prefer to have your weekends free, than you may only want to schedule portrait shoots during the week during your golden light hours.</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>2. Post-Production Times – </strong>Once you know when your possible shooting times are, then you know that you will also need to designate an appropriate amount of time after each shoot for post-production like backing up images, culling, editing, and enhancement. Whether you do this, or you give this task to someone else, there needs to be time set aside in your week to deal with these tasks. Once you make time for this in your schedule, it’s easier to enjoy an evening out because you know that you’ve set aside post-production time the next day to move the project forward.</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>3. Marketing Times – </strong>Whether it’s blogging, Facebook, Twitter, emailing vendors, or working on a newsletter, there needs to be time set aside in your schedule to help market yourself and share your work with future clients and referrals.</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>4. Communication Times –</strong> As tempting as it is to check your email as soon as something new comes in, you will be much more efficient if you designate time in your day when this is appropriate. Since email can easily take more time than we’d like, it may also be helpful to set a timer in order to make sure that your time spent on email isn’t leaking over into times you need to work on other tasks.</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>5. Meeting Times – </strong>If you do in-person sales after a shoot, or meet your clients in advance of their shoots, you need to make sure you have room in your schedule to make these happen at a time and day that works for you.</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>6. To Do List Times –</strong> Inevitably there are tasks that fall outside of the above categories and will need to have time set aside in your week to be dealt with. Perhaps it’s running to the store to get supplies, entering your financial numbers, updating software, researching your next piece of equipment, or following up with inquiries that you haven’t heard back from. Allowing yourself a time during the week to catch up on things you’ve placed on your to do list means that your to do list will never get too long.</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>SAMPLE SCHEDULES</strong></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
Below are just a couple examples of how a 9am-6pm work schedule could be broken up differently. Obviously, you want to create a schedule that works best for you and takes advantage of your peak working, communication, and distraction times. It’s also good to designate other productive tasks that would be appropriate in each time slot in case you don’t have post-production, shoots, or meetings during the times you’ve set aside for them. When you know what’s coming next in your schedule, it’s harder to get distracted and lose track of time.</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<em>What does your weekly schedule look like? Share your answers in the comments!</em></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<em><br /></em></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>Sample Schedule A – Portrait Photographer</strong></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
Monday – Friday</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
9am – 11am Post-Production<br />
11am – 12:30pm Communication<br />
12:30pm – 1:30pm Lunch Break<br />
1:30pm – 3:30pm Marketing/To Do List<br />
3:30pm – 4:30pm Communication<br />
4:30pm – 6:00pm Shoots/Meetings</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
Saturday – Sunday – Off (or premium shoots only)</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>Sample Schedule B – Wedding Photographer</strong></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
Tuesday – Friday</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
9am – 11am Marketing<br />
11am-12pm Communication<br />
12pm – 1pm Lunch<br />
1pm – 3pm Post-Production<br />
3pm – 5pm To Do List/Communication<br />
5pm – 6pm Meetings/Shoots</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
Saturday – Shooting<br />
Sunday – Monday – Off</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>Written by Anne Ruthmann</strong></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div class="mpcth-post-content-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<em>Anne Ruthmann is a philanthropist and visionary, who makes a living as an </em><a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><em>international award-winning wedding & lifestyle photographer</em></a><em>. She geeks out about business strategy and finding ways for artists to make a living doing what they love, which is why she feels strongly about developing community at her </em><a href="http://facebook.com/bostonpug" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><em>Boston PUG</em></a><em> and sharing information on</em><a href="http://photolovecat.com/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><em>PhotoLovecat</em></a><em>. She also recently started offering the </em><a href="http://smarterbusinessworkshop.com/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><em>Smarter Business Workshop</em></a><em> in order to provide hands-on help to photographers in several different cities around the US. When she isn’t working or helping others, she enjoys traveling the world with her husband and trying foods she can’t pronounce.</em></div>
<div class="mpcth-post-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 12px !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; width: 1200px;">
<span class="mpcth-date" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Posted on </span><a href="https://shootq.com/2011/05/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;"><time datetime="May 9, 2011">May 9, 2011</time></a></span><span class="mpcth-author" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> by </span><a href="https://shootq.com/author/shootq/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">ShootQ</a></span><span class="mpcth-categories" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1em; margin-left: 0.25em;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> in </span><a href="https://shootq.com/category/anne-ruthmann/" rel="category tag" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">Anne Ruthmann</a>, <a href="https://shootq.com/category/organization/" rel="category tag" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">Organization</a>, <a href="https://shootq.com/category/right-start/" rel="category tag" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">Right Start</a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-44260174805716752952018-04-05T05:44:00.000-05:002019-02-23T05:44:50.531-05:00Money Management Made Easy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">*This blog post was originally created on The Photo Life blog at ShootQ.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">Since the company has stopped updating, I'm saving it here for preservation.</span><br />
<a href="https://shootq.com/2011/04/05/money-management-made-easy/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://shootq.com/2011/04/05/money-management-made-easy/</a><br />
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">You’ve just received a check in the mail- YAY! You run to your bank to deposit it into your business account (or you see that Pictage has automatically deposited it there) and now you feel like you’ve justified your next big equipment purchase, right? Think again.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">If you’re really taking care of your business and your personal life, you’ll divide that money up before you start spending it. To make it super simple, take half of that check you’ve deposited into your business account and transfer it immediately into your personal account (assuming you’re a sole-proprieter business structure with no employees). This quick & easy method helps you make sure that you’re bringing home the bacon while still taking care of business. By maintaining a 50/50 split on your revenue, you’ll gain a clear understanding of when you’re dipping into your personal income to pay for a business expense and when you’re borrowing from your business to pay for a personal indulgence. If you’re like 85% of Americans, you’ll spend whatever you have in your account- so separating the money right from the beginning will help save you headaches later on.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;"><br /></span>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
To take this a step further, it’s also wise to set aside 30% of your personal income to pay self-employment taxes as well as any funds that you’d like to set aside for your retirement. You may choose to pay your health insurance out of your personal account or your business account, but liability and replacement insurance are generally business expenses to be paid from your business account. Any credit you give clients toward products, deposits, and retainer fees paid in advance should be set aside in your business account so that they cannot be spent until the service or product is delivered. Sales Tax should also live in a separate business account so that it can be written as a simple check to zero out the account when your sales tax is due.</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>Here’s a sample breakdown for a $2500 job that requires a $500 retainer and provides $500 in product credit in a state with 7% sales tax:</strong></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
100% Revenue = $2500</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
7% Sales Tax = $175</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>1. 50% Personal = $1250</strong><br />a. 30% Income Tax Account = $375<br />b. 10% Retirement Account = $125<br />c. 60% Household Account = $750</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>2. 50% Business = $1250 + Sales Tax of $175</strong><br />a. Sales Tax Account = $175<br />b. Retainer Account = $500<br />c. Product Credit Account = $500 (in reality you’ll probably only need to save $200 of this if your products have the appropriate profit, but it never hurts to save more and have back-up funds for emergencies.)<br />d. Overhead Account (Equipment, Insurance, Rent, Education, Marketing) = $250</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
With only $250 left to spend on that shiny piece of equipment- you might see why it’s important to save up before the next purchase, or you could just skimp on your groceries and cancel the cable connection instead. It’s all a matter of what’s most important to you!</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong>Written by Anne Ruthmann</strong></div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<strong><br /></strong></div>
<div class="mpcth-post-content-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 15px;">
<em>Anne Ruthmann is a philanthropist and visionary, who makes a living as an </em><a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><em>international award-winning wedding & lifestyle photographer</em></a><em>. She geeks out about business strategy and finding ways for artists to make a living doing what they love, which is why she feels strongly about developing community at her </em><a href="http://facebook.com/bostonpug" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><em>Boston PUG</em></a><em> and sharing information on </em><a href="http://photolovecat.com/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><em>PhotoLovecat</em></a><em>. She also recently started offering the </em><a href="http://smarterbusinessworkshop.com/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><em>Smarter Business Workshop</em></a><em> in order to provide hands-on help to photographers in several different cities around the US. When she isn’t working or helping others, she enjoys traveling the world with her husband and trying foods she can’t pronounce.</em></div>
<div class="mpcth-post-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 12px !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; width: 1200px;">
<span class="mpcth-date" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Posted on </span><a href="https://shootq.com/2011/04/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;"><time datetime="April 5, 2011">April 5, 2011</time></a></span><span class="mpcth-author" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> by </span><a href="https://shootq.com/author/shootq/" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">ShootQ</a></span><span class="mpcth-categories" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1em; margin-left: 0.25em;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> in </span><a href="https://shootq.com/category/anne-ruthmann/" rel="category tag" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">Anne Ruthmann</a>, <a href="https://shootq.com/category/legal-finances/" rel="category tag" style="color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">Legal & Finances</a></span></div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-31662505599848886262018-02-23T05:38:00.000-05:002019-02-23T05:39:52.552-05:00How to Create an Internship Program
<div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard;">
*This blog post originally appeared on The Photo Life - ShootQ Blog on February 20, 2013 (which is no longer active, so I'm reposting here to save it in case their blog goes down):</div>
<div style="caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: -webkit-standard;">
<a href="https://shootq.com/2013/02/20/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-intern/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://shootq.com/2013/02/20/how-to-prepare-for-your-first-intern/</a></div>
<br />
As I’m getting ready for my next internship opening announcement, I thought I’d share some tips about finding an intern and making the most of having them learn while working in your business. <strong>This is the first of two posts</strong>. (The following image is from an intern.)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdUCEGM0hVVGaSAGCp34qMOiSoYbSez7iUkHxnC1etmWLBcciuJURGqOc4GnVIXp5QwYzy30Y-o6b0MXvG7IFci4vMFmnGUTklShByKJ0jPB0_oIT2phq2Ro87uENllogGSDsUxpF76I/s1600/AR2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Intern Workstation in Home Office" border="0" data-original-height="333" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdUCEGM0hVVGaSAGCp34qMOiSoYbSez7iUkHxnC1etmWLBcciuJURGqOc4GnVIXp5QwYzy30Y-o6b0MXvG7IFci4vMFmnGUTklShByKJ0jPB0_oIT2phq2Ro87uENllogGSDsUxpF76I/s1600/AR2.jpg" title="Intern Desk for Home Office" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<a class="fancybox-photo" href="http://www.thephotolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/AR2.jpg" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" title="Photo &copy Katie Baker"></a><br /><strong>How to Prepare for Your Intern:</strong><br />
<ol style="padding-left: 1.5em;">
<li><strong>Review the </strong><a href="http://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank"><strong>United States Department of Labor Guidelines on Internships</strong> </a>to make sure that you are creating <a href="http://www.thephotolife.org/2012/07/25/employees-or-contractors-tips-for-hiring-for-your-photography-business/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">an experience that qualifies.</a></li>
<li><strong>Identify three of your closest photography schools</strong> and/or high schools that offer photography classes. Contact the teachers or intern coordinators to learn about their student internship requirements and expectations.</li>
<li><strong>Decide exactly what the intern will be learning</strong> during their internship and what tasks will help them learn while they work with you.</li>
<li><strong>Outline the basic qualifications</strong> they need in order to work at a level that doesn’t require extensive remediation.</li>
<li><strong>Create an <a href="http://www.thephotolife.org/2012/03/15/5-ways-workflows-saved-my-and-could-save-yours-too/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">office procedure manual</a></strong> of any tasks that you prefer to have done a specific way, such as how you name & organize digital files, how to print a custom disk, what settings to use for blog images versus portfolio images, etc. This manual is something an intern might contribute to as well in order to create a more complete reference document.</li>
<li><strong>Set up an intern workstation</strong> that will be comfortable and allow you to easily and quickly help them if they are sharing a physical space with you.</li>
<li><strong>Create your announcement</strong> that itemizes:<br /><span id="__mceDel">–</span><span style="font-style: italic;">What will be learned during the internship</span><em id="__mceDel">– What qualifications are needed to apply</em><em id="__mceDel">– What days/hours will be required each week</em><em id="__mceDel">– Start and end dates of the internship</em><em>– Deadline to receive applications</em><br /><em>– Link to your website and work</em><br /><em>– Contact information</em></li>
<li><strong>Send your announcement</strong> to the coordinators at nearby schools and post to your blog or newsletter.</li>
<li>Based on the applications received, <strong>select your top three candidates</strong> and schedule in-person interviews.</li>
<li>Once you’ve decided on your intern,<strong> let everyone who applied know</strong> that their application was appreciated but another candidate was selected.</li>
</ol>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKTAbtfade_RmzE-r36tTSooEgkh75zKRXkyF8mr7-GeDcAP-b4OkFbSIiNkcUVMyYXkUy3N74_Fafq0Zim_UIujizOldqbkM8V8sVzBIMyE5SGoIUUZZ9cMCfMGJ9a1dZg5bG8aXiQ0/s1600/AR1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="720" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmKTAbtfade_RmzE-r36tTSooEgkh75zKRXkyF8mr7-GeDcAP-b4OkFbSIiNkcUVMyYXkUy3N74_Fafq0Zim_UIujizOldqbkM8V8sVzBIMyE5SGoIUUZZ9cMCfMGJ9a1dZg5bG8aXiQ0/s400/AR1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong><br /></strong></em>
<em><strong>If you’d like to read some of the thoughts and reflections from my interns, as well as my announcements for internships, head over to my <a href="http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/search/label/internship" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;" target="_blank">blog</a>.</strong></em><br />
<br />
<em><strong>About the Author</strong></em><br /><img alt="photographer anne ruthmann" class="alignleft" height="196" src="https://shootq.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/photographeranneruthmann.jpg" style="border: 0px; float: left; height: auto; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-right: 1.5em; max-width: 100%;" title="photographer anne ruthmann" width="130" /><br />
<i>Anne Ruthmann is a philanthropist and visionary, who makes a living as an </i><a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;"><i>international award-winning wedding & lifestyle photographer</i></a><i>. She geeks out about business strategy and finding ways for artists to make a living doing what they love, which is why she feels strongly about developing community </i><i>and sharing information on </i><a href="http://photolovecat.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;"><i>PhotoLovecat</i></a><i>. She also recently started offering the </i><a href="http://smarterbusinessworkshop.com/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;"><i>Smarter Business Workshop</i></a><i>in order to provide hands-on help to photographers in several different cities around the US. When she isn’t working or helping others, she enjoys traveling the world with her husband and trying foods she can’t pronounce.</i><br /></div>
<div class="mpcth-post-meta" style="box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-size: 12px !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; width: 1200px;">
<span class="mpcth-date" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;">Posted on </span><a href="https://shootq.com/2013/02/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;"><time datetime="February 20, 2013">February 20, 2013</time></a></span><span class="mpcth-author" style="box-sizing: border-box;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> by </span><a href="https://shootq.com/author/shootq/" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">ShootQ</a></span><span class="mpcth-categories" style="box-sizing: border-box; line-height: 1em; margin-left: 0.25em;"><span class="mpcth-static-text" style="box-sizing: border-box;"> in </span><a href="https://shootq.com/category/anne-ruthmann/" rel="category tag" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">Anne Ruthmann</a>, <a href="https://shootq.com/category/authors/" rel="category tag" style="background-color: transparent; color: #f5ac31; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.25s ease-out;">Authors</a></span></div>
</section><footer class="mpcth-post-footer" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; padding-left: 20px; padding-right: 20px; width: 1200px;"></footer></article></div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
<footer id="mpcth_footer" style="background-color: white; border: none; caret-color: rgb(64, 68, 71); clear: both; color: #404447; font-family: "Titillium Web"; font-size: 16px;"><div id="mpcth_footer_container">
<div id="mpcth_footer_section" style="background-color: #363b48; border-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: white; font-size: 13px;">
<div class="mpcth-footer-wrap" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; width: 1200px;">
<div class="mpcth-active" id="mpcth_footer_content" style="box-sizing: border-box;">
<ul class="mpcth-widget-column mpcth-widget-columns-3" style="box-sizing: border-box; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 1em 0px;">
<li class="widget widget_text" id="text-7" style="box-sizing: border-box; float: left; list-style: none; padding: 1em 20px; position: relative; width: 399.953125px;"><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" /></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</div>
</footer><br />
<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-5893688724103536122017-11-05T17:22:00.002-05:002017-11-05T17:28:54.849-05:00Managing The Fame Monster<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Fame can create a type of PTSD (post-traumatic-stress-disorder) when you don't know how to deal with it and respond to it appropriately, or at least it did for me. If you've witnessed someone else's journey close enough to the surface of fame, you may have a better chance of dealing with the public response as it arrives, but it took me about 10 years to really recover from a period of fame that I got early on in my career and felt very unprepared for. <br />
<br />
I thought I was just entering contests and submitting work to get feedback and a response around what I was doing well, but it also turned into awards, publications, special features, speaking invitations, and things that started putting me in the spotlight before I was really ready to handle all the other negative stuff that came with being in the spotlight. I didn't realize there'd be an entirely other element of reputation management that I'd need to deal with as well. So I ended up taking a huge step back once all the attention got to be too much to manage and started taking me away from my clients and the work that was paying the bills. I realized I just wanted to get back to doing what I loved: creating images for clients who valued my work without all the fame nonsense. I gave myself a lot of time to consider what I could do differently if it happened again, and I hope sharing this helps you walk a slightly easier road through any moments of fame that come your way...<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>1. When You Finally Win Some Awards</b><br />
People will hate you and people will admire you. People will talk bad about you and they'll say you're the best they've ever seen. They'll talk about how they can create better work than you, and they'll talk about how they wish they could create work like you. They'll say they should have won the award you won, and they'll say they'd never be able to win the award you won. They'll do this behind your back, to other people, online in comments, in forums, etc. <br />
<br />
You really just have to let them do this without defending yourself. You've already won the award and received the recognition that you were aiming for. Any defense makes you seem insecure about your win. Any boasting makes you seem cocky about your win. This is just part of what comes with winning. <b>The only response people want to hear is how grateful you are that the judges liked what you sent them. (People know it's all judge preference anyway.) </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>2. When You're Finally Published in Magazines</b><br />
People will say you bought your way in. People will say they wish they had your skill. They'll say your work is too trendy or too posed or too staged. They'll say you're amazingly creative and a genius for thinking of something so unique. They'll say you copied them and it's all been done before and that you just rip off other people's ideas. They'll say you're brilliant and inspiring and they want to be just like you. People will take your work and try repeating the same results. People will call you a fake. People will say you have an inside relationship. People will assume you can get them published too. People will put you on a pedestal. People will try to knock you off a pedestal. <br />
<br />
Let them think what they want to think. Being published and recognized means you don't need to prove anything to anyone. <b>The only response that people want to hear is that you feel really lucky your work was chosen out of all the great work they could have chosen from. (People don't blame lottery winners, just their own luck of the draw.)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>3. When You Finally Get Invited To Speak</b><br />
People will say you don't have enough experience. People will think you know everything there is to know. People will suggest you need to teach because your work isn't good enough. People will say you're teaching because your work is amazing. They'll think your ideas are rubbish and uninspiring. They'll think you've opened up an entirely new way of seeing things. They'll walk out in the middle of your talk. They'll stay after and want your signature. They'll tell you what a fan they've been all along even though you're meeting them for the first time. They'll become someone you once knew really well and now refuses to acknowledge you. They'll think you're a hack. They'll think you're an expert. <br />
<br />
These are all a matter of their own varied perspectives and you have to go in knowing your message is only going to be heard and liked by about half of the room, much like running for American Presidency. Remember that your message is less about you and more about what other people make of it even if it's not at all what you meant. You're just the messenger who happens to be the one brave enough to stand on the stage. <b>The only response people want to hear after commenting on your speech is how you tried your best and were honored to have the opportunity. (People honor the process of being selected and showing up, no matter the message.)</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><br /></b>
<b>4. When Strangers Start Recognizing You In Public</b><br />
I think it was Gary Fong who once said, you aren't really famous until the bagger in a grocery store recognizes you in the check-out lane. It's a great way to put "fame" of any kind back into perspective of the larger world out there. That being said, in the world of the internet, if you put yourself out there often enough, you may gain some stalkers or fans who do actually recognize you in places you'd least expect it, even when you don't have any makeup on or just walked out of the gym. At first, you feel totally weird that a complete stranger is coming up to you and acting like they've known you forever and yet you know nothing about them. However, if you know how to handle it in advance, you can level the playing field by responding really down to earth and friendly, rather than standoffish and rude because you felt attacked.<br />
<br />
<b>The response I've found which seems to work best for dealing with this kind of guerrilla attack is to say "Hello! What's your name? What are you working on right now that made you familiar with my work online?" </b>It does take an extra minute to hear someone out rather than turning your head and running away as fast as you can, but it also becomes a chance to gain a little market knowledge about the tribe who follows you and how they found your work online. It's also much more personable than simply standing there saying "Oh, thank you so much" over and over again on autopilot. Having a real conversation with someone about what THEY know and can share with you makes it slightly less lonely at the top if you're traveling in an unfamiliar area and want some recommendations for a good place to eat or a special park to go for a run in.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Are there any fame monster moments I've missed? Have you come up with some solutions and responses that work better for you? I'd love to read your thoughts in the comments.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<br />
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 10 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-64422201361549835772017-09-08T10:10:00.002-05:002017-09-08T10:10:51.367-05:00When You Feel Like Letting It All Go<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
This feeling has happened multiple times while being a small business owner, yet each time the feeling is a little different and a little more nuanced. I think it's safe to say that I've experienced the full gamut of reasons for feeling like I should let it all go. This is a rarely talked about subject in the creative business world, and I want to share what I've learned about these feelings and how they have helped me, transformed me, and moved me to better places.<br />
<br />
<b>Issue: "I'm constantly procrastinating on certain parts of the work, maybe I'm not really cut out for this, maybe I should quit. Quitting feels easier than forcing myself to do this."</b><br />
This was how I felt when I had too many clients to manage, too many projects that were getting backed up, deadlines were being pushed further than was professionally acceptable, systems that were breaking down left and right and I kept getting bogged down in certain parts of the process that prevented me from making forward momentum as a solo-entrepreneur. <br />
<br />
This was when I really needed to look outside of myself for help, rather than thinking I needed to do it all, but I was so entrenched in the problems at hand that hiring outside help just felt like more work and delaying everything further to get that help up and running. I felt trapped, as if there was no way out, and as if I was failing my business and my clients, which led to feeling like perhaps I wasn't cut out to run a business at all, assuming this was my sign to quit and give up. I was so wrong about my ability to turn it around, but the problems at hand made it difficult to see any other way.<br />
<br />
<b>Solution: Outsourcing, Hiring Help, Raising Prices, Fewer Projects at Once</b><br />
If you're willing to give up your entire business because you can't seem to keep up with your business, than you NEED to start hiring help, outsourcing, raising your prices, or taking fewer clients. This is a sign that your business is actually a huge SUCCESS!!!! Hellloooo!! You wouldn't be running into these issues if your demand wasn't exceeding your personal capacity to handle them! Don't give up now- you're just hitting a painful growth spurt that is stretching you to expand and work in ways that you haven't explored yet!<br />
<br />
If you're at a point where you would be willing to leave your business anyway, than you're also at a point where you can spare to throw some cash at hiring professional help or trying some outsourcing solutions. If the alternative is not doing it at all, than you've reached a prime place to start narrowing your client focus and raising your prices so that you're only attracting and working with people who value your work at the same level that you do. <br />
<br />
This is not an option anymore, this is clear cut sign that your business is experiencing massive growth and needs to grow appropriately to the kind of business you'd like to have in the future. Would you like to grow into having associates, a business manager, and a post-production personal all under the same roof? Would you like to grow toward being a more boutique, high-end artist serving only a select clientele? This is your time to make that decision and set yourself on a better path that meets your needs in the future. To walk away now would be to throw away your biggest opportunity for growth right at the moment you're being given the green light to grow in ways that work better for you.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Issue: "I want to let it all go. I simply don't care anymore. I don't even want to show up."</b><br />
This was how I felt when I reached a place of depression in my life. I didn't care about anything. I wanted everything to fall away. I didn't want to care about anyone or anything else except for my basic needs and survival. Even making a plan to commit suicide felt like far too much work and energy than I was willing to give to the world outside of simply breathing and existing at the most basic level. I often questioned why I was even alive. I was stuck in a place of not valuing myself or my work and felt like existing was a burden to everyone around me. I had to live through it and come out the other side alive in order to know what it really felt like and to have deep compassion for people who experience depression.<br />
<br />
<b>Solution: Massive Self-Care & Redefining What Makes You Happy</b><br />
When I reached a place of wanting everything to fall away from me, it was largely because I lost touch with myself, with my spark, my inner fire, my reason for being and existing in the world. I don't know how I lost it. I don't know what brought it on. I didn't even realize it was depression while it was happening. I just didn't feel right, like I wasn't really myself or who I thought I was.<br />
<br />
Later on, I realized that it may have been bio-chemical with things like lowered dopamine levels or adrenal fatigue, but it also could have been a symptom of not identifying with my work as part of my life purpose and not finding meaning in why I was creating for other people or how that work and creation was feeding my life in beautiful and meaningful ways. <br />
<br />
What I really needed during this time was not to quit the only job that gave me creative spark when I remembered what creative spark was, but to invest in a huge boost of self-care and self-love to reconnect with why I existed and why I was continuing to do the work I was doing. I was moving from a place of defining my existence and purpose by everyone else's standards to a place of being self-defined and self-motivated. <br />
<br />
If my worth wasn't placed in what other people thought of me, how would I measure it based on what I think of myself? What's really important in life? What have I been ignoring? What has been making me feel bad? How do I reckon with that and reverse the apathy back into passion?<br />
<br />
I had to tune out all the noise around me about what I should be doing and focus only on the very few small things that made me feel good at a basic physical and mental level. Until I filled my own cup, it would never be filled by anyone else- not by any other job, any other relationship, or any other identity.<br />
<br />
Once I recognized this and narrowed my focus on the things that actually made me feel good, rather than the things that everyone else said should make me feel good- I slowly gained my strength back. I slowly began to remember who I was and how my work brought value to my own life as well as to the world. My spark returned slowly and gradually, and I felt really lucky that I didn't completely give up my work, my relationship, my home, or my life. I never would have been able to get to the other side and discover all the abundance beyond that depression if I'd given up everything that once made me happy and hadn't done some massive self-care to help me get there.<br />
<br />
If you're feeling like giving everything up, recognize this as a sign of depression. Tell your friends and family how you're feeling. Ask for help. Accept the help others want to provide. Force yourself to be around people and places that used to make you happy. Learn how to ask for support. Remember how much you are loved by people who want nothing from you but your own health and happiness. You can and will get through this. It is possible. It may take longer than you'd like, but keep on moving through that mud until you find dry ground. Once you do, you'll learn how to weather any future storms better than ever before.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Issue: "I feel like I really need to create something else right now, and this is holding me back"</b><br />
I remember this feeling very clearly from when I decided to leave my path on a music education career to become a full time photographer. I was leaving something super safe because I was feeling so pulled and compelled to try and make photography work full time. I simply couldn't give any more time to writing lesson plans in classrooms and dealing with parents and administrators, not because I didn't like it as much as I simply felt like I needed to spend all of my time working on wedding photos and learning post-production techniques to get the results I wanted in the final product of my photography. Teaching was holding me back from spending time on photography, and even though I didn't see any security or know how I would make a living in photography, I just had to go for it and not get caught up in the what ifs. My soul wouldn't allow me to do anything else.<br />
<br />
<b>Solution: Build slowly on the side, or make a clean break and run for it.</b><br />
When I think about all the insecurity I felt in the beginning, it's ridiculously amazing to now look back at this fabulous creative career and small business that has supported me through multiple moves, through traveling around the world, through understanding the difference between low end and high end clients, learning how to go from 4 figures to 6 figures in just the first couple years, being published in international magazines and winning really cool awards for the artistry of my work, to being invited to present at some amazing conferences, to going on the road with my own workshop tour, to being flown to five star resorts in tropical locations just to take photos!? <br />
<br />
Now that I look back at all of that I think- I had no idea what amazing abundance was on the other side of all my insecurity about how I would make it work. Now I feel like I would be INSANE to let go of this AMAZING creative career that has created a life that has surpassed all of my dreams and all the things I thought were possible in a career as a creative. Now, the security I once felt about a life as a music educator is the same security I feel about the life I've had as a photographer for the last 13 years. I'm so glad I made a clean break and ran for the hills with my photography business- it was by far the best decision I could have possibly made at that point in my life. I knew it was the right decision because no matter how much I feared what was ahead or how I would make it work, I knew that my passion for making it work simply could not be ignored or set aside, and that any moment I wasn't trying to make it work, was a moment that I was holding myself back from doing something greater than I'd ever done before.<br />
<br />
When the universe calls you in different directions with a relentless passion to focus on something, to opportunities you haven't fully explored, and you have a very hard time ignoring it, that's when you know it's actually the right time to start your transition out and get to building and working on that next thing. Whether you do it slowly in your spare time (which you need to create for yourself in order to have any spare time to begin with) or you just rip off the old career like a bandaid and wrestle with the sting of creating something new, your passion will not be silenced until you answer it and it calls you to begin NOW.<br />
<br />
The future is always far more uncertain than the past. You don't know if you'll have a full time job tomorrow even when you work for a corporation, despite how predictable it feels. Would you rather someone pull the rug out from under you first, or would you rather build your next big thing while you still have security to work through the mistakes of trying new things? You may not understand what the revenue stream or business plan will really look like, but you'll figure it out as you go and as people tell you what they value and want to pay for. Trust in your passion to help you create the life and work you really want to be doing. It's a call from the universe to expand, to grow, to be something you've never been before, and if you don't follow it, you'll be wasting the chance to live a life you've never imagined before.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 10 years of success as a full-time photographer, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</div>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-13122026661539377972017-06-13T12:10:00.000-05:002017-06-13T12:10:15.526-05:00The Competition Illusion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Over the years I've conducted several surveys of professional full-time photographers and it's amazing that the results stay consistent from year to year no matter how the market changes.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>Survey Question:</b><b>"When you look at the clients who actually booked your services, how did they find you?"</b></h3>
<br />
The percentage year to year tends to stay around 80% of booked clients coming through word of mouth referrals from previous clients, vendors, associates, friends, and family. The other 20% tend to fall into website searches, social media, or trade shows. There are a few rare businesses who flip that number on its head with a strong sales push or limited-time-offer at a convention, conference, or some very heavy targeted social media or website effort, but most full-time creative professionals who aren't selling education online are actually making their living on a strong referral business.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>This is why competition is an illusion.</b></h3>
<br />
Most people are referring the 1 person they have trusted experience with. Now, maybe a potential client has 3 friends who all refer different people, it still means you're only competing against those other 2 referrals. Which is why, with referred business, you're not competing against every directory listing or search engine result available on a public website- only with other people who have great referral business in your marketplace.<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>Focus on referrals to eliminate competition.</b></h3>
<br />
- What can your clients say about you as a professional that makes the experience of working with you stand out from working with other professionals? <br />
- Did you set reasonable expectations and exceed them? <br />
- Were you pleasant and gracious to work with in person? <br />
- Have you stayed in touch outside of projects you've worked on together? <br />
- Did you do anything special that made their work or life easier?<br />
- Did you find ways to connect them to other resources or help they were looking for?<br />
<br />
When you focus on doing great work and working in a way that feeds your referral business, the competition is more of an illusion than a reality. Each inquiry from a referral is exponentially more likely to book than an inquiry from a directory or search result. How are you eliminating your competition by increasing your referrals?<br />
<br /></div>
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 10 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-5210937048951288472017-05-02T07:12:00.000-05:002017-06-01T19:10:15.410-05:003 Responses to Low Budget Requests<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Rather than getting frustrated with people for not understanding your costs of doing business or not valuing the time and talent you invest into your work, stop assuming what they should understand and start educating to help provide more awareness around what professional rates should look like. In order to be compensated at a professional level, it's important to respond to every unprofessional rate request with a more professional option.<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Here are 3 different responses you can use when being asked to work for unprofessional rates:</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>1. Provide a more appropriate appropriate price for the request:</b></div>
<div>
Thank you for your interest in working with me! Based on everything you've outlined in your request, it appears that the appropriate pricing for that would really be $$$$. Would you like to change the nature of the request or change the budget to a more appropriate rate for everything you'd like to accomplish with this photoshoot?</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<div>
<b>2. Describe what you can actually do for that rate:</b></div>
<div>
Thank you for your interest in working with me! At the budget you've described, I can provide two hours of documentary coverage at that rate, which that will allow me to produce approximately 60 images to choose from for this type of event, from which you're welcome to select 12 favorites for high resolution commercial licensing. Would you like to move forward with this offer or discuss additional options?</div>
</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>3. Explain the price difference between professional and amateur:</b></div>
<div>
Thank you for your interest in working with me! I'm afraid that price is quite low for the professional resources and experience I provide- my normal rate for this type of project is $$$$. Were you looking for an insured professional who can guarantee results, or did you want to work with an amateur who is still learning and may not have sufficient experience with this type of request?</div>
<div>
(*This could be misconstrued as snarky, so use with caution and make sure you have the ability to provide an amateur resource like craigslist or a photo school of students who need to practice on clients. Being able to provide an amateur resource if they want one shows that you're still a professional and willing to help others find a solution more appropriate to their request.)</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>If these responses don't seem to fit your situation, try this basic response recipe instead:</b></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step #1 - Express thanks</b></div>
<div>
You'll notice all responses start with gratitude for the client's interest in your work. We are truly lucky when people reach out to us individually to work with us. In some cases, we may be the only creative they got the courage to contact directly. If they were referred by an existing client or seen our work and fell in love with it- it's important that we honor their interest in working with us. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step #2 - Provide more appropriate information</b></div>
<div>
In order to get people to adjust their perception or idea about what to expect, you must offer an updated set of information that helps them understand what they're requesting when it comes to working with the professional they're requesting it from. Only when you provide more accurate information with regard to what it will cost or how much can be delivered within their budget, can they begin to adjust their own expectations and perceptions about what they can request from a professional. Sharing is caring, and it's far more professional to care and share than to diss and dismiss.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Step #3 - End with a question</b></div>
<div>
Every price inquiry response should end with a question to help continue the conversation. I find it important to leave yourself open to continuing the conversation so that you aren't shutting the door to opportunity, but merely providing a window into what a more professional arrangement looks like while giving the client a chance to respond and negotiate their own interests further rather than shutting down alternative options or possibilities that meet closer to your mark.<br />
<br />
If you see any colleagues struggling with unprofessional pricing requests, I hope you'll share this resource with them so they can stress less and work smarter about dealing with it in the future.<br />
<br /></div>
<div>
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 10 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-64502558030911433362017-04-11T09:45:00.002-05:002017-04-12T13:32:00.986-05:00Budgeting Equipment Replacements<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
People do taxes because they have to, but many fewer people do budgeting for annual repairs and replacements. Every creative business relies on a set of tools to get an idea from thought form into a tangible form that can be sold. Computers, cameras, paints, brushes, pencils, paper- all just a part of being a creative. Whenever I do pricing consultations, one of the things I often encounter is that people aren't planning their equipment upgrades and replacements as part of their overhead costs and costs of doing business. Yet, these tools are as essential as having a website, phone, or email to serve clients with. <br />
<br />
If you haven't been in business long enough, the best clue about how often you'll need to replace something is in the warrantee information. If you're buying a computer or a camera and even an extended warrantee won't cover that piece of equipment beyond three years, than you know that you'll need to expect to replace it after three years because even the company doesn't think it will keep working well after that. If you have budgeted to replace equipment based on warrantees, you'll never be surprised by a tech failure- because it will already be in your budget.<br />
<br />
If you happen to keep a piece of equipment beyond its extended warrantee, than either you aren't using it very often, or you happen to be lucky. Most professionals use their equipment twice as much as the average user, which means getting closer to that warrantee guarantee quicker as well. Here are a few quick actions you can start taking to better budget for your equipment replacements:<br />
<br />
Take Action Now:<br />
1. Create a spreadsheet of equipment you need to do your job<br />
2. Record the price, serial number, month/year each piece of quipment was purchased<br />
3. Record the warrantee expiration date based on your date of purchase<br />
4. Tally replacement costs for each year based on warrantees<br />
5. Create a monthly equipment replacement budget to help plan for costs<br />
<br />
Here's an example of what that equipment budget might look like for a professional photographer:<br />
- 2 Pro Cameras - $7,000 - Maximum 3 Year Extended Warrantee / 36 Months = $194.44/mo<br />
- 1 Pro Level Computer - $3,000 - Maximum 3 Year Extended Warantee / 36 Months = $83.00/mo<br />
- 3 Pro Lenses - $5,000 - Maximum 3 Year Extended Warantee / 36 Months = $138.88/mo<br />
Even if we just account for these three essential things, photographers who budget ahead know that they'll need to set aside around $417 every month for their camera, lens, and computer replacements. Or if you prefer to look at it in another way- if you shoot 30 jobs a year, $167 of each job needs to be banked for the use of just these pieces of equipment.<br />
<br />
Previous related posts on this topic:<br />
<a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2013/04/how-much-does-each-click-cost.html" target="_blank">How Much Does Each Click Cost?</a><br />
<a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2013/01/photography-overhead-costs-or-why.html" target="_blank">Photography Overhead Costs (or Why Photography is Expensive)</a><br />
<a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2016/05/why-300-should-be-professional.html" target="_blank">Why $300 Should Be a Professional Minimum</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 10 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-22489121836823213372017-02-05T21:40:00.001-05:002017-02-05T22:06:51.570-05:00WPPI 10 Years Ago & Now<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
In thinking about attending <a href="http://www.wppionline.com/wppi-show.shtml" target="_blank">WPPI</a> this year, I was trying to remember what year I first attended. Thanks to the mighty power of Google, I was able to travel back through time to uncover my relationship the <a href="http://www.wppionline.com/" target="_blank">WPPI</a> expo and conference...<br />
<br />
In this 2006 post on how my business started, I already knew the importance of being part of a professional organization like WPPI for leaning, mentoring, and growing my business:<br />
<a href="http://photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00FLt3" target="_blank">http://photo.net/wedding-photography-forum/00FLt3</a><br />
<br />
In 2007, which was I believe my first WPPI Expo, I got to connect with people I admired and reconnect with friends I met while attending the <a href="http://fworkshop.com/" target="_blank">Foundation Workshop</a> earlier the same year:<br />
<a href="http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2007/03/wppi-las-vegas.html" target="_blank">http://anneruthmann.blogspot.com/2007/03/wppi-las-vegas.html</a><br />
<br />
In 2008, I started hosting the PhotoLovecat Giveaway event:<br />
<a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2008/03/giveaway-gala-photos.html" target="_blank">http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2008/03/giveaway-gala-photos.html</a><br />
<br />
In 2009 we hosted another PhotoLovecat Giveaway event and our blog became a place to share a public review of the WPPI events & workshops:<br />
<a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2009/02/wppi-2009-review.html" target="_blank">http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2009/02/wppi-2009-review.html</a><br />
<br />
In 2010 I was getting back from a trip to Australia and settling into a new Photography Studio in Massachusetts, but Corey Ann held the torch and continued hosting a PhotoLovecat meet-up:<br />
<a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2010/03/wppi-2010-review.html" target="_blank">http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2010/03/wppi-2010-review.html</a><br />
<br />
In 2011, we were able to start tracking WPPI Parties on Eventbrite and WPPI Attendee Twitter accounts to keep track of who was sharing what from where during the conference - may be interesting to see how many of those people will be at WPPI 2017?<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/AnneRuthmann/lists/wppi-2011" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/AnneRuthmann/lists/wppi-2011</a><br />
<a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2011/02/wppi-2011-parties.html" target="_blank">http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2011/02/wppi-2011-parties.html</a><br />
<br />
In 2012, Corey Ann carried the torch for WPPI again, while I was living in Australia and following my dream of traveling the world for an extended period of time. I still participated in online mentoring and webinar workshops, but was definitely more interested in exploring everything I could in Australia and Europe that year.<br />
<a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2012/01/wppi-2012.html" target="_blank">http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2012/01/wppi-2012.html</a><br />
<br />
It seems the world of Wedding Photography starting changing dramatically in 2012-2016. Major photography labs started closing. Photo Schools started closing. Online labs gathered more business. Online photo workshops became more popular. iPhones started to have printable quality images. People could create Facebook groups for their wedding and guest's wedding photos. Photo booths took over the job of formal portraits. The world of immediate sharing and instant gratification started to become far more important than high quality imagery and beautifully curated artful moments from trained professionals. Perhaps it is simply returning to what it once was when we operated in film: a luxury service for those who can afford the work of a trained professional, while non-professional instant gratification is satisfying enough for everyone who can't afford a professional. I'm speculating, but would love to read your thoughts in the comments as well.<br />
<br />
There will always be a low-end of the market for the entry level professional starting out and serving the people and referrals in their immediate area. I have no doubt of that. I also think there will always be a high end of the market for people who value working with a creative professional and want archival products of their once-in-a-lifetime moments. I think the middle has been squeezed the most - forced to serve either the low end of the market with a lot of volume or the high end of the market with fewer clients and additional workshops and education services to fill the gap.<br />
<br />
Personally, I started to trim down the amount of weddings I photographed and move into editorial and commercial not because of anything happening in the industry, but because I wanted more weekends and weeknights to enjoy time with my family and friends who work 9-5 jobs. I knew weddings would likely be a 10 year run for me, simply based on how many people I saw leaving the industry in their late 30s and early 40s. I also had a taste of what it meant to be constantly teaching in the photography industry, and decided that I didn't really want that to be my primary workload either.<br />
<br />
I never wanted to be someone who lost their passion for the amazing moments of the wedding day or found any of it to be too mundane or typical. Now, when I do get the chance to shoot weddings, it really is special again because it's not something I do every weekend or get too formulaic about. I've been able to keep that passion by making it something I more rarely do when I'm not photographing editorial, commercial, or architecture & interior work.<br />
<br />
Even though Weddings are no longer my main focus in professional photography, it has given me so much of what I needed to help me reach where I am now. I still love the wedding photography industry and how, even though most people quickly cycle in and out of it every 2-4 years, it becomes a training ground for the professional photographer, for the budding creative entrepreneur, and for the future solution provider in the photography industry. It has been very interesting to see how people who were once "just wedding photographers" have become innovators, educators, and amazing entrepreneurs in other capacities.<br />
<br />
This year I will be returning to WPPI for just one day - the last day of the Expo, Thursday 2/9/17 to say hello to friends who are instructors and trade show vendors, to give hugs to people I haven't seen in years, and to host a gathering for anyone who would like to reconnect over dinner on the last day between workshops and awards. We've come a long way baby, and I'm grateful for the role that WPPI has played in my own professional photography development and how it continues to support new and emerging photographers in many different ways. If you'd like to join me for WPPI 2017, visit the Facebook event page below for the details and RSVP so I can save you a spot at the table...<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/193074804502583/" target="_blank"><b><span style="font-size: large;">WPPI 2017 Photographer Meetup</span></b></a><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/193074804502583/" target="_blank">https://www.facebook.com/events/193074804502583/</a><br />
<br />
If you can't make it, feel free to follow along on the WPPI 2017 Twitter List I've started:<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/AnneRuthmann/lists/wppi-2017" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/AnneRuthmann/lists/wppi-2017</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 10 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-85378416393979658822017-01-24T07:32:00.000-05:002017-01-31T21:20:20.084-05:005 Tax Organization Tips<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
If you're getting ready to work with a CPA, or do your business taxes by yourself (which I don't recommend), here are a few things you'll want to start gathering and organizing to make the process easier. Disclaimer: I'm not a CPA, just a small business owner who pays taxes every year. Always take final consultation from a professional CPA with regard to your situation.<br />
<br />
<b>1. Do you have an assistant or contractor you paid over $600 total last year?</b><br />
If they aren't on payroll as an employee, and have been working as an independent contractor, you'll likely need to send them a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-form-w9" target="_blank">W-9 form</a> request for their tax filing information and then a <a href="https://www.irs.gov/uac/about-form-1099misc" target="_blank">1099 Misc. form</a> with the total fees you paid them during the year. This information needs to be gathered and shared with your contractors before January 31 to allow them proper filing time as well (you can still file late, you just pay an additional fee). This helps you legitimize the expense for the independent contractor and it helps them document received income from your business. If you paid them via an online service like <a href="https://www.paypal.com/" target="_blank">PayPal</a> or <a href="https://venmo.com/" target="_blank">Venmo</a>, you can likely easily search all payments made to an individual according to year.<br />
Official IRS information on documenting independent contractor payments:<br />
<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/forms-and-associated-taxes-for-independent-contractors" target="_blank">https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/forms-and-associated-taxes-for-independent-contractors</a><br />
<br />
<b>2. Did you travel to any of your jobs or clients last year?</b><br />
If you're an on-location photographer, you likely traveled for almost all of your jobs. The good news is that you most likely can expense that cost to your business. If you took Taxis, Uber, Lyft, Car Rentals, or Airlines - you likely have records of all those purchases in your bank accounts or in the apps you used. If you don't claim a car as a business asset & expense because you also use it regularly for personal and family travel, you can still claim the mileage you drove to meet and serve clients as well as any parking fees incurred during the job. If you weren't tracking this all along with an app like <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/expensify-expense-reports/id471713959?mt=8" target="_blank">Expensify</a>, perhaps you have the addresses on your contracts or in your calendar that can help you determine the mileage you traveled for each business meeting, job, networking event, or on-site project, coupled with any debit card records made to parking structures.<br />
Official IRS information on documenting & expensing Business Travel: <a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch01.html#en_US_2016_publink100033773" target="_blank">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch01.html#en_US_2016_publink100033773</a><br />
<br />
<b>3. Did you entertain or buy meals during business meetings or travel?</b><br />
If your work required you to eat away from your home office location, or if you bought meals for clients, vendors, or contractors while doing business, you may be able to deduct those as well. This is generally only a 50% tax deduction, even if it was a 100% expense to your business, so it would be best to talk to your CPA with regard to what is considered a Meals & Entertainment expense. If you usually use a debit or credit card for these transactions, you likely have evidence in your monthly statements of what you've purchased by date while on a job or meeting. If you haven't been tracking it all along and need to do it retroactively, an online financial organizer like <a href="https://www.freshbooks.com/self-employed" target="_blank">FreshBooks</a> or <a href="https://www.mint.com/" target="_blank">Mint</a> can help you pull multiple credit and debit cards together in the same place to organize expenses. <br />
Official IRS information on documenting & expensing Meals & Entertainment:<br />
<a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch02.html#en_US_2016_publink100033862" target="_blank">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p463/ch02.html#en_US_2016_publink100033862</a><br />
<br />
<b>4. Did you buy equipment for your business last year?</b><br />
New computer? New software? Online services? Cloud storage? Paper and ink to print contracts on? Office desk & chair? Currently, the IRS allows $500,000 in business equipment deductions, up from $25,000 in previous years. For many freelancers, the overhead expenses of keeping equipment updated are often the sleeper costs that surprise them year to year, so it's important to consult on which business expenses are considered deductible.<br />
Official IRS information on documenting Equipment Expenses:<br />
<a href="https://www.irs.gov/publications/p946/ch02.html" target="_blank">https://www.irs.gov/publications/p946/ch02.html</a><br />
<br />
<b>5. Did you use any home utilities or home office space to run your business?</b><br />
You probably needed a faster than normal internet connection to deal with all of those file uploads and deliveries to clients. You probably needed a cell phone and/or business line to manage phone calls with clients who panicked at the last minute about their project. You probably needed electricity to charge your phone and keep your computer running to deliver projects to your clients. All of these things can be considered in the appropriate percentage for how they are used for business versus personal use. Make sure you're keeping tabs on all of these expenses as they apply to your business so that you can properly deduct what's used to keep your business running.<br />
Official IRS information on documenting Home Office expenses:<br />
<a href="https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/home-office-deduction" target="_blank">https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/home-office-deduction</a><br />
<br />
Again - always consult with <a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2017/01/how-to-find-great-cpa.html" target="_blank">your local CPA</a> to make sure your record keeping and tax deductions are relevant to your situation. <br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. She has been a small business owner since 2004 working as a photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors. She spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-44498174366524125802017-01-17T13:48:00.000-05:002017-01-17T19:31:37.796-05:00How to find a great CPA<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
After moving my business several times, I've had a lot of experience looking for a CPA to help with my business and personal filing, and whenever I found a great one, it often took me a while before I was willing to move on and find another one in my new state after moving. Hopefully sharing this wisdom will help speed up your search!<br />
<br />
<b><u>1. Start Searching Locally</u></b><br />
The importance of having a CPA you can sit face to face with is very important if you ever need to work on a complicated tax situation or work through an audit together. Likewise, the ability to enjoy working with your CPA is huge when it comes to something that may be stressful or difficult. All of my favorite CPAs have a sense of humor and lightness about difficult tax situations that have helped ease my concerns, while still remaining professional and demonstrating that they will get the job done. You only get to see this lighthearted but professional approach by meeting in person. <br />
- <b>Personal Referrals: </b><br />
The best places to begin your search are with personal recommendations from other small business owners. Even better if they have a similar business model to you and can share what they love about working with their CPA and how long they've been with them.<br />
<b>- Local Chamber of Commerce Website:</b><br />
Next best place to search is your local Chamber of Commerce website, where they will likely have a directory of CPAs looking for business. The people who work for the Chamber can tell you if they know the CPA personally or anyone who has worked with them as well for additional referral information.<br />
<b>- Business Networking Group: </b><br />
Third best place to search is a local business networking group - <a href="https://www.bni.com/" target="_blank">BNI </a>is one of the more famous ones, but ask around and see what is available in your area. <a href="https://www.rotary.org/" target="_blank">Rotary</a> may be the second most common networking group for business owners, while it has more of a philanthropy mission than a networking one, it's a group of people who believe in giving back to the community.<br />
<br />
<b><u>2. Define Your Tax Situation</u></b><br />
Being able to describe your tax situation will help you with the phone screening process before setting up a meeting. For example, here are a few ways you may want to practice describing your tax situation over the phone before deciding who you'd like to meet with in person:<br />
<b>- Personal Tax Situation:</b><br />
Married? Single? Dependents? Live-in parents? Investments? Multiple homes? Personal property in multiple countries? Inheritance? Haven't paid taxes in 10 years and may need a payment plan? Need to figure out if it's better to file separately or jointly with spouse?<br />
<b>- Business Tax Situation:</b><br />
LLC? Sole-Proprietor? Corp? Employees? Health Benefits? Online business? Out of country sales to manage? Import/export business? State to state sales tax transactions?<br />
<br />
<b>3. Create a List of 3-5 Places to Call</b><br />
If making phone calls is scary to you because you prefer email - I suggest practicing the questions you'll be asking on the phone and preparing your statement about your situation. A phone call can really help you rule out a company you don't want to meet with. Was it easy to get the answers you needed in a timely way? Were they sloppy and unprofessional in how they managed your phone call? Do they have an office with multiple people and an admin to help them manage their clients? You don't get to learn these things when emailing- only when calling on the phone.<br />
<b>Things you need to ask:</b><br />
- Do you have a Certified Public Accountant in your office? Will they be handling the return, or will it be a tax preparer? Who would I be meeting with for the first time?<br />
- Do you have experience with clients in my situation? (State the personal and business situations you have.)<br />
- When can I come in and speak with someone in person? What should I bring with me? Is there any fee for an introductory meeting? What would someone with my situation expect to pay for their tax filings?<br />
<br />
<b>4. Meet at Least Two Different CPAs</b><br />
If you only meet with one, you'll have nothing to compare the experience to. If you only have time to meet with two about your situation, than meet with two. If you can meet with three or more, great! The more info you have, the more you can find the right person to work with. Remember that investing more time into this choice up front means that you're less likely to need to invest that time again later because you'll feel comfortable knowing you made the best choice for you and your situation. A great CPA relationship can be one you can carry well into the future of your business, so it's worth every bit of time you invest up front to find someone you enjoy working with and feel you can trust.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. She has been a small business owner since 2004 working as a photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors. She spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</blockquote>
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-54995840802966302232016-11-01T10:08:00.001-05:002016-11-01T10:15:38.235-05:00Stop Being Taken Advantage of by Demanding Clients<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Into every creative's life a demanding client will fall. Many creatives have a hard time drawing a line in the sand when it comes to working with demanding clients, which is why your fee and business should be structured in such a way that you anticipate every client will eventually become a demanding client. The more you anticipate and practice responding to requests outside of your agreement, the easier it becomes.<br />
<br />
The demanding client lifecycle generally looks something like this:<br />
1. Client negotiates with Creative for reduced rate<br />
2. Creative agrees based on something Creative thinks they'll gain from working with Client<br />
3. While Creative is engaged in work, Client makes little requests here and there<br />
4. Creative agrees to little requests, because they are at first easy to accommodate<br />
5. Client turns little requests into big demands on Creative<br />
6. Creative feels stuck because they have previously honored little requests without additional fees, and haven't implemented a structure for being compensated for additional requests<br />
7. Client gets frustrated and more demanding that Creative is becoming less responsive<br />
8. Creative gets frustrated that Client is becoming more demanding<br />
9. Client thinks Creative is a flake and unprofessional<br />
10. Creative thinks Client is evil and inconsiderate<br />
<br />
<h3 style="text-align: left;">
<b>If you take steps early enough in the process, a client may never reach the point of being considered a demanding client.</b></h3>
<br />
Here are the solutions to avoid clients becoming demanding at every step of the process:<br />
<br />
- Don't agree to work for any less than full rate. It is far better to charge full rate, and have the opportunity to do a tricky job over again, than to work for a reduced rate with a client who expects full rate service.<br />
<br />
- Have a written agreement for exactly what is delivered and how it is delivered. This needs to make it blatantly clear to the client what is being delivered in what time frame and how many revisions will be allowed on work.<br />
<br />
- Prepare client expectations that additional requests have a working fee attached. By anticipating that the client WILL make requests above and beyond the work you have contracted for, you can be prepared by offering either an hourly rate for additional requests, or a revision rate.<br />
<br />
- Notify client immediately when their requests fall outside of original agreement. As SOON as a client makes a request that falls outside of your agreement, the client needs to know and be presented with options for moving forward.<br />
<br />
At any point in the process, I suggest using this wording with a client to address additional requests:<br />
"This request will require additional time and expense that weren't planned into the original quote. I've included an invoice to cover the time and expense to honor this request. If you'd like to add any additional requests at this time, please let me know so that I can be even more efficient in addressing additional requests."<br />
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" id="anne ruthmann icon" src="https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over a decade of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-2340065070422419542016-06-07T06:48:00.000-05:002016-06-07T06:48:10.785-05:00Networking Tips on the Click Cartel Podcast<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.theclickcartel.com/podcast/episode-7-anne-ruthmann/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8_16ERI8xDwvOadSzIO3eXS4Tb2SOPUEiyBxNw9atzBNZnWAA6GqcsnnLTrM-mLmGj3CEKzjGEX_taOnT9NzPkMxdsNrypw61rppt49goouJrHTa64CijDcrKghyphenhyphenUS7-bcILFcGJyBuE/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-02+at+9.24.12+AM.png" width="391" /></a></div>
A few months ago, I had the pleasure of getting to know <a href="http://christiangrattan.com/" target="_blank">Christian Grattan</a> in advance of his <a href="http://www.theclickcartel.com/podcast-episodes/" target="_blank">Click Cartel Podcast</a> being released to the public. He asked me if I'd share some tips for starting photographers, and I have to say he was GREAT at asking all the right questions of digging into the nitty gritty of business details on networking and sales. That is definitely one of the benefits of being interviewed by someone in the same industry, and even in the same market, because they already know the challenges and can really dig into how other people overcome them. It was a great show, and I probably reveal way too much for my own good... but I think I can leave the world a better place knowing that this will absolutely, most definitely, help someone else strengthen their own business. Check it out now on his blog, and subscribe to all the podcast episodes on iTunes...<br />
<br />
Visit the Click Cartel Site:<br />
<a href="http://www.theclickcartel.com/podcast/episode-7-anne-ruthmann/" target="_blank">http://www.theclickcartel.com/podcast/episode-7-anne-ruthmann/</a><br />
<br />
Subscribe to the Podcast on iTunes:<br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/click-cartel-photography-business/id1092895769" target="_blank">https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/click-cartel-photography-business/id1092895769</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1956013013256424256.post-35870505775787024212016-05-17T08:30:00.000-05:002016-05-17T08:30:15.644-05:00Cost to Start Photography Business<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
I've previously shared what the <a href="http://photolovecat.blogspot.com/2013/01/photography-overhead-costs-or-why.html" target="_blank">recurring overhead costs of a photography business</a> can be, but many people want to know what the investment would look like if they started from scratch, so here's a breakdown of costs I would expect someone starting a photography business to incur...<br />
<br />
<u>Liability Protection: $600- $800</u><br />
This usually includes $1-3million of liability insurance to work on-location for events, portraits, and commercial assignments. Some venues require a certificate of insurance before you are allowed to enter the building with photography equipment of any kind.<br />
<br />
<u>Photographic Equipment: $4000 - $9000</u><br />
In order to be a professional, you can't just have one camera, because if that one camera fails on the job, than you've lost the rest of the job you showed up to do, so every professional needs two working cameras for every job. There are a lot of other things you also need duplicates of as well: backup batteries x2, extra memory cards x2, backup lighting x2, additional lenses to cover a variety of focal lengths.<br />
<br />
<u>Computer Equipment: $2000</u><br />
While it's tempting to cheap out or hack a computer together, most professionals find that they need a well designed machine that is optimized for processing speed and large storage transfers. On top of that, there are usually hundreds of gigabytes of photos taken each year which also need backup drives, and perhaps even online cloud storage solutions in order to make sure that images are safe even when drives fail.<br />
<br />
<u>Software: $400</u><br />
Most photographers use Lightroom and/or Photoshop to process their images, along with several other softwares to manage their accounting and/or customer service. You may also want a website, custom domain name, hosting, etc.<br />
<br />
<u>Accountant: $400</u><br />
While you can do accounting on your own, you will come out much further ahead in many different ways if you have a professional relationship with an accountant who helps keep your business on good financial and tax grounding.<br />
<br />
<u>Accessories: $500</u><br />
A camera bag to protect your gear and help you travel with it safely, a random new lighting accessory, a reflector, light stands and umbrellas for your flash, or other items you may need beyond the basics.<br />
<br />
<u>Education: $2000</u><br />
While this could be an optional expense because there are many free resources like this lovely blog available to help beginning photographers, I find that people who are in the first few years of a photography business tend to spend a lot on education. Even if they went to school for photography, they quickly realize that there are many more things to learn and understand in the real world that weren't exactly taught or relevant in their university setting.<br />
<br />
While everyone's initial costs can be vastly different based on the rate that they acquire equipment before they start a business, this provides a guide for those who want to be prepared and plan ahead.<br />
<br />
This brings the initial investment total to somewhere between $7900 - $15,100... and the recurring annual expenses may be closer to around $16,000 before taking a salary from your business. If you take out a loan to purchase equipment in the first year- remember that many of your initial jobs will simply go to paying back the cost of investing in your business. This is also why many people do photography part-time while working other jobs. If you have a solid business structure and profit margin, you should make enough in your first two years to pay back your initial investment so that you can start seeing a profit in your second or third year, even if you work part time. Otherwise, photography will be a very expensive hobby until you cross that profitable threshold in your business and finance management.<br />
<br />
That being said, you don't need all of this equipment to begin building a portfolio of work that you create for yourself before taking clients, and you don't have to invest in everything at once. In fact, its best to create a portfolio and expand your creativity with equipment that you already have, and then add equipment needs slowly and only as necessary. Your eye should be able to make a great images that people want to purchase regardless of what equipment you use. However, if you're planning to charge someone else to create images for them, backup equipment and liability insurance will be part of the professional expectations.<br />
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2203/2382768973_4d7da995ec_s.jpg" id="anne ruthmann icon" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 75px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 75px;" /></a>Anne Ruthmann is a <a href="http://anneruthmann.com/" target="_blank">professional photographer in New York City</a>. With over 10 years of success as a full-time photographer in weddings, portraits, editorial, and now architecture and interiors, she spends any extra time she has helping others find <a href="http://www.facebook.com/SmarterBusinessWorkshop" target="_blank">smart solutions to business problems</a>. Stay in touch on <a href="http://instagram.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Instagram</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://facebook.com/anneruthmann" target="_blank">Facebook</a>.</div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">PHOTOLOVECAT.COM
Helping photographers and creative business owners achieve greater success.</div>Annehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00874330375617904671noreply@blogger.com0