10 Reasons Why You Should Consider Profit before You Start a Photography Business
Each year without fail over ninety percent (90%) of small business fail in the USA and in western civilization across the globe. This, my friend, includes the photography arena. I have never been able to come to grips with this figure because I find it frightening. As it turns out though, most people in those statistics I just gave you move on to another venture or re-do the same venture and become successful either the next attempt or the one after. Thank goodness!
Over the years I have been coaching and working along side people to ensure they make a profit from their photography business venture, I have noticed from a distance that many photographers simply throw themselves straight in the ‘deep end’ because they could already take excellent photographs and were remarkably creative.
A couple of them were gifted or talented photographers, much better than I ever was or will be. From the entire group of jump-ins (over 7 years) only one photographer survived and I think that might have had something to do with his parents owning a wedding reception hall. To give greater clarity, that was one person from fifty eight to the best of my knowledge.
Some of them later went back to start again after asking me for some pointers for clarity and direction. That’s what inspired me to compile a guide, write articles and build my website profitable-photography.com based entirely on that theme – starting a profitable photography business. There is a big difference between that and opening a photography business. You should read that last sentence again.
1. It’s highly likely that you have a strong passion for photography because you are reading this. This won’t cut it either. A strong passion for photography and its creative environment is different to a strong passion for succeeding in business. There are exceptions here because some photographers have such a strong passion for photography they seek out advice or guidance to ensure success.
2. Telling your parents, partner or your best friends that you are throwing yourself into a photography business won’t bring success on its own either
3. If you’re on a budget (most realistic people are), it is foolish to run out and buy state of the art camera equipment and other advanced photographic accessories when you are unsure you will use it in the earlier stages of your small business venture. That may come later. At the outset you should try to keep costs at a bare minimum.
4. No one will argue that you must still have a grasp on your profit and loss sheet and cash flow to succeed. Your balance sheet is really just a snapshot in time but is still important. Have a yarn with your accountant. Accountants worth their value won’t charge you for this because they will consider the long term relations with you and your small but potentially growing business.
5. Some of these issues are understandable because the drive to do something we all like to earn a living from is like pursuing the dream of utopia. Therefore, people rush in trying to make it all happen in a short time frame. This often ends up a catastrophe with a lot of good hard earned savings and often borrowings being thrown to the wind.
6. The interesting point is (now that I’ve reached a gloom and doom level) is that all this is easily avoided. It is so easily avoided that I find it frustrating when I see people who have rejected the opportunity of advice or guidance when it’s been made so easily available, and later they wonder why they’ve crashed and burned! It is so, so easy to avoid all of the above. Catch this – it’s much easier to avoid failure than undertaking even the risk of going through the above and still being successful. Why? Because knowing what to do brings confidence.
7. Most often, toward the end of a failing business the majority of owners become desperate and do things they otherwise might not. Sometimes depression shows its ugly face and worse, depression following financial collapse. Then you have the task of collecting yourself and your self esteem again and starting from scratch.
8. Here’s another little gem. Don’t even think about starting a photography business unless you are sure you can generate persistence when required. Like all small businesses, there will be some heart breaks and wins. When you lose a good client, don’t go to the nearest bar and whine to your friends and loved ones, take stock of why you lost the client and make sure you do something about it so it doesn’t happen again. Throw your pride out the window and approach your client with a solution and something a little more than last time.
9. The biggest dud cop-out I hear over and over again is “I lost my business to a cheaper photographer!” Give me a break! If this is a concern for you, then beware, because there’s a chance you don’t have the solutions to run a profitable business. That issue will be around forever as far as I can tell. The highly successful photographers don’t concern themselves with that issue at all but I’ll tell you this for free – once upon a time they did!
10. Only you know if you are a truly keen photographer. You are the only person who knows whether it would please you to earn a living from such an enviable vocation. Moreover, you won’t find your answer on the internet, in a book, or from your grandmother. Your own ‘gut’ will translate your desire. Remember this, if you decide to proceed, for goodness sake, be smart and do it correctly the first time!
If you are still keen then I suggest you download this eBook and free bonuses on starting your own profitable photography business.
I hope this has been of some help to someone…
Roy Barker
PS. I really want you to understand that you must plan to make a profit. Don’t be like so many and get taken to the cleaners …so to speak!
Victor Reynolds
Amen and Amen Roy!
That’s why I believe (like I said in an earlier reply) in starting part-time while still having a full-time job. You can test the waters (and your resolve) gradually. As the article said people throw themselves into the business without thought of profit.
Starting part-time will also allow you to see if you’re down for profit-making, or just happy with an occaisional sale. If the former, great. If the latter, at least no major commitment was made.
All the best!
May 9th, 2007 at 10:19 pmReuben
Very good information Roy. I retired from fast food management about 3 yr ago and use my love for photography to suppliment my income. A couple of things that I always try to apply to the business side of my photography are…Always give more use value than money received, i.e. free gifts, extra photos, etc. and be aware of the market trends. Find your ‘niche’ and work it.
May 9th, 2007 at 11:14 pmV.Rathakrishnan
I am more interested in photogrphy. The techniques, cameras and handling methods seems to be ocean. But highly thrilling when a good photo is taken by us. Anyway I am serching for ways for attending job works on taking photographs, editing printing etc.
May 10th, 2007 at 8:20 pmThanking you,
wyndel glenn
thanks very much. i think i might try starting part-time
May 16th, 2007 at 8:43 amBecky Taylor
I have to laugh because the first comment that came to my mind when I read this was “Amen, Roy”. I then scrolled down and found that Victor had the same response. I think that I is so important to stay focused and in touch with how photography makes you feel. Passion and persistance are definately key to success. If you believe in your pictures people will pay money for them. Thanks for the tips!
May 21st, 2007 at 12:39 amV.
Thanks for the advise. You hit the nail on the head and did not beat around the bush to do it. It’s the truth, if some people cannot take it, well they sould consider … … Thanks again.
May 5th, 2009 at 7:29 pmJon
“Each year without fail over ninety percent (90%) of small business fail in the USA and in western civilization across the globe.”
Grammatical issues aside, this is simply false. There is a very common urban legend which is close enough to this for me to assume that it is the source of your misinformation. The usual “statistic” (the 3rd type of lie, according to Mark Twain) is that 80% of all small businesses fail in the first 5 years.
Again, that is also false. It comes from a misinterpretation of an actual study OF BUSINESSES THAT FAILED. Does that make sense? They were ONLY looking at businesses that failed. No successful businesses were part of the study. OF THOSE BUSINESSES WHICH HAD FAILED, approximately 80% did so within the first five years.
This has ZERO correlation with what percentage of small businesses actually fail. According to the Small Business Administration the actual number is less than 30%, with less than 20% defaulting on their SBA loans, and less than 5% ever being covered by the SBA backing policies. This is a FAR cry from the 90% figure you cite.
I would share the actual references for this data with you, but I don’t want to deprive you of the opportunity to actually research your information before sharing it with the world as fact.
Good luck in your endeavors.
- Jon
July 6th, 2009 at 7:07 pmTony
Roy, you always share useful info with your readers, you do a great job encouraging and instructing and I for one appreciate the effort. Maybe this last comment from Jon brings a bit of reality, (an alarmist and incorrect generalization you made) but maybe the 90% failure rate could be ‘transferred’ to refer to ‘wannabe’ photographers (and maybe Internet marketeers!!) who try to start up in business?!
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:09 pmThe problem with many of us just starting out and trying to find a local market, is that the pros like yourself are kinda way ahead and you’ve made it already. We have to do the hard slog of trhose early months and years. Definitely the knowledge and experience of the masters has to be valuable, and the PERSEVERANCE and determination to succeed a key. I’m there at the moment, and need to complete a mailing to past clients to keep them aware I’m here and ready for their next purchase / project!
Best wishes.
Tony S.
Castle Photo Graphics
Administrator
Hi Tony
Seriously though… I make plenty of mistakes, there’s room for many different personalities and creative skills in photography. I KNOW there are photographers out there who are extremely successful despite themselves (because I’ve met them). Determined and talented photographers can easily take their place or at least compete without breaking a sweat! Here’s the real secret though…highly successful photographers create their own market! Ponder on that and it will make sense within minutes!
You’ve made some good points. Don’t be afraid to go swimming just because there are people in the water already. It was very hard when I first started and I nearly gave up a few times. Coffee is the secret!
Roy
October 23rd, 2009 at 4:26 pmDiane
I started my business almost 1 year ago. When I first started, I was selling myself so short that I was working myself to death and seeing little to nothing. Now, I WILL walk away from a job if they try to haggle about price. I do not over charge, but my days of working for nothing are over. I was drawing low paying and no paying customers…now I have set my rates and stuck with them, I AM drawing paying customers…and good ones!! I am still doing it part time…but my goal is to go full time in 2 years. I WILL reach that goal.
November 23rd, 2010 at 9:31 amPamela
Roy,
I thoroughly enjoy the newsletter.
I’ve had a love for taking photos all of my life. Since retiring, I’ve invested money, energy, and time to become better at my hobby. I am a newby with lighting techniques, Photoshop, etc. I’m reading and studying the how-to’s and have found several great photographers that are inspirations to me.
Thanks for your time and effort to help all of us become better at our hobbies and jobs.
February 6th, 2011 at 4:45 pmMichelle
Even if the odds of failing aren’t the said “90%” and even if it is more like “30%” I think the important thing to take from this article is that we don’t have to fail if we don’t want to and if we plan. Perhaps too the SBA didn’t take into account all those “part-timers” and those that began with just a hobby in mind and suddenly threw themselves into the “business” like so many do. Because I know in my state you don’t have to have a business license until you turn a $3000 profit. So maybe a lot of those starting out don’t bother with a license and they don’t go get business loans but instead smaller personal loans. Or maybe they borrow money from family who believe that the investment will come back to them. And then they end up failing because they didn’t take the “business side” seriously enough. I have seen it a lot and not just with photography but it does seem to me that artistic people do this more than technically minded people.
Its the failing to plan that’s the issue. Its the “blame it on someone else” mentality that can get us into trouble. And it can start as innocently enough as a thought of “I can give people better quality for a better price” that ends up like shooting ourselves in the foot. We think if we give them a bonus print or a free gift they’ll come back. (Not knocking that as I do that for my best customers.) But we don’t put it all into perspective. We tend not to make goals for our business and that falls right back into being a part time hobby business, because no bank will give you a business loan without a written business plan. (Please note, I don’t condone loans – that can be the start of the financial ruin of a business if it doesn’t have its ducks in a row) All the information about starting up the business side can be found at the Small Business Association online. What you won’t find there is the guts to get it going and the perseverance to keep it going when you get set back or go through dry spells. You won’t find friends or other people who are supportive in your arts. You won’t find inspiration there either. But you will find the building blocks…the boring stuff…and it will help if you use it.
April 3rd, 2011 at 3:31 pmAdministrator
There has been some disbelief with the stats embraced from a source I used so below I’ve provided information from a more accurate source and they are STILL very alarming and support my reasons for this article of doing it right the FIRST TIME!
Here are the stats I found for you:
Small Business Survival Rates
Small Business Openings & Closings in 2008:
* There were 627,200 new businesses, 595,600 business closures and 43,546 bankruptcies.
* Seven out of 10 new employer firms survive at least two years, and about half survive five years.
* Findings do not differ greatly across industry sectors.
Sources: U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, September 2009
Survival and Longevity in the Business Employment Dynamics Database, Monthly Labor Review, May 2005. Redefining Business Success: Distinguishing Between Closure and Failure, Small Business Economics, August 2003.
…hope that clears a few things up.
Roy
April 3rd, 2011 at 4:42 pm