Comments on: 10 Reasons Why You Should Consider Profit before You Start a Photography Business

By: Scott

Scott — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 14:48:07 +0000

Thank you for the advice I attempted to open a photo-related business just as the economy started to tank. After a great deal of soul searching I decided to restructure and try to launch again just using the internet; Weather it succeeds or not will have little impact on me financially

By: ernie putney

ernie putney — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 02:08:12 +0000

i am just a amiture photogrqpher, want to show ppl some of my pics (to tweek) HOW DO I DO THAT? the ppl i show them to around here ask how do i get these pics and that i take real good pics.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 21:42:45 +0000

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

By: Michelle

Michelle — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 20:31:53 +0000

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.

By: Pamela

Pamela — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 21:45:20 +0000

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.

By: Diane

Diane — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 14:31:04 +0000

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.

By: Administrator

Administrator — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:26:37 +0000

Hi Tony
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! 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!

Roy

By: Tony

Tony — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 21:09:49 +0000

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?!
The 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

By: Jon

Jon — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 00:07:04 +0000

“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

By: V.

V. — Wed, 06 May 2009 00:29:31 +0000

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.