7 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE YOU START A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

There are a lot of benefits to running your own business - especially when you get to do something you love like Photography.  You get to be your own boss, set your own schedule, and take the clients you want to work with.  There are many rewards, and we often have this idealized picture in our head of what it will look like.  How often, though, do we really think through what it will take to survive?  Here's 7 things you should know before you start a photography business.

1. You might be an artist, but this is a business.

 You'll spend most of your time doing things other than taking photos.  If you're not okay with that, don't start a business.  Don't invest your time and energy if you're not willing to make business decisions, and look at the numbers.  I applaud artistic passion, and I am an artist - but when it comes to running my business, I'm a CEO first.  If you'd rather just take photos, keep the day job and take photos - there's nothing dishonorable or wrong with that!

2. If you borrow money, you'll make decisions you wouldn't otherwise make.  

It doesn't take a LOT of money to start a photography business.  It certainly doesn't require the kind of capital it takes to open a restaurant, or coffee shop, or manufacturing plant.  If you start borrowing money, it's likely for things you don't really need.  Now you're not only paying back a loan (or credit card), but you're paying interest - which is money you can't reinvest in the business.  Debt makes you do things you wouldn't do otherwise (trust me, I know this better than most people), and in a business, it can consume your cash-flow - leading you to more bad decisions.

3. You don't need a Canon 50 f/1.2.  

If you're counting on fancy glass to make you a better photographer, you should probably stop charging people, and just go practice.  I'm not saying no one should ever buy it (although I'm a Nikon shooter, so I can't imagine why you're shooting Canon in the first place), but if you're starting your business, and all you can think about is buying gear, than you're probably not making the best long-term decisions.  

4. There's nothing more valuable to your business in the beginning than an accountant.

Seriously - quit thinking about the Canon 50 f/1.2.  It's not going to make you a better photographer.  It's not going to make you more money.  It's not going to help you run a better business.  On the other hand, a good accountant that you can develop a long-term relationship with, can definitely help you make the right decisions about growing your business.  

5. Most workshops are a waste of time.  

Seriously.  I can count on one hand the number of workshops in the industry that I would recommend.  If you want to know what they are, ask me - I'll tell you.  Most of them are a waste of your money, and you can learn just as much by practicing.  If you're paying money to stand in a pack and shoot models, why not just go get a bunch of cute models and do it yourself?  If you're paying money to be in the presence of a "rockstar" keep in mind that they're only a rockstar to you - and that they're "mojo" isn't going to suddenly wear off and make you successful.  Also, as a note - don't take a business workshop from anyone you can't verify their business success.  

That includes mine.

6. You're not going to get rich as a photographer.

 You'll most likely make as much as a teacher - and that's if you focus on running a solid business, take great care of your clients, and manage your expenses well.  You can certainly make more - but the odds are that on average, you're going to work really hard for moderate pay.  There are definitely exceptions, and if you work REALLY hard, AND get really lucky - you can live a pretty comfortable life, but I wouldn't count on it.  The trade off is, you get to be your own boss.

7. Photography is a service industry.  It's about serving clients.

 It's not about you, or your images, or your ego, or your equipment.  It's about providing a REAL value to REAL people who trust you!  You may be fantastically talented, but if you're planning on being a rockstar to anyone but you're clients - you're in this for the wrong reason.

What else would you suggest people know before starting a Photography Business?

39 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULDN'T START A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS

1. People will think that all you do is take pretty photos

2. People will think that you always bring your camera with you, and don't mind taking photos wherever you go.  Including at your niece's birthday party... "since you're going to be there anyway." 

 3. You'll spend most of your time trying to figure out which photos don't suck. 

 4. You'll constantly be wondering whether anyone else thinks any of your photos are any good. 

 5. You'll want to change your website/blog/logo/business card/brochure/etc every time you log into a photography forum and see another photographer's new website/blog/logo/business card/brochure/etc.

 6. Most of the people that contact you will think you're overpriced.  You'll never know how many didn't take you seriously because they thought you were underpriced.

 7. You'll constantly be asked "that includes a disc of all my images right?" 

 8. You'll constantly be asked "can you do that thing where part of the picture is in color and the rest is in black and white?" 

 9. People expect you to be able to make their children smile... on command... every time. 

 10. When people realize you can't make their children smile, they'll get mad at you... as if you punched their kid in the face. 

 11. You'll spend hours at your computer "processing" your images, which is really a euphemism for staring blankly at your screen wondering why anyone actually pays you to take these terrible, terrible photos. 

 12. Usually, everyone else is sleeping, while you're still sitting at your computer at 2:30am. 

 13. Camera companies release new gear all the time, and you'll constantly think you need it in order to make your photos suck less. 

 14. The average photography business lost money in 2011.

 15. You'll have zero job security 

 16. You'll spend about 20% of your time on photography, and the rest banging your head against the wall, trying to figure out how to make money doing this so you can still pay your mortgage.

 17. Most small businesses last less than 5 years. 

 18. The average photographer has $14,520 worth of camera gear... 

 19. that they put on a credit card... 

 20. You'll meet with 50 people to get 15 to say yes to you. 

 21. You'll be required to learn to like coffee. 

 22. There's no pension plan 

 23. There's no health insurance 

 24. You'll wonder why XYZ photographer always gets to shoot at the cool venues. 

 25. You'll also wonder why she gets published all the time. 

 26. What you won't realize is that she sits up at night wondering if her work sucks... just like you do. 

 27. Running a business is really hard. 

 28. You'll often feel very alone, and that no one else in the world understands what your life is really like. 

 29. You'll wake up on Saturday mornings for the rest of your life, wondering if you are supposed to be at someone's wedding. 

 30. You'll attend weddings of family and friends and will spend the whole time watching the photographer, not the wedding. 

 31. Then you'll look at the photos later and wish you'd have paid more attention, since the photos suck. 

 32. You'll have to hire an attorney and an accountant. 

 33. Wedding photographers get sued by their clients. 

 34. They also get audited (3X more often than people who don't own their own business). 

 35. You'll find yourself worried more about what other photographers think, than what your clients think. 

 36. You'll have to carry 50lbs of gear around for 10 hours, often without food or water. 

 37. People will think that you have little elves that work for you that can apparently "photoshop" anything.... even people who didn't actually show up at the wedding... for free.... 

 38. Someone will always show up at a wedding with a nicer camera than you.  

 39. And they'll post their terrible photos on facebook, and the bride and groom will love them, and you'll wonder why you even got out of bed. 

 BONUS - Here are three reasons you should: 

 1. Owning a business means creating something that supports the kind of life you want to live.  It means freedom. 

 2. Being creative means you get to give the world something it has never seen before. 

 3. You have the opportunity to help people remember the way they feel at the most important moments of their lives. 

Did you find this post helpful? CLICK HERE to have posts like this delivered to your email inbox.

WHY THEPHOTOSYSTEM IS BAD FOR OUR INDUSTRY

I first saw this a few weeks ago.  Then I got an email that it had "launched," and since then, the industry has literally exploded over "ThePhotoSystem," from David Jay.  There are photographers I know and respect on both sides of this issue.  There are established photographers that are raving about it, and some that are screaming "SNAKE OIL!"  The reality is, ThePhotoSystem isn't for those photographers - it's for new photographers.  It's for photographers trying to start out right.  And that's exactly why I think its so dangerous.

Let me say this - I'm not a DJ-hater.  DJ is one of the sharpest marketers in our industry.  This isn't a post about DJ.  It's a post about ThePhotoSystem (TPS).  Regardless of what I - or anyone - thinks of the individual steps, the idea that there are 10 easy steps to starting a photography business is a dangerous proposition.  Why?  Because 95% of small business fail.  

Small businesses don't fail because they don't have enough friends.  They don't fail because they don't smile enough.  They don't fail because they aren't "mother-Theresa" enough.  They fail because they aren't profitable.  And most photographers aren't profitable because they don't understand business.  In fact, The vast majority of photographers really treat their "business" as a hobby.  

The danger to our industry is that TPS creates a false expectation for new photographers.  Now, before you think that I'm some old-timer that is afraid of newbies coming in and taking over, let me remind you that you're reading a free site with a ton of FREE resources designed just for those who are starting, and want to start out right.

Here's why I think TPS is bad for photographers.

1. The biggest problem is that new photographers equate popularity with success.  

The cult-like, status driven state of our industry leads photographers to believe that they should be like the "popular kids," without any respect to the actual success of their business.   ThePhotoSystem is beautifully designed, and full of slick marketing - but low on content.  That's exactly the problem with 95% of the educational materials available to photographers.  So many new photographers flock to listen to the "popular" photographers, without any regard for whether or not they are truly "successful."  Many have successfully built a platform with photographers, but if you really want to learn how to run your business - learn about business.  

2. It disregards the product.  

If all you do is sell your personality, and fail to deliver a quality product (your photography), you're basically a prostitute.   The idea that the work you produce is less important than the friends you make is a tragedy.  The real challenge - and what separates the best from the rest, is that the best can take a GREAT product and wrap it in an even better client experience.  The very best have spent YEARS building their craft, and years getting better at photography.  All the marketing and friends in the world won't make up for terrible photography.  Sure, it might for a while - but eventually your friends will get sick of bad photos.

3. It perpetuates the lie that there is a "fast-track" to success.

Everyone wants to be super-successful, NOW.  The beautiful thing about our industry is that it's open to anyone.  Anyone can become a photographer.  Anyone can learn the craft and build a business if they're willing to work really, really hard.  TPS gives the false impression that you can boil a lot of hard work into 10 easy steps.  In reality, it takes years of hard work to build something that will add value to your clients - and your own life. 

There are plenty of examples of over-night success stories.  Except that there really aren't.  There aren't any over-night success stories, we just think there are.  Most of the people who built something successful were hard at work for years before anyone noticed - or before it really took off.   We're attracted to instant success because that's what we want.  The problem is that, most often, success isn't instant.  In fact, many times what we think is success, really isn't.