3 Steps to a Better Photography Business

3 steps to a better photography business In business you are either moving forward or backwards, you cannot stand still. So, are you moving forward? And is it the right forward?

Forward doesn’t mean the same thing for each one of us. It may mean working more efficiently, writing up higher sales, creating a better experience, pushing your camera skills to new levels.
Thrive Status!

Just as any navigator would tell you…. If you want to get there (wherever “there” may be for you)…. A Map will make the road a lot less bumpy! Since you can’t go run into the gas station to pick up your personal success map, here are 3 steps that will get you to the final destination….

FOLLOW THESE 3 STEPS TO FIND YOUR SUCCESS MAP!

1. The road behind you

The first step in creating your personal map is to know what is in your rearview mirror. This step is the foundation for your entire map, it is the ‘express lane’ to an accelerated success route.

In order to be able to get that rearview mirror attached to the windshield, you’re going to have to carve out a nice chunk of time, get settled with no interruptions and dive in.

Pull all of last years’ client files.
Determine how many shoots you did each month.
Write down where each client came from. (Create categories and subcategories. For example, Referrals may have ’15′, you would need a subcategory for who referred. 3 Referred by Smith, 2 Referred by Jones, Tate and Chang).
How much cash was brought in each month. (Determine how much came in and how much product cost you had). Ex; for the month of January 10K came in with product cost of $1500. COGS is 15%. (Formula: PRODUCT COST / REVENUE = % of COGS
Expenses for each month. (Utilities, Props, Gear: Where is your money going?)
You can get more data but this will be enough to start.

2. Plan your course

Now that you’ve collected the information in step 1, you will start to get a clear picture of where you’ve been. This information is invaluable! With it, you will be able to see clearly where this room for improvement. Now that you know, it’s time to plan course…

Based on the number you collected in step 1, create a forecast for the following year.
Make notes for what worked well and not so well in your marketing efforts.
Assess your pricing structure and determine if it is in line with your long term goals.

3. Learning to see the obvious road

Every photographer is clear on one thing, they’d like to be better. But better how, better where, better why? These are question that many can’t exactly identify.

But if you can’t answer those questions, you’re taken by whims very easily! You see a new prop, a new set of templates, new gear, new lighting, new website, new blog template and you wonder if each of these things is what you might be needing?

When you’ve taken the steps (1 & 2) to make the road become obvious:

You will have clarity on where to best invest your money.
You will be able to see clearly which areas need refining through education or investing and which road should be avoided like illegal U-turns.
You will be able to see which efforts resulted in profit and which efforts should be abandoned.
You’ll have the confidence to move forward with your business goals!

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I am currently gearing up to offer my annual LIVE WEB EVENT, GO4 PROFIT on Wend. May 30th! Where I teach everything you need to know to create an amazing experience for your clients while getting thousand dollar sales, and you’ll be able to start with your very next session!