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What do you need to be in business…really, honestly, what do you need to run a successful business as a commercial photographer? Well, you don’t need a camera or lighting gear, as all that can be rented (yes, it is better to own, but you can rent it and still shoot a project). You don’t need a studio–that too can be rented on an as-needed basis. You don’t need a full-time assistant, or an SUV, or even a computer–all those things can be rented/hired.

You do, however, need an effective website and other promotional/marketing materials. You can’t get business if people don’t know about you and what you offer and, in today’s tight-fisted and competitive marketplace, you need to get and keep their attention. This is stuff you can’t “rent” as-needed because you need it 24/7. No marketing/bad marketing = no business, period.

I would argue that the most important tool for your business is your website–it’s the main representation of what your business is to people who do not know you (well). If you cannot afford to get a good website (say $3000+ to launch), you can’t afford to be in business. Harsh? No, not really–that is just reality.

Way too many of you think that you can design your own sites (and promos, etc.). You can’t. You are not designers and you do not have the in-depth technical abilities to construct a good site. And you shouldn’t–you are photographers, not interactive designer/programmers! When you try to save money by making your own sites you are not only producing a marketing tool that is not effective (and often downright bad), you are tacitly telling the world that anyone who can learn the technical basics of any creative profession can replace the creative professional.

How is it different for a designer (or end-client) to learn how to use a digital camera and NOT hire you to shoot a project? It isn’t. They’ll (more than likely) make crap “good enough” images just like you’ll (more than likely) make a crap “good enough” website.

Be a professional photographer and devote your talents to making the best creative images you can, and pay a professional to design/build your website (and other materials). It’s an investment that will pay off.

Next time a client says they want unlimited usage, you’ve got another reason to raise the price: grocery store checkout conveyor belt usage.

When I talk to groups or post on forums I often get asked about setting marketing budgets. When I give the standard info (one should set a budget of around 10% of desired billings) often the response is “I can’t afford that!”

Actually, you can’t afford not to do that. The equation is pretty simple, little marketing = little business.

Recently, John Backman of Backman Writing & Communications shared something he read in The Marketing Report (a subscription newsletter): an article discussing how companies often cut marketing budgets when business slows, in an attempt to save money, and how this is not a good strategy. The writers of the Report (the Marketing Science Institute) found data that seriously suggest cutting your marketing budget is not only NOT effective, it’s a bad thing to do for your business.

It seems that their data show that companies that made the short-term move to reduce marketing spending underperformed their peers significantly in the first year and, over the longer term, the negative impact only got worse. In other words, that money you don’t spend on marketing today could equal over 40% lower sales (when compared to your peers) in 5 years. Ouch!
Now, I’m not suggesting that a business doesn’t have to watch its spending–it does. But not every dollar is equal in its effect. It would be better to put off buying a new Mac or not upgrading to a bigger studio or even changing your insurance to something with a higher deductible rather than cutting into your marketing funds.

I want you to be successful. Making good budget choices will help you on that path.

I didn’t want y’all thinking I was ignoring you or anything, but I’m out of the office for the rest of the week so there won’t be any more posts until Monday.

If it’s been a while since you’ve taken a couple of days off, schedule some time. Productivity increases post-vacation and an over-worked mind is a stressful, uncreative one.  You’ll be better off physically, too.

In my article Fear (available in the Manuals section), I talk about how fear holds people back. We are afraid to tell a client “no,” for example, even when it is the right thing to do busness-wise, because that may mean not getting or losing that client. It’s scary losing work, but sometimes it’s the best thing that can happen to you.

For example, my husband is an architect. Okay, technically he’s not really an architect because in the state of California you are not permitted to call yourself an architect unless you are licensed and, though he has been working in the industry for many years, he is not yet licensed. Last week he got laid off. Losing one’s job is generally accepted as a bad thing. But in this case, it is most definitely a good thing.

First off, he wasn’t getting to do creative work at that firm, so he wasn’t loving his work. Secondly, and more importantly, he was so wiped out physically and emotionally from that non-creative job that he was having difficulty scheduling the time to study and take his exams (and there are lots of exams to take). Now, because he is no longer working for the firm that didn’t use his best skills or encourage his creativity, he has the time to study and take his tests, thus getting his license much sooner than he had ever hoped. He also has the time to work on his portfolio and be as creative as he wants to be.

After he gets his license he will be more marketable. He can open his own firm or he will be able to get a much better position. And with a more creative portfolio, either choice will be enhanced.

And all this because of a “bad” thing.

Next time you lose a client or a project, think about how you can maximize the positive from that “bad” event.

The other evening my husband and I took a walk in the neighborhood. At a nearby shopping center we both were thirsty so we decided to get some iced coffee from the Starbucks there. Now, I have to admit that I am not a Starbucks fan. I usually only go there to buy the Sunday NYTimes (it’s the only place within walking distance that sells it) or a gift card for my highly Starbucks addicted brother. I like to patronize the smaller, local stores whenever I can even though the coffee is always good from Starbucks. But as it was the only place to get iced coffee, in we went.

The cashier looked at me and asked for my order.

“Iced decaf, medium” I replied.

“We don’t have iced decaf.”

“What?” It was literally the last thing I expected her to say. She could have said “You’ve got a cat in your left nostril” and I would have been less surprised.

“We don’t HAVE iced decaf” she said again, very slowly, like I was an idiot or deaf.

“Do you have decaf coffee brewed?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have ice?”

“Yes”

“Then get a cup of ice, pour the brewed decaf over it, and you have iced decaf,” I said, adding a smile at the end, expecting the woman to say something like “D’oh! Of course!” Instead she sulked and rang it up, along with my husband’s regular iced coffee (which posed no problem).

We move to the pick-up area and I am handed a plastic cup full of ice and a paper cup full of decaf. Unbelievable, except that I was there and it happened.
“Um, excuse me” I said, “Do you have a sink?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Well then take this coffee and pour it over the ice in this other cup, over the sink where it won’t make a mess on your floor.”

She gives me the biggest sigh, like I had asked her to do it while reciting the preamble to the Constitution in reverse order or something. But she finally does it.

If your client asks for something you haven’t been asked for before, do not say “no.” Listen to your client and, if you can make it happen without going to too much trouble, make it happen. Bend. That little extra service could make the difference between winning a new client or driving one away.

One of the most popular questions I get asked is “Who should I have on my marketing list?” This is a very important question–I’m glad people are asking it. Generally speaking, I usually advocate the two-list system, that is, an A-List and a B-List.

Your A-List should be made up of the people you really want to work with. A good way to build this list is to keep a file of all the materials you see that make you think “Damn, I wish I had done that.” Note, that is not “Damn, I could have done that.” The work is something that moves you on a deeper level, where you know that your creative contribution would fit well, etc.

For example, maybe you love the photography Apple uses and you too shoot images in a similar manner. Add Apple to your list. Also add any agency that does work with Apple. You can research that information on list services like ADBASE. With that one company you now have many people to target on your A-List.

Your B-List are all the local firms or any other company or firm you have extra budget to send things to. You’re not going to spend much of your marketing dollars or time on this list. This is the “shotgun approach” list that, if it pays off and you get a gig, great, but you’re not going to work too hard at attracting these potential clients. Have extra mailers after sending to your A-List? Send ’em to your B-list.

The point is, your A-Listers are pre-qualified. You know they use good work and work like you produce. Therefore, they are more likely to be interested in your work. So, any effort you make in reaching these people has a greater possibility in paying off. Also, they are usually higher-end agencies and brands who usually have better budgets and thus who will pay you better fees.

A small, highly targeted A-List will pay off better than all the shotgun approaches out there. Start working on yours today.

I love this site. Started by a bunch of optimists who want things to be better and believe that we each hold the power to make things better, ChangeThis.com is, simply, brilliant. Read the ChangeThis Manifesto to get their rationale for the site.

Sure, I could go on with how it all works (people submit cogently though-out position papers the site calls Manifestos which are then, if approved, downloadable by the masses) and start to question the fact that the content is “donated” etc., but I would rather focus on the main point: ChangeThis is a resource, a repository, of accessible critical thinking on a plethora of topics and you can’t not learn something if you read these manifestos (bad grammar deliberate there, by the way). You’ll agree with some, disagree with others, but overall, you’ll be forced to think, and that is never a bad thing.

No quick answers. No dumbing-down of information. Just page after page of thought-out ideas and opinions. As every creative needs to think well to produce the best creative product of which s/he is capable, informing yourself this way can only be a benefit.

Okay, for all of you who moan every time I bring up how important good grammar (and/or spelling) is in business, I have real, hard proof I’m right. Big, expensive, proof.

Ouch.

(Thanks to Åsk at AdLand for the info)

Into every small business, unexpected things come up. In my case, it was a lovely attack of the stomach flu at the end of last week. Bent-over with stomach cramps, it was not the time to service my clients (or to write on this blog, for that matter). I had to cancel planned meetings and leave emails unanswered–both not great service things. But, actually, it was good service. Why? Because I knew I wasn’t thinking clearly and my abilities to focus on my clients and their needs was significantly impared. Anyone I worked with on Thursday or Friday would not have received my best and that wasn’t what I had promised.

My marketing promises my clients my best thinking. To give less than that is breaking that brand promise. Not ever good. But being honest with my clients kept the promise…and the clients.

You need to do this too. If you have the flu, stay home and reschedule a shoot or a meeting. Or get someone to cover the shoot for you, if time is of the essence. Yes, you may lose a client if someone else shoots a project (and you are definitely losing the money), but most good clients will remember that in a crisis situation, you went above the call of duty to see that they got what they needed, even when it didn’t (apparently) help you.

You can do this when a client comes to you to shoot something and you are not right for the project. If you don’t shoot people and the client needs real people shot, tell the client you are not the right person for the project and recommend someone you know and trust instead. Sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s really the best thing you can do. If you do poorly on the shoot or look like you aren’t sure of yourself, you’ll lose future business of all kinds with that client. But if you take a pass and help the client find the right photographer for the project, you’ll look great.

It’s like that scene in Miracle on 34th Street–Mr. Kringle tells a mother where to buy the right kind of skates her child wants and it’s not at the store where he is working. The floor manager gets upset, but the mother tells the powers-that-be how grateful she was for the help and how she will be back to shop in their store because of Mr. Kringle’s help. The management then makes it a policy for all their employees to tell customers where to get what they really want, if their store doesn’t carry it then tell them who does. And sales go up.
Almost 60 years later, it still works.