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My First Year: Three Mistakes I Learned From

Friday, May 18, 2012

Posted By: Molly Denson of Simply M Photography

I’ll admit, it’s been tough trying to form this article in my mind before ~~putting it on paper~~ writing it in Microsoft Word. I wanted to talk to you about a few things I learned in my first year of business, but there are SO many topics to choose from! The following items I’m going to share are what I learned early on and what helped me grow to where I am today. Your journey may have been completely different, and that’s great! My article is intended to share where I’ve come from, and I hope it helps some of you newbies out there!

Spray and Pray. When I first heard that term, I thought “Oh! There’s a name for what I’ve been doing!” If this is new to you, “spray and pray” is when you shoot a whole bunch of images of single setting (a certain pose, for example), hoping one turns out well. I did this for far too long, mainly due to the ease of digital media. I knew I could delete what didn’t turn out well or take extra time later to edit the things that needed fixing – no big deal. Wrong! Instead of going with this Russian Roulette style of conducting sessions, spend a moment to create a nice composition and style the shot you’re trying to achieve. It’s ok to be professional!! Don’t depend on luck to produce quality photography that you can provide with a bit of extra effort!

Giving away the farm. Portfolio building = great. Giving away your time and talent for an extended period = not so great. I’ll be honest; I am a sappy girl! I love sending gifts and doing things for other people, especially when it comes to photography. However, I had to learn that there is time and a place for these things when trying to run a profitable small business.
In your first year, it is perfectly acceptable, if not incredibly smart, to do portfolio-building sessions for set amount of weeks/months. These sessions are usually free or nicely discounted for the clients as you are sharpening your skills. I highly recommend doing this to get yourself comfortable behind the camera (but also in front of clients!) and work out newbie kinks. However, please remember to let clients know that the prices you are offering are for a short amount of time – they will not remain at that level for long. My session fees were ridiculously cheap my first 6 months, and I lost a few clients when I wised up and realized I had to raise my prices in order to continue my business. If only I had known to advertise that they were for my portfolio, my folks wouldn’t have been surprised when I raised my hour-long session fee above $35. (oh yes…$35!)

Photoshop (or Lightroom!), not Picasa. This one is honestly embarrassing, but we’re all friends here, right? For the first few months of being in business, my sole editing program was Picasa. (Insert sad, sad head shaking now) I’m sure I’m not the only one out there who did this, but I am so incredibly glad I came to my senses after just a couple of sessions! I think I was simply intimidated by Photoshop and Lightroom. I didn’t know much about the programs, and expected them to be overwhelming. When I finally made the move to a professional editing program, the heavens opened and my editing began to look how I envisioned it to be. Yes, it was lacking the intensely over-saturated blue (i.e. fake-looking!) skies, but that’s a change I was ok with  I absolutely love Lightroom 3 – it’s an organized gal’s dream!
In your first year….heck, your first week of business…choose an editing program that works for you and helps you produce the images you want. Don’t be afraid of any of them – there are tutorials galore available to you for free! YouTube, creativeLive, Girl Hearts Camera, good ol’ books…you can master these programs with a little time and effort.

I want to know something that you learned in your first year of business – was it an editing trick? Something business-related? What helped a light bulb go off for you? Please share with us in the comments! We love hearing from our readers!

by Molly Denson

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Heather ManorMay 19, 2012 - 3:21 pm

I learned that in order to be happy, I needed to set boundaries. I was a total pushover and it took the joy right out of it for me. Having the confidence to run your business in a way that you can be both profitable and fulfilled is crucial.

Buying New Gear

Thursday, May 17, 2012

This post was actually sparked by a question I received in my Facebook inbox this morning and as it was something I’ve touched on with a short few sentences around some message boards lately, I thought it was the perfect time to expand on the subject and my thoughts about it.

Let me just say, there is a LOT of gear out there to lust after isn’t there? The photographer who messaged me about this told me she had just read over our page, In Our Camera Bags, and was green with envy over mine. Do you know what? I do have an impressive list of gear, and there are STILL things I would love to have (need to update that wish list I suppose!)

But let me tell you a little story. Besides learning about film and developing it back in high school, I had taken quite a break from photographer until I had my son. When I was about 9 months pregnant my husband decided we needed a video camera for our baby coming. I thought about it, and BEGGED for a DSLR instead. No, the video camera was more practical. (ha, um it’s sitting on the shelf collecting dust..)

When I finally got my first DLSR (Canon Rebel) I knew enough to know I did not want the “kit lens” and needed something else. You know, like that expensive 50mm 1.8 (~$100). Yes, that’s right, that was insanely expensive to me at the time. We did okay, but did NOT have the extra money for that lens. I remember begging my husband (keep in mind there was obviously no business set up at this time; now, I do not ask my husband about my business purchases) for that lens and thinking about how expensive this new Rebel and lens was. A few weeks ago I bought a 50 1.2L on a complete whim. When I was buying that first 50 1.8 if you had told me that one day I would be buying the L version of that lens with some extra business money in a few years, I would have seriously laughed at you. It was just not even comprehensible at that time in my journey.

So, you’re probably thinking, ‘now you have a few bags full of pro gear…how did that happen?’ Hard work. I wish I had an easier answer for you, but that is really what ALL of this comes down to. I knew I wanted those things and I made it happen. Certainly not overnight, and I certainly made some mistakes along the way. I did receive a couple mid price lenses as gifts from our family starting out, but that Mark II and Mark III and L lenses? Those were purchased by my business and I am so proud of that. I am not proud to say that I probably could not get a high enough credit card limit to purchase any of those big items, even if I wanted to, but it is nice to know you CAN do it without going into debt/borrowing money.

Now, the flip side of this is, it takes money to make money. Starting a photography business, just like any other business, can not just automatically come about without any investment on your part. We DID have to buy that first DSLR and lens. I just do not think you need to take out major loans or go into debt to fund the top of the line bag full of gear, as tempting as it may be. Work hard with what you have and let your business and your camera bag slowly get bigger and bigger. Pricing yourself so that you ARE able to pay yourself and reinvest back into your business is really key. So many pros, including myself, have an absolute favorite lens that is used most of the time anyway. Sure, it’s nice to have the variety, and I won’t say that doesn’t help me out, but I think it can be done with one or two good lenses. You would be surprised at what some of your favorite photographers started out with, and built a portfolio with. And using only one or two lenses can actually force you to be MORE creative to get variety.

When deciding what lens or two your bag will hold, it’s really important to know how you shoot. Some people like to rent lenses to see what they love, some buy and resell if that’s not “the one” for them. Rock what you’ve got and earn the money to upgrade if that is your goal.

by Jenny Cruger

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AlanaMay 18, 2012 - 7:12 am

the conan quote poster thingie – with the bee and comb is what lead to my “ah ha” moment.

Heather ManorMay 17, 2012 - 11:00 pm

Ha! That would totally be me Alana! I just saw the honeycomb connection and then it hit me later. I really liked how different and unexpected it was.

Jenny CrugerMay 17, 2012 - 10:06 pm

Aww you’re sweet!!! But no, I am NO rock star. We ALL have it in us and can be what we want to be.

You are not the first person to put the “bee” and “be” together after awhile…. and I won’t name any names but someone else who is a very important part of GHC, but did not ‘get’ that right away either…

AlanaMay 17, 2012 - 7:00 pm

I can attest to this–Jenny worked hard and it paid off. Now she is a rock star!

Also, I just figured out why you guys have a bee for your logo – “be(e) inspired, be(e) creative, be(e) a photographer” with a honeycomb pattern. But everyone probably knew that…I’m on the slow train.

Be a Contributor

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

We’re looking for a new weekly contributor to add to our team of fabulously talented contributors. Is that you? (we really hope it is!)

Questions? Please email us at hello@girlheartscamera.com

by Heather Manor

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The Secret to Making a Deal Site Work for Your Business

Monday, May 14, 2012

Today, we have a special guest post by Amber McCue. This post is a follow up to a post I wrote several weeks ago about Groupon deals. Amber, and her business partner, had a positive experience after being featured on Living Social and she is sharing how they cultivated their deal to work for them and be a driving force for their business.

While this business model will not (and really should not) work for everyone, I think it is important to show that with the right ground work, you can use marketing strategies like these to promote your business in a profitable way while staying sane.

We especially appreciate the effort Amber made to help others that may be thinking about going this route for their own business. She also included a handy checklist for you to download should you offer a deal and need some extra help. It’s awesome people like this that is what Girl Hearts Camera is all about.

Encouraging, Inspiring and Empowering.

…

Four years ago, I launched a boudoir photography boutique with my partner (and former playboy model – ooolala), Joanna. Deal sites like Groupon and Living Social were just getting hot at the time and it was one of our first marketing strategies – get featured on Groupon or Living Social. We were new on the scene and we wanted traffic and clients to help us spread the word about our amazing experience.

Three years went by and they didn’t pick us up…

We ended up being okay with that because crushing stories about businesses who were losing revenue and and profit margin were sweeping the news. Do you remember the cupcake diaster story was making headlines last fall? In this deal, the baker sold 102,000 cupcakes and lost $3 per order! Yikes!

It just so happens, the week that story was making the rounds we got the call.

Did we want our business to be featured?

… Well, yes, of course we did!

But did we really?

Without thinking about it too much, we signed ourselves up to sell more than 100 deals, which each included a one hour shoot, two digital edited photos, and a online gallery of photos with the option to purchase more (of course!), all for $99 a pop!

That is over 100 hours of shooting + more than 600 hours of invested time to process the photos, galleries, and host follow up conversations. In addition to the time, we pour our heart and soul into this work. Not only do we enjoy the photography side of the business, but we are hearts-on-fire, crazy, passionate about the experience women walk away with after our shoots. It is more than a photo shoot – our boudoir photos shoots do something to women. Our shoots turn women onto their deepest desires in life, boost their confidence, and inspire them to go after their biggest dreams. We wanted to make sure we could deliver on that experience and that the deal would be mutually beneficial for the client and our business.

My partner and I knew that to get this right for our business we were going to have to 1) be realistic, 2) be prepared, and – the biggest opportunity – 3) up sell our hearts out because we know what we have to offer is worth it!

How are we making out?

We made more in our first quarter of 2012 with the help of this deal than we did in all of 2011. In 2012, we will likely more than triple our 2011 income.

Below are some of the guidelines we followed as well as lessons learned that you can put to work for you if you are considering making a deal yourself.

We know this is a lot to take in so we prepared a simple checklist that you can grab here and refer to forever.

Do the Math – Expiration Date + Number of Deals Sold
When we structured our deal we were able to set parameters around how many deals we would sell and how long buyers would have to use their coupon.

I highly recommend setting an expiration date and limiting the number of deals you will sell. Consider how many days you will want to open up for scheduling, how many people you can fit in on each day, and commit to selling just the number of deals that you would like to open up. For example, if you only want to allow shoots on Friday for 10 weeks in May, June, and July and you can only offer 3 shoots on each Friday (10×3=30) set a deal limit of 24. You may be able to go slightly above 30 because it is likely that not everyone will redeem their deal, but consider your back up plan in case they do.

Negotiate – Deal Structure
The deal sites may have specific parameters around the deals you can create. For example, in our deal, two photos had to be included and it had to be a minimum of a one hour shoot. We negotiated to offer digital photos instead of prints because it was easier for us to process (e.g., via email vs. post or coordinating pick up or face to face delivery) and the one hour shoot. We also included a note in the deal that people would receive 10 unedited photos (although we consistently included more than 10) in their online gallery as a part of the deal, which they could select to order ala-carte from. We did this specifically so we had room to up-sell.

Prepare to Get Busy – Frequently Asked Questions + Pre-written emails
Expect to get busy as soon as the deal goes up. People may have questions before they even buy the deal. Have a FAQ page set up so you don’t have to manually field all of the questions, one-off. Simply direct people to your FAQ page. You may want to have a separate FAQ page set up for people to visit after they purchase the deal and reach out to schedule.

And you know there are going to be certain emails you’ll send again and again. Have those ready to go in advance and keep the tone of the emails in your brand’s voice from end to end.

Location Location Location
Pick one location where your shoots will be offered. Depending on how many deals you sell, you don’t want to be running from one place to the next tracking people down to deliver on a deal. Make the shoot location a place that you’ll be happy shooting in. If you want to offer options, you can set different two different locations that will be available on different days.

Take the Load off – Automate Scheduling
If you typically schedule people through emails or phone, I highly recommend setting up a scheduling through an automated system like Schedule Thing. Many scheduling services are available free. This way, when people reach out to schedule their appointments you can simply provide them a link to your scheduling site where they will select their appointment time based on your posted availability as well as enter pertinent information (e.g., contact info, voucher number, etc.). It will save you the heartache of going back and forth with people to find a mutually agreeable shoot time.

This is a serious lifesaver. My partner was the smarty pants behind this system.

The Devil is in the Details – The Fine Print
Consider adding some extra print to the deal so there is no question in the long run… We’ve lived and learned and I would recommend considering so nuances such as subject to availability and book early – first come first serve. It is common to get a flood of people wanting to book near the end of the deal – you might not even have enough time in the day to accommodate every one near the end of the deal. You can always extend, but save yourself some hassle and document in the deal that there is limited availability and the deal is first come first serve.

Lastly, don’t commit to something you can’t happily deliver.

I threw in the word happily there as well because this is your business, your heart and your soul’s work – if you won’t be happy delivering on the deal in the long run don’t do it. It isn’t worth the headache.

If structured right, however, there is an opportunity to grow and expand your business footprint.

My partner and I are happy to help you in your journey. Feel free to reach out to us or join us in the comments below!

xo,
Amber

P.S. Don’t forget to grab your checklist!

Amber McCue is a personal life strategist who works with women who want so much out of life it is almost criminal. She helps them find and live their gorgeous truth her life coaching and business consulting. Amber is currently creating a program to help women move beyond status quo and play bigger. Amber is also the cofounder of Three Boudoir where her and her partner (a former playboy model) create confidence soaring photography experiences for women. She can be found at http://www.ambermccue.com or you can email her directly at amber@ambermccue.com.

by Heather Manor

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