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Start Your Own
Photography Business from Home
By Roy Barker
Anyone with the right camera equipment, and the necessary skills can
set up a home business, marketing photography. You need only to
convert a room of your house into an office, and then you can work
immediately.
With modern technology in the form of SLR digital cameras, you do
not even need the room for a dark room. You need only to have a
personal computer and a photo-editing program. The standard is Adobe
Photoshop.
It is not necessary to clutter yourself with equipment you do not
need. You can hire equipment on and when you need it basis. You have
the freedom to work part time for a while until you can devote
yourself full time to photography. All you need to be is a serious
photographer. There are two types of photographers that makes their
living from photography, the serious photographer and the very
serious photographer. You can always bookmark this link and then you
can quickly access just about all you'll ever need from here.
Whilst the technical skills needed to make a successful photographer
have never been easier, other aspects have changed the business. The
market for photographs of virtually every type has widened, the
world seems to have an insatiable appetite for photographs. However
the price has fallen as the marketing net has broadened.
Photographers are needed in many more fields. For instance many
people use car web sites, they simply did not exist ten years ago,
and they sell their products as a result of photography. Cameras
used by scuba diver's are now an excellent quality, and whilst they
are initially expensive, they have forged a new market. People
celebrate special occasions more with photography, than they did
years ago. The travel and advertising markets have a greater need
for landscape, travel and nature shots.
It is now easier than ever to turn your dream into reality and
create a worthwhile business out of an engrossing hobby. However in
today's modern world there is more to it than simply pointing a
camera, and shooting a picture. You need to be aware of marketing
techniques, and here marketing simply means transferring ownership
of a product, in this case an image from a buyer to seller. You also
need to be aware of any local gaps in the market in your local area.
You should also try to be on top of your competitor's prices, to
undercut an existing photographer is one choice, but to neglect to
value your skills and not charge enough to cover your overheads is
another matter entirely. Remember this, its an important point.
Use your skills to the best advantage of the business and define
what you want from it. Writing a business plan helps to keep you
focused on the areas you specifically want to exploit. A business
plan helps you to define your goals and strategies, it will be
changed and updated, but it will help you, to keep things in
perspective. You can then refer back to it when things become
confusing or complicated. Everyone's business plan will be
different, as every objective will be different, but there are
certain common factors that make up a good business plan which will
help your business grow. It allows you to develop a professional
attitude to your business, which not only helps you to increase your
earnings, but also help you to finance your business.
For the photographer it should include, your business name, or your
own, with full details of the proposed location of the business, a
copy of your logo, as well as details of your copyright notices.
What is the form of your proposed business (sole ownership,
partnership, Limited Liability Company or Corporation). This should
be followed by a table of contents, which focuses on a logical
order. There are resources that will give you further details on
such as profitable-photography.com
Included after this should be the type of business you intend to
pursue, in a fair amount of detail, and it should contain the
services you intend to offer. This section should include any future
gaols or avenues you would like to explore, stating your clear
objectives. This is so you can check at a later date whether your
objectives are on course, or if you have got sidetracked.
If you envisage at any time you may need financial help, then you
should include your personal business history.
You should also state a clear and concise marketing plan that should
demonstrate how your business will differentiate from the businesses
of your competitors. You should be able to establish whom your
customers will be, as well as where your market will be, as in
wholesale or retail or a combination of both. You should also be
able to determine how long this type of market will be available to
yourself.
The next section should clearly define your opposition, as well as
their strengths and weaknesses. This should include the ways you may
be able to exploit any gaps in the market in the specific area where
you live. A section should follow this on how you intend to market
and promote your individual services.
A financial segment should be included as to how you intend to
manage the day-to-day bills of the business. How you intend to price
your services, and what factors influence this pricing structure,
which includes a section on your competitor's financial structures.
This means a fair amount of detective work as well as homework. Get
your friends to ask from quotes from the local competition. Or try
an even more direct approach, tell your competitor's that you intend
to start a new business, and that you do not want to undercut them,
as this reduces the cake for everyone. They may well offer to help
you construct a pricing structure that ensures everyone's
livelihood. It is in their interests to help. Not everyone will be
cooperative, but it may mean you can get a truer picture of the
market factors that govern your area.
Make a list of all the equipment you will need in your first year,
as well as how and where you intend to purchase. Note any
difficulties that may arise in obtaining your supplies. Note whether
the prices of your supplies have a seasonal fluctuation, that may
help you influence you when to buy. You should make a note of any
local licenses that will be necessary, as well as any zoning
restrictions, that may restrict the growth of your business. Your
neighbours may not be thrilled at a procession of customer's to your
door, check whether they can restrict your services. Make a study of
all your business insurance requirements.
The final segment should be devoted to how you intend to finance the
growth of your business, as well as isolating what your financial
needs will be. This should include a projection on your future
earnings, as well as an accurate assessment of your outgoings'. This
should be assessed on a monthly basis for the first year, and on an
annual basis for the following three years. An important aspect of
the financial statement is an assessment of the break-even point of
your business, in other words the minimum you will have to take to
pay your expenses.
The purpose of this documentation is to allow you to enunciate what
the core elements of your business will be, in doing this it should
help you to be able to quickly evaluate the success of your business
objectives. If you are not clear on your objectives then you cannot
possibly make a plan to bring about the success of those objectives.
Publisher & author: Roy Barker. Roy is the author of the popular
ebook, Income from Photography - a downloadable ebook which guides
the reader on how to start up and market a Profitable Photography
business. It can be viewed at
http://www.profitable-photography.com. Other related and
reviewed services & research sources can be found at
http://www.profitable-photography.com/html/117/ The information
on this and adjoining pages may be reprinted and used on other sites
providing all information remains unchanged and the article and all
pages remain as they are found here in its current font size & image
with all links intact.
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