As part of a quick experiment, I asked my Twitter followers to answer a simple question: "What are the top business mistakes by 'newbie' photographers?" Within a short time I had several great answers, and thought they would make a great post.
It's one thing to be a good photographer, but quite another to be the owner of a successful photography studio. In fact, I've seen very many technically amazing photographers suffer through tough times, while watching others who seem less deserving go right on by.
The crucial difference in these two scenarios lies in the photographer's recognition of the importance of business skills.
You're A Photography Business Owner - Not A Photographer
As I've said on plenty of previous occasions, it's not the most talented photographer who wins, but the best marketer and business-minded photographer.
What, then, are the 6 most common mistakes, at least according to my Twitter followers?
Here they are, in no particular order:
#1: Undervaluing Their Talent And Time
This is a huge mistake that many newbies make, usually because they join the industry as a serious amateur who's found the potential for earning money practicing what they already like to do. Not that there is anything wrong with amateurs turning professional - far from it.
The trouble is, most of them fail to realize that the moment they charge for their work, they've moved from amateur to professional. That shift also requires a change in thinking, especially when it comes to how they view the value of their photography.
If photographers would just stop at this point to examine the situation, and fully understand the implications of being a professional, I think the industry would have a lot less problems.
All it needs is a simple change in perspective - from amateur photographer to serious studio owner.
As a studio owner, one of the first duties is to fully understand what it costs to keep the business open, and how much it costs just to grab the camera for a session.
With these factors in mind, plus a true valuation of the photographer's time, combined with the real cost of sales of products sold, the photographer can come up with healthy prices that truly value their work and time.
#2: Mistakes With Paid Advertising
I made the very same error when I started in business, much to my disappointment (and an empty bank account)! The advertising in question was the "Yellow Pages", and I believe I watched almost $3,600 disappear into thin air as a result. At the time, I didn't know any better, and thought I needed to be in the Yellow Pages just because that's what was expected. Besides, there were lots of other photographers in there, so it must be the proper thing to do, right?
Nope.
Other mistakes I made with paid advertising included certain internet directories and paid listings, none of which provided any leads, let alone clients.
If you're a fairly new photographer, and you're thinking about paid advertising, then it pays to really consider the target market of the advertising, how effective the reach is, the feedback of others who have taken part in it etc. If you're in any doubt, don't do it!
#3: Setting Prices Without Knowing Their COGS
This was alluded to in #1, but it's worth mentioning again here. Knowing your COGS (cost of goods sold) is absolutely crucial to producing a price list that will sustain a healthy business. COGS includes all the direct costs necessary for making a sale, but not fixed costs such as internet, telephone, rent etc.
The one thing a lot of photographers fail to include in their COGS is their time, which is a huge error. Your time is your second most valuable asset (your attitude being the first), and you should charge for it, even if it's only a nominal hourly fee.
Having calculated the COGS for a given product, it's good practice to mark that up at least 3 times to arrive at a final selling price.
This is where so many photographers get frightened, and fall into the vicious cycle of constantly second-guessing their price list - especially if they're having a difficult time with sales.
#4: Failing To Adhere To A Business Plan
To begin with rookie photographers don't often spend much time to create a business plan and then work the plan.
Do YOU have a business plan? An actual written plan that gives a frame of reference for your photography business, outlines your goals, and acts as a map for success?
I'm willing to wager that the vast majority of photographers don't possess such a document. Often, this is because they don't like the job, don't know how to write one, are too busy, or lack clearly defined ideas about their goals.
Whatever the reason, if your photography studio was an airplane, it would have little chance of arriving at its destination without a flight plan, would it?
A business plan does not even need to be complicated! It's only for you, to keep you in line, so it doesn't have to be written as though you're a major corporation.
Simplicity means clarity - and the greater the chance you'll adhere to it!
#5: Not Charging At All!
This one is interesting, and covers a subject I see very often in the various online photography groups: The concept of shooting for free (or almost free) in the hopes of getting exposure.
You can't be a professional photographer for very long without someone asking you to photograph something (usually an event of some kind) for free on the promise it will give you great exposure or the chance of further, higher-paid, work in the future.
This type of practice is a disservice to the photographer, and does much damage to the photography industry. The promised "exposure" always turns out to be fake, and further work usually involves poor pay at best.
Consider the ideas given in items #1 and #3 when making your decision about such jobs, and you can't go too far off track.
My advice to new photographers is to not fall into the trap of imagining that just because you're not experienced in the business that you can't ask for what you and your photography are worth.
#6: Thinking It's Easy
I expect that most photographers working today will probably admit that they thought it would be easier than it turned out to be! Myself included!
The truth is, running a professional photography studio is not easy. Running any business is difficult, I don't care what it is. There certainly are no "get rich fast" business plans for photographers!
Perhaps the "easy" thought comes more from the photography side of things. After all, that part is a lot of fun, and we can be technically very good at it - it's what we are here to do, right?
Sadly, the clicking of the camera only takes up 20% of our business time, and that's being generous! The other 80% is occupied with marketing, selling, social media, accounting, planning, studying, marketing (so much fun it's worth saying twice!)... and so on.
Those business-related jobs are probably those we became photographers in order to avoid, but get out of them we can't! They are all essential and vital to our success, so we may as well get used to them.
What Would Be Your #7 Top Mistake?
Thank you to the Twitter followers who contributed to this research, and I do plan to try this experiment again sometime.
This is only 6 of the mistakes that many of us fall into, and I'm quite sure there are many more!
What other mistakes would you add to the list? What would be your #7 blunder to warn new professional photographers about?
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