Are you surviving?

Your question is not really one that can be served up easily, my prediction is I am going to spend the next hour typing and still only scratch the surface of everything that would define where I am at. But here goes. This will be a good exercise for me.

Am I surviving?, yes, but only due to my current 9-5 job. My business, Well that's one of those goals that has a long path ahead of it. I have had a handful of professional jobs this year but not enough to support the studio nor enough to work on my "needs list" beyond a few key items.

Mostly I am dumping money into equipment this year the plan is to have my marketing figured out by the time I can actually pull off anything requested of me,. no point in marketing that I can do XYZ photography when I don?t have XYZ equipment to be able to turn that request around quickly,.. yah rental but that can only be pushed so far.

Iv got the talent, I have a unique perspective of being an old web developer kowing the in's and out's of web photo/graphics needs, iv got some of the equipment, I am working on the marketing with the website and a few other things, I even have a mini studio set up, I can do a lot, but what I am missing is the word of mouth, the street rep,..

my added dilemma is that there are a hundred thousand photographers out there to compete against, who also have adequate talent, but another two hundred thousand that well, kind of suck, and quite frankly its some times hard for a client to tell before the project starts, so as often as a talented photographer gets a job two crappy photographers also find jobs. as a no name with no street rep my name is simply lost in the murky pool most times.

Most would tell me find my niche market and get really dam good at it,... then focus on marketing, marketing, marketing, well that?s the thing my niche, the thing I do best is wildlife and nature photography, which does not make the big bucks, I am also dam good at studio photography,.. which has the potential for big bucks but most are at least adequate at it so there is a lot of competition there.

Most would say ok, well then tighten it down further,. Get really good at jewelry photography, brand yourself as the king of jewelry and nothing more,.. but then I compare that to my current job and think well that would be dam boring just shooting the same thing over and over,.. no I want to be known as the guy who can do it all.. so that is a mind set dilemma that I really need to iron out and which I blame for most of my stalling with commercial photography at this point.

im not sure the niche market strategy is perfect for me,.. what i find over and over again is that i need name recogition,.. it does not need to be with anything more specific than "commertial photography", but it has to be there. so my current strategy leans more towards getting my work out there with my name attached to it. we will see how that goes for a time.

I just finished the web site, which has gone over well, I am working on getting it linked from all over,.. a slow arduous task, the web site is like a business card absolutely useless unless you hand it to some one looking for your services, what I need is a far more aggressive strategy,... I need to go after the clients I want, but I also need to be ready the second I get that haloed call back to respond and deliver in perfect order, I am working up to that, so for the time being its all a little slow, I am only taking on the jobs I know I can do, and I am doing work at about 50-60% market value and eating the cost of rentals. I guess it is growing, in the reguard that at least i have a few jobs, but its no where near able to sustain itself yet.

The hard part is you cant get the equipment without the jobs, but you cant do the jobs without the equipment, id put the cost of opening a photo studio up there with the cost of opening up a restaurant... the good equipment is dam expensive. Some of it can be rented, but not all of it. and there is something to be said about the familiarity of your own equipment that helps you perform at a high professional level.

I am considering using credit to speed things up but I guess my fear that the commercial photography pool is so big has me hesitant to get to far into debt. so its all growing ever so slowly each job buys a new piece of a equipment and opens the possibilities up a little more,.. in theory it should slowly increase until I figure it all out. For the time being I am ok with slow.

As for nature/wildlife, I am out there shooting every other weekend. I am bringing a collection together for sale in the next few months, both through my website and possible Sundays markets. I?m working on the web store technology, Thinking about a calendar with the Audubon society, and doing some Sunday market booth set up cost analysis type stuff.. And I am taking notes on all the locations I visit, considering doing paid expeditions photo workshops,.. but that?s a pipe dream for the moment.

And then there is the stock photography options,.. I need to look into that and see if that?s something I want,.. Its kind of parallel to processed food versus organic food for me,. Stock photography is generally cheaper and faster for the client but its also usually not the greatest of quality and its usually not exactly what the client was looking for. The sad part is clients have accepted it ?as is?, not getting exactly what they wanted but paying less for it. All the time killing off the quality photography business in the process. And stock photography does nothing for building your name. so I am just not sure I want to go there. But it is the way things are turning so I may just have to deal with it.

I regard stock photography companies like some people regard Wall-Mart, the big bad company that moves in and kills all the mom and pop stores,.. stock photography companies keep growing, and so does Wall-Mart what can one do other than vote with there dollar.

The funny thing is the stock photo companies would not exist without the two hundred thousand crappy photographers that constantly hand over there images,.. so really it is the photographers all shooting each other in the foot. But iv gone way off track now?.

But that?s ok I have only recently decided to turn my talents into a business, this will all take time, my current stand point is its to risky to go deep into debt until you know your on the right track,.. I am still trying to find my track I guess. But that?s cool, the way I look at it at least I know where my hold ups are. And until I do figure it all out at least I can do some work building my skills,..

As for Biznik, no business yet, but iv only been on for a few weeks so who knows, lots of interesting ideas to think about though.

I will say one thing, while I am in this mode of growing, you biznik folk can probably get some darn good deals out of me for your photographic needs. It costs absolutely nothing to ask some questions and talk out your needs with me.

Alex AlexCphoto.com

I am pretty much in the same situation as Alex, meaning I have kept my 9-5 job and am building my business on the side, so the question of surviving is moot.

However, I am growing and a lot of it does have to do with Biznik. I've gotten quite a few leads from Bizniks who found my profile, visited my site and then asked for a marketing/website quote.

It's not time to be out on my own yet, but it's getting much closer.

Alex, I would reconsider wanting to be known as the guy who can do everything, especially on your biznik profile.

Why? It makes you more memorable to the rest of the members when someone asks us if we know a good photographer.

See, I'll either remember you as the 'nature photography guy who loves his work and can do other photography too if needed', or the 'does everything guy who just wants to make a living'.

Who would you recommend to a friend?

Rebecca

The problem is the business model for a nature photographer is very different than one for a commercial photographer.

it is very unlikely that ill get nature/wildlife assignments through Biznik, because generally speaking if an art director wants a picture of a bufflehead duck they are going to go to a stock photo place and download one, they are not going to take on the expense of hiring on a photographer to go sit in a photo blind for multiple days in hopes of a perfect bufflehead duck shot.

for the nature wildlife aspect of my career its all up to me to produce package and sell my imagery as art, There really is not a large by request market for this stuff, not that there aren?t any but simply that they are far and few between.

So if I am only known as a nature photographer, sure it may get around that alex is a good nature photographer but I don't think that biznik will bring in work for that niche there is simply not enough work there to pay the bills let alone grow a self sustaining life style. that's not to say nature photography cant pay the bills, just that it relies very little on others to request the work before its done. its after the fact when its framed and some one says hey that would look nice on the wall,.. that's when it sells. And biznik may be able to help me with that. But that's very different than saying some one would be looking for a wildlife photographer to hire,.. that just does not happen that often.

But I am ok with that because I love it, I do it more for me than anyone else.

So that brings me to Commercial photography, something I am equally as good at but does have a much higher marketability. Sure its not my ultimate passion in life but I do love it and its capable of sustaining my family. So if people are going to be talking about me as a photographer on biznik I much rather be known as a Commercial photographer that also does some wildlife nature stuff. Being known as a good commercial photographer pays the bills and allows me to go on walk about every week feeding my nature photography addiction... it's a win win.

But I have to convince everyone that I am good, and that I really can do just about everything.

Ok maybe not everything, I constantly turn down wedding gigs, (yes I will forward those on to biznikers next time one pops up) I do need to focus a bit, like say I am a great garment photographer that can also do all sorts of other commercial product photography, like food and electronics, and on the side I do nature and wildlife stuff. But I think its very important to have that "all sorts of other photography" associated with your name, so that it does not limit the type of jobs coming in to only garment photography. Because quite frankly constantly steaming out wrinkles would drive me loopy if that was the only work I got. =)

One would say "those don't go together" (nature and commercial) I would say so what, that?s what I am good at. do they have to go together for me to be good at them both? No but I do have to treat them very differently and market them both very differently. That's the trick how do I get known for both, without becoming too diverse, or becoming overwhelmed, if I had the answer to that id be sipping margaritas in Maui right now. =)

My current strategy revolves around building both and seeing with one prospers first.

I realize I have a bit of growing to do before I can pull this off, and that I am making my own marketing more difficult with this stance, but I guess I have to try to do it my way first.

I am absolutely confident that nothing is impossible.

Maybe that?s foolish, but id rather be a foolish optimist, than a correct cynic =)

Any way thanks all for the topic it made me sit down and put what iv been thinking into words, looking forward to hearing others stories as well.

Alex AlexCphoto.com

Wow. So useful as a topic, Phoenix. My answer is that I could never do this without my partner, unless I took out massive loans. I'm surviving on his job right now.

I do feel comforted that others aren't successful right out the gate. I believe that I'm planting seeds right now, and I hope someday they bloom. Some days it's hard to feel like that's really "working," though.

Am I surviving? Yes, and thriving too. But, I've been at this for more than a few years, and I've recently created a clinic that uses a wildly different business model from most Western Chinese medicine clinics.

I also work my ass off, and spent much more time on my business that most acupunks. Partly that is an influence from having spent so much time Asia, partly it required, as I've no partner or 9-5 to back me up. Plan B would be to go back to Asian and impersonate an English teacher, and that puts plenty of fuel in my fire to keep pushing toward with the practice here.

In some ways it is simply about commitment. I've commited, heart, soul and wallet to living as a practitioner of Chinese medicine. I've not back door out. No other support systems. Oddly enough, I'm coming to believe that if you commit to something, the world will let you see opportunities where in the past you saw problems.

It would be nice if I could reply honestly to this thread... but since this is a public forum and our biznik profile does show up in web searches Im refraining from answering.

I keep my business information to myself and unless I am in a secure/password protected forum I will not post about my personal or my business happenings for the entire world to see.

Rebecca

First I would like to introduce myself, since I am new to biznik. I am an independent jewerly artist and designer. Biznik seems like a great site and I have been reading through a few of the threads and it's nice to see such good energy and discussion from everyone!

I find the most difficult part of my job is getting my work seen and understood (valued). I quit my very successful full-time job in order to work for myself - and I'm glad I did, but yes, sometimes it is hard. There is no guaranteed paycheck, so you have to have faith in yourself or you're sunk.

It has been a struggle for me the past 18 months, especially when you start to second-guess yourself, but I think it's starting to pick up now. I'm getting some orders and have my work in a few galleries. I decided to use my energy for myself, instead of giving it to a company I don't own. When I get small success now, they feels so much more satisfying than when I was working for someone else. In this respect I survive, because not all survival is monetary.

I think this is a great topic and one I discuss often with people. My business just completed its third year of business, so I'm feeling like I have a good idea of what I'm doing, I have a good client base, and we have definite direction that we're succeeding in.

The first year was really hard - I consider myself fortunate I had no family to support, no mortgage to pay, etc as I could live on the cheap. Second year was better, third year has been really good to me.

I learned a few things:

• Don't buy anything big unless needed until you stabilize your income. I learned that after buying an italian leather sofa and chair.

• Don't stick with your original business plan unless its actually working. My business plan now is totally different than last year or when I began and I'm much better off for it. Get into the market, see what works and doesn't, and adapt quickly.

• Diversify your offerings - for example last week billable hours were nearly non-existant, but I still sold some equipment and a ton of web services. But keep them in your core business - nothing says "unfocused and unsuccessful" like selling the newest gimmick that has nothing to do with your business.

• Celebrate the good months (but don't forget the first bullet) and be honest when you need help. If your clients like what you do for them, they should want you to be able to make a living so you can keep doing it!

Regarding money, hope everyone keeps separate accounts for work and business. I recommend building up the business account and paying yourself the same amount every month. Make sure your pay is less than your average business net. If you're consistently doing well and the business account gets too big, give yourself a raise or quarterly bonus.

Last year I was running myself ragged and I looked to figure out what was going wrong. I had too many clients who weren't serious about having their systems done right, I had too many short appointments, I had them too far spread out, I spent too much time quoting equipment costs, I didn't get paid fast enough (or at all) for equipment since I offered terms, there was occasionally questions of what we did and the status of the work, and I didn't consistently collect payment on 100% of the monthly and quarterly services I offered.

I ended up making a bunch of changes: 1) I changed how I represented what we did, upgraded the company marketing, and raised prices a bit. Suddenly we looked too big and expensive to hire for those who aren't serious about their systems (though our labor prices are about average).

2) I added trip fees and higher minimums to further out areas. We still have clients outside of seattle/eastside, but only larger ones now.

3) I put most of our products online for purchase, so I don't have to quote them each time. Also since you pay online by credit card, I no longer have to worry about waiting to get paid for equipment I've already paid for.

4) When doing large equipment sales which aren't online, I changed from Net15 to 100% payment up front.

5) For recurring services I added recurring billing and echeck processing to our credit card processing gateway. This saves me countless hours each month and has increased our bottom line.

6) I added a carbon copy service agreement which detailed what work we were there to do, what the final results of our work was, what follow up items exist, how long we were there, and our terms.

7) I changed billing software so I could more easily see who was late, remind them, and calculate late fees. Clients rarely pay late fees, but they motivate promptness nevertheless.

8) I added leasing options to certain larger items and while I'm not a fan of debt, because of oddities of tax law and the fact that some companies need this gear but don't have the cash, it really helps.

While this seems very strict and even corporate, its improved client relations greatly because we're more clear with policies, faster to act, and easier to work with. Its also opened more opportunities, attracts better customers, enables me to close more of my opportunities, keep our cashflow positive, and cut my workload.

Just so you know, I have no business background. I didn't think three years ago I'd need to do any of this stuff. But at least for my business, business structure has allowed us to grow, prosper, and keep my sanity.

The next step after you secure your money situation and cut your workload is shorter days and longer weekends =).

Good constructive opening post. Thanks.

If we were all more open and honest we'd all be better placed.

Personally, I have neither fear nor hesitation in making my current status clear - with this already publicly-posted clip:

Amid huge personal transformation my commercial focus & activity have shifted. Having decided there's better things to do, I'm no longer interested in all that money-power-and-glory stuff. So, I've eased-off and relaxed. Happily working far fewer hours, I reject much of that which I previously embraced - including unspirited and ethically-compromised enterprise which simply exploits without putting anything back.

Getting comfortable with this hasn't been easy or speedy. Plagued by major doubt on the wisdom and practicality of it, consequent indecision & back-peddling has marked a long and financially-costly period during which I stayed away from as much as I could (and little of what I did worked well), leading me to deeply question my skill and sanity.

So no, I'm not currently making money.

Phoenix, I thought of you yesterday when I was at a trade show (of sorts) and I was asked by several people if I was doing well with my business. I was really surprised by this, because I was at a booth promoting my business, which seems like an odd place to be asked that question.

I guess if I'd been thinking more clearly, I would've replied, "why do you ask?" Obviously there was a motivating reason for that question, and just think how much more I would know if I'd investigated rather than just providing an answer.

Phoenix, I emailed you, but it may have gone to your spam folder. Please check and see. :) Rachel

In the words of Tom Hopkins when asked how is it going " Unbeleivable" True regardless of circumstance and really sets the tone for further conversation... How are you Biznikers ???

UNBELEIVABLE.....