START #5: SYSTEMS CREATE MARGIN

Ever feel like this guy?  If you're a wedding or portrait photographer - and running your own business, chances are - you have.  The truth is, most of us can be easily overwhelmed by the things we have to do on a regular basis: edit photos, meet with clients, track our income and expenses, purchase new equipment, fulfill orders, manage our clients information, and more.

Most of us operate with very little margin in our business - or our life.  I like to think of margin as the difference between all the things we're doing (our responsibility), and all the things we're capable of doing (our capacity).  For many of us, we have little or no margin - and end up feeling like our friend above.  If you scroll down, you'll see this post, where I share results about how photographers spend most of their time.

The fact is, most of us spend much of our time on things that don't necessarily help us grow our business - they just help us barely keep our head above the water.  So, what if we were able to create systems that helped free up some of that margin - so we could spend more time on things that really helped us build our business.

So what do I mean by "systems?"  Everything you do on a regular basis should have a system: a repeatable process to complete common tasks.  In my business, I have systems in place for our accounting, our workflow, client relationship management, sales, and ordering.  Each of these systems is designed to be efficient - saving me time.  

For example - I block 2 hours, one day each week for entering information in quickbooks.  I block time each day for responding to email and other communication that needs my attention.  My image editing workflow takes me about 4 hours on Monday, and my album pre-design takes about 1.5 hours on Wednesday.

I'm not saying you have to follow my schedule - but by having a system in place - that I know I can repeat, time after time, I'm able to save myself time for things that are critical for building a business.

Taking the time up front to put in a system that works, can save you time - and margin - later.

image from istockphoto.com

START #4: KNOW YOUR NUMBERS

Some of the most common questions asked by photographers are: how much should I charge?  How do I set up packages?  Should I do packages or a la Carte pricing?  These are all great questions.  They are important questions.  Often, though, the problem is that this is the first question a photographer is asking - before they ask some other, very important questions.

The first question I encourage people to ask themselves is this: how much does it cost you to be in business?  I know it's not necessarily as sexy a question - and it's a hard one to answer - but it's impossible to really start figuring out things like pricing and packages, without a good grasp on the answer. 

Do you know how much it costs you to be in business?  Do you have a system in place to track your expenses?  Surprisingly, even though they are running a small business, many photographer don't have a good system in place.  In my business, I track EVERYTHING.  I want to know how I spend my money, and whether or not it helps - or hinders - the business.  

Start by planning out your expenses for the year, including things like insurance, utilities, lab costs, product costs, marketing and advertising, lease, taxes, equipment, transportation and travel, training and education, contract employees (second shooters), and your salary (yes your SALARY).

This will give you a good idea of what it will cost you to be in business - which gives you a good idea of where to start when thinking about pricing.  It seems like a lot of work, and it is, but its worth it.

Second, develop a system to help you keep track of revenue and expenses on an ongoing basis.  Even if it's just a simple spreadsheet - that's better than nothing.  There are some great tools available, including Quickbooks (and their online version).  Many of the Photographer-specific Customer Relationship Management tools (like ShootQ and others) have features that make it easy to keep track of your revenue and expenses.

Finally, it's worth it to hire a good accountant that understands your needs.  Someone who knows small businesses and can help you set up a plan - and stick to it.  Accountants aren't just for saving money at tax time!  A good accountant can make you money all year long by helping you know exactly where you stand.

START #3: BE THE BEST IN THE WORLD

To be successful in business, all you have to do is be the very best in the world at whatever it is you do.  Sounds easy right?  Actually, it is. 

First, you get to define your world.  You get to choose your sphere of influence, or, your market.  It's up to you what "world" you want to compete in - and you define its parameters.  It can be as big, or as small, as you want it to be.  In fact, starting out - you do yourself a great service to pick a very small world.

For example, if you're a photographer who wants to shoot Senior portraits, pick one High School.  Make your world, about just one graduating class.  You don't have to turn away other businesses, but focus all of your energy on just one group.  It starts to get easier to be the best when your world is small.

Second, you also get to decide what "best" means to your market.  They way you conduct your business - your style, your personality, your level of service - all help define you as "best." Figuring out how to be the very best in your small world is far more likely to lead to a bigger business, then trying to be "good" for everyone.

Often, we try to be "good enough" to as many people as we can - just to keep business coming in the door.  The problem is, no one refers "good enough."  No one keeps coming back to "good enough."  You'll keep your customers happy - but none of them will have any reason to be passionate and excited about you and your business.

So choose your world.  Choose the market that you're going to own - and then own it.  Once you own your market, you can let it grow - and if you do it right, it absolutely will.