8 Challenges For A Home Based Business

1. Not being taken seriously.

A common concern of most home-based photographers is whether their customers will consider their business a real one, rather than just a hobby that they are making a bit of money from. They think that their customers may feel that the business is not legitimate.

Home businesses are generally seen as part time concerns, and therefore their professional image and credibility suffers. They are not taken seriously!  Although this perception exists, the business owner should do everything that they can to change this. This can be done by presenting a strong professional business image, not only in the physical appearance of the home, but more importantly in the way that the business is conducted. The way that you treat the customer, together with strong branding, advertising, and business practices, will go a long way to justifying working from home. Your own mindset is also paramount in having a strong profitable photography business.

2. Separating work and family life.

When a photographer makes a decision to work from home they feel that one of the advantages is that they can be there for the kids, but this can be an enormous disadvantage as well. The daily household chores, picking up and dropping off kids, and working around sleep times of smaller children can be a great source of distraction in running your business.

As everyone knows, there is always something to do around the home, especially when you have kids. It is very hard to talk professionally to a customer over the phone, with a two year old screaming in the background, or trying to photograph someone else’s children, while yours are fighting in the other room. Handling two or more different roles under the one roof can create challenges and difficulties, as you juggle the demands of both your home and your business.

3. Lack of space.

The setting-up of a home business is made easier if you have a large house, and you can separate spaces for the business. Lack of space can be a concern if you are living in a small house or an apartment.

Compromising some of your family space can be quite confronting, but this is a trade-off that you may sometimes have to accept. A separate entrance for the business would be ideal, and just thinking through the problem and discussing it with someone outside of the immediate business can often bring a solution.

4. Working too much or procrastinating.

When working from home, there is always the constant temptation to work long hours. You shouldn’t feel guilty if you check and answer emails in the evening when the kids are in bed. If you are passionate about your photography business and are constantly working on growing your business, you should work hard. Only if working too much intrudes on and effects your family life negatively, should you re-evaluate your work ethic.

The opposite of working too much, is procrastinating on work related tasks.

There is an unlimited amount of things that you could do around the home instead of doing work related things. Failure to keep up with your work-load could amplify and create a massive problem in a very short space of time.

Another potential problem is spending too much time on tasks which you enjoy and may not be generating income and neglecting the tasks you don’t.

5. Lack of privacy.

Even if you have your own private business space in your home, privacy and security is always a concern. You also need to keep the whole house tidy, just in case the customer has to walk through your house to go to the toilet.

Some customers can be annoying if they knock on your door at all hours of the day and night. You must make it clear to your customers that you work strictly by appointment, and are not available at other times. Your customers will appreciate your professionalism in this regard.

shutterstock_133588451

6. Strain on family relationships.

Be sure that your family understands what it takes to operate a home business. Talk to your husband or wife and ask for their support, and explain to the children your need to be given time to work for the business.

Some members of your family may resent the fact that while you stay in the house for most of the day, your attention is not focused on them. However, be sure also to know when to stop working for your business and start living as part of the family. Your family and kids need your attention, and of course housework, friends, and even pets, can demand your attention at different times. Working at home can be very hard if you have a newborn baby or three or four small children who always demand your full and complete attention.

7. You can feel isolated.

If you are the sole worker in your home business, you may feel isolated and often lonely. It can be a confronting and solitary existence, when you are dealing with customers, phone calls, emails, and the photography, without having someone to share your experiences, or ask advice. The isolation can become quite intense, especially if you have a naturally outgoing personality.

Self -discipline can become hard with no one looking over your shoulder. Failing to maintain a tight time management regime, and not being able to control and handle your feeling of isolation, will make it very hard to achieve success in your business.

8. Lack of experience

When a photographer commits to working from home in the hope of making some money from their passion, the one thing they lack is the knowledge and experience of how to control and maximize the way in which they conduct their business. Many of these photographers may be like yourself, a mother/father and wife/husband first, and a business person second. Taking that transition in becoming a business person may be difficult to handle, if you have not had any training in setting up and running a business.

Experience of course can only come with time. Time will allow you to learn. The question of course, is whether the things that you learn are the most effective and profitable way of going about it.

Attending seminars and workshops held by other photographers may motivate you and help you take better photographs, but may not give you the individual and specific answers to your particular circumstances. I’ve attended heaps of seminars and workshops, and what I found was that they gave me short-term inspiration, but did not put any money into the bank. Only practical advice from and experienced and readily available mentor or consultant can achieve this.

Every photographer working from home has their own individual and personal challenges. These challenges need to be addressed individually with their own unique circumstances taken into consideration.

Solving the problems

So what’s the secret to growing your photography business despite the tough economy, and the challenges of working from home?

Any business whether large or small, is mainly about solving day to day problems. Getting more customers, increasing sales, lowering overheads, staff relationships, and maximizing the efficiency of work spaces, are all focused on to improve profitability. A micro business that is operated from home by a single person has the same issues to resolve. What you may need is a viable and long term business model.

You need to develop business systems which cost very little time, money and energy, together with sourcing help and guidance in integrating them into your business. In other words a business model that puts money into your account regularly year after year.

I have consulted with many photography businesses over many years, and have seen the effects of the pressure that it can have. I have seen marriages break down, uncontrolled debt, and legal proceedings, all happen with bad business practices.

Getting a good Business Coach can keep you focused and alleviate a lot of the problems that you may come up against.

For further Photography Business Coaching information …bernie@aswpp.com.au

Is Your Portrait Photography Booming?

What a fantastic time to have a portrait photography business.

Each and every week my clients tell me of their  successses with great sales and large amounts of bookings.

This email from a client last week…………

“Hi Bernie, 

Here’s a number……we have 52 paid $50 bookings in the diary taking us into August.

I have taken 6 bookings today and I have been on the phone all day except for entering shoots into Light Blue. 

Thank you,

John – aipp member”

John has worked hard on his Marketing over the past few weeks and now is starting to see the results of his hard work.

The $50 refers to the confirmation deposit that I get my clients to charge whenever they make a portrait photography session, that has come through Marketing channels.

If you are a portrait photographer your Marketing goal should be to have at least 20 bookings in your diary.

If you are a wedding photographer, your  goal should be to have at least 20 weddings booked, and in the diary.

If this is not the case you should put your feet down hard on the Marketing accelerator.

Having bookings in advance is one of the keys to a continuing successful photography business.

 Bernie’s Soft Selling System

It took me many years  in my own photography businessto realise that people love to buy, but hate to be sold.

Over the years I have read numerous books on selling portraits, but they never gave a specific step by step of the process.

After doing hundreds of portrait sales where I sensed the customers and myself felt a bit of pressure in the room, I tested a new way of selling.

From the very first sales sessions that I did with this new way, my sales went up and the customers and I concluded the sale feeling relaxed and pressure free.

So here it is…..”The Portrait Photography Soft Sell Success Guide”.

It is powerful, and it may appear too simple for your brain to accept, but believe me it is based on my specific experience over thousands of portrait sales, that have put hundreds of thousands of dollars into my bank account.

My “soft sell” system gave me a very high average sale.

It changed my mindset.

It will change yours if you let it.

Don’t fight it, simply try it. Test it.

I believe that you can at least double your average sale.

You can easily lose thousands of dollars if you do not do your portrait selling correctly.

Imagine if you only increased your average sale by just $100, over 50 sales that would equate to $5,000 !

That would pay for a good holiday!

Most photographers do not see themselves as salespeople.

That is why they fail in the most important part of their business.

In fact in my opinion, eighty percent of photographers are failing miserably in sales.

They are simply not maximising their sales.

They are throwing money away.

Are you doing your portrait selling “the old way.”

To get my FREE E-book “The Portrait Photography Soft Sell Success Guide”, simply ask for it at info@aswpp.com.au

Last Chance For NFPM

If you wish to participate in this years National Family Portrait Month you must register by 15 June.

We are about to start the Marketing. REGISTER AT……..  https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/photographers-national-family-portrait-month-july-2016-tickets-25187877620

More On Growing Your Photography Business

ONLINE COURSES

www.createaphotographybusiness.com

http://www.photographymarketingforprofit.com

CASHTOGRAPHY PODCAST

Rants Raves and Myths in The Photography Industry

www.cashtography.com/podcast/21berniegriffiths

How To Market Your Photography Business

http://www.cashtography.com/podcast/2016/1/24/e5-how-to-market-your-photography-biz-for-success-with-bernie-griffiths

PHOTOPROFIT PODCAST

How A Single Mum With 5 Kids Went From Broke To Making Over $1000 Per Photo Shoot

http://www.brentmailphotography.com/photoprofit/21.html

SPROUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Getting Clients In The Door

http://sproutingphotographer.com/197

Get my FREE ebook “ 7 Simple Strategies to a Successful Photography Business”

www.berniegriffiths.com

My book “Success Secrets of a Professional Photographer” is available on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Success-Secrets-Professional-Photographer-Griffiths-ebook/dp/B00DF4WSMG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452487899&sr=8-1&keywords=bernie+griffiths

Another book that I am featured in……… “Quantum Leap My Life”

http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Leap-Life-Extraordinary-Transform-ebook/dp/B00FWVF3A4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1452487899&sr=8-4&keywords=bernie+griffiths

QUESTIONS OR QUERIES….

CONTACT ME ON info@aswpp.com.au or call 0418509228.                                                                                                                                                                                                         Photography Business Coach  Photography Business

Profit Is Not A Dirty Word

 

Do You Feel Guilty Making A Massive Profit?   

Your photography business is about making money.

There I’ve said it!

In fact ANY business is about making money….as much money as possible.

Do you limit the amount of money that you want to earn?

While giving a presentation to a group of photographers in Atlanta Georgia recently, I asked a photographer how much he wanted to earn?

“70,000 dollars” was his reply.

“Why 70,000 dollars” I asked?

He replied “Because then I would be happy”.

I know that there is a perception within the photography industry that earning $70,000 a year would put a lot of photographers in a happy place.

From my perspective as a photography business coach, the reality is that any photographer who is willing to work hard on doing the “right” things and has time to implement solid Marketing strategies, can earn many times this amount.

I have said countless times before that your photography business is all about numbers.

But there is only one number that matters at the end of each financial year, and that’s the amount of Profit that you made, or the amount of loss that you made.

To achieve a Profit there are a few basic business fundementals that you should do.

Minimise all of your overheads.

Get Portrait and Wedding clients to pay up front.

Prepare for the quieter months by having money in the bank.

Keep adjusting your pricing to ensure that you are maximising every sale.

Constantly change your photography to separate you from competitors.

Target your Marketing to get the right customers.

If you employ staff make sure you know how much they are actually costing you.

Listen to full Webinar

More On Growing Your Photography Business

ONLINE COURSES

www.createaphotographybusiness.com

http://www.photographymarketingforprofit.com

CASHTOGRAPHY PODCAST

Rants Raves and Myths in The Photography Industry

www.cashtography.com/podcast/21berniegriffiths

How To Market Your Photography Business

http://www.cashtography.com/podcast/2016/1/24/e5-how-to-market-your-photography-biz-for-success-with-bernie-griffiths

PHOTOPROFIT PODCAST

How A Single Mum With 5 Kids Went From Broke To Making Over $1000 Per Photo Shoot

http://www.brentmailphotography.com/photoprofit/21.html

SPROUTING PHOTOGRAPHER

Getting Clients In The Door

http://sproutingphotographer.com/197

Get my FREE ebook “ 7 Simple Strategies to a Successful Photography Business”

www.berniegriffiths.com

My book “Success Secrets of a Professional Photographer” is available on Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Success-Secrets-Professional-Photographer-Griffiths-ebook/dp/B00DF4WSMG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452487899&sr=8-1&keywords=bernie+griffiths

Another book that I am featured in……… “Quantum Leap My Life”

http://www.amazon.com/Quantum-Leap-Life-Extraordinary-Transform-ebook/dp/B00FWVF3A4/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1452487899&sr=8-4&keywords=bernie+griffiths

QUESTIONS OR QUERIES….

CONTACT ME ON info@aswpp.com.au or call 0418509228.                                                                                                                                                                                                     Photography Business Coaching

Photography Coaching

Can’t Move Forward In Your Photography Business?    

I have come across many photographers who are past the portfolio-building stage, and still doing photography part time, and surviving by having a separate full time job.

Other family responsibilities keep them from being able to go full-time with their business, but still they dream, that one day they will be a full time professional photographer.

They find themselves at that awkward in-between stage as they don’t have enough clients, and enough cash flow to make the transition to full time professional photographer.

They know that they need to be charging a lot more for their photography and need to do some Marketing.

The catch is that they need more clients before they can go full time, but they struggle because they need more time if they get more clients, to generate the income they need to go full time.

The whole scenario can be very frustrating, and quite stressful.

The sad thing is that they are not only missing out on their family, but have no financial reward to show for their hard efforts.

So what is the solution?

Watch this recorded Webinar  where I talk to photographer Sarah Streets about her journey going from frustrated “wanna be” to full time professional photographer.

The first thing that she did when going full time was to get a coach.

CLICK HERE Quit Your Day Job

Facebook Ads Go Crazy !

Working with Photographers around he world we are having big results with Facebook Marketing.

There is a right and wrong way of doing a Facebook ad.

In testing and measuring with lots of my clients we have found a successful formula that brings them in lots of new customers.

Here is what a few of my coaching clients have said this week………………

“I have already had 60 leads from my Facebook ad- 23 weren’t in target market, and

I have booked 25 so far just waiting for signed contracts, so should be 31 in total.

Pretty good start with 9 days of promoting

I am currently at 69 photography sessions booked in advance.. definitely made it past my aim of 50.”……Kate

“I just booked in 32 clients from a Facebook/Instagram targeted post that Bernie helped me do too.” …..Murielle

“I’m loving the Facebook “Boost” posts also.. I had 59 enquiries from one I did last week and booked 21 sessions so far !!!….Sarah

“I did a voucher promo on Facebook recently for Mother’s Day and I booked over 30 sessions in 24hours”…..Sara

If you are not using Facebook as part of your Marketing mix, you are missing out on a great opportunity to create extra income.

National Family Portrait Month

If you would like to help me in reaching the fundraising $10,000 target for The Womens Cancer Foundation, you can register by going to…

https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/national-family-portrait-month-photographers-tickets-25187877620

QUESTIONS OR QUERIES….

CONTACT ME ON info@aswpp.com.au or call 0418509228.                                                                                                                                                                                                                   #photographybusinesscoach

#photographybusiness

#photographymentor

#bernie griffiths

 

Are You Time Poor?

One of the problems that many photographers have is that they are time poor.

 

Time poor because they may be have children and have to juggle their business with family life, or they may be time poor because they are bad time managers.

 

Good time management is important in every part and aspect of our lives.

 

Although everyone in the world has 24 hours in every day, how we spend this time determines whether our lives are chaos or smooth and fulfilling.

 

Some photographers convince themselves that they are bad time managers because their diary is full, and they are busy, busy, busy.

 

Photographers are notoriously bad time managers.

 

They spend too much time in the process of photographing a portrait session, too many hours photographing weddings and are constantly rushing from one place to another, and then become overwhelmed with post production, and general struggling keeping their business afloat.

 

Do you have symptoms of poor time management?

 

Do you really take 2-4 hours to photograph a new born baby?

 

You’re kidding me!

 

Do you really take over 2 hours to do the post production on the files?

 

You’re kidding me!

 

You take 3,000 photographs at a wedding, and then take 8 hours to cull and colour and density correct in Light-room?

 

You’re kidding me!

 

How are you ever going to grow your business?

 

Remember the saying….. “ if your business isn’t growing, then it is dying.”

 

 

There are two ways that you can utilise your time better.

 

Firstly you can become more time efficient in the tasks that you do.

 

Secondly you can become more time effective by focussing your time on prioritising the tasks that you have to do.

 

In simplistic terms, work smarter.

 

Procrastination can also be a big factor in bad time management.

 

You know what needs to be done but you keep putting it off, and then you do it when the deadline is close, and you put yourself under pressure to complete the task in time.

 

If you continually procrastinate it can cause stress and is simply bad time management.

 

You can get away with poor time management for a while, but eventually it catches up with you.

 

Manage your time well and you will be able to create more time to implement maketing strategies so that you can continue to grow your business.

 

Poor time management impacts every area of your life, from work to family relationships.

 

You know the symptoms of poor time management; you need to focus your time to become more efficient and more effective.

 

Check out how one photography studios does 400 photography sessions a year, and can handle even more!  CLICK HERE

________________________________________________________________________

 

Need Coaching In Your Photography Business..If You Don’t Get Results..You Don’t Pay!

www.berniegriffiths.com

 

Everything That You Have Heard About Starting A Photography Business Is Wrong!

www.createaphotographybusiness.com

 

Grow Your Photography Business With Proven Marketing Strategies

http://​www.photographymarketingforprofit.com   

 

Email me on on info@berniegriffiths.com or call 0418509228.

 

Happy Face..Sad Face

 

Photography Business Coach Puts On A Happy Face

What a fantastic couple of weeks it has been for myself, and some of the photographers that I have been coaching as a photography business coach.

Some of the success stories……………..

A massive $9,200 portrait sale for one photographer, but the amazing thing was that the client only purchased a bg bunch of prints in just 5×7 and 10×8 inch sizes.

20 plus Mothers Day vouchers sold by another photographer.

Facebook Ads done the right way, are bringing in lots of photography sessions.

Corporate Headshots are still a booming market, with some photographers charging over $300 per file.

Photographer with over 100 engaged couples responding to a Facebook post.

And this email from a photographer who had just one single Skype session with me..exciting because she went out and acted upon my suggestions.

“I just thought I would send you a quick email to give you a bit of an update on my progress since you helped me…

Firstly, I want to say a big THANK YOU for all you taught me and how you opened up my eyes to a lot of things in regards to marketing and business that I could not see.

As you said yourself, I was doing a lot of things right but the things that I was doing wrong and I have changed have definitely changed my business for the better 🙂

I no longer do online galleries…

Every customer now comes back to look at their gallery in-person and I haven’t had one person complain 🙂 I have found this a massive change – not only does it make the whole process easier and quicker, I feel it offers better customer service (as I can discuss and offer solutions to questions on the spot) and my sales have definitely increased.

Yes I definitely still have the odd customer here and there that is adamant they will not spend more than originally planned (just want digital images!) but I’d say at least 50% upgrade to prints as well.

I now have a credit card/ eftpos facility. That has been a major game-changer!

Sales on-the-spot and no chasing customers. Yay!

I am still doing my adwords advertising. After a month or so of trial-and-error with different types of ads we seem to have created ones that are attracting the right customers and enquiries are pretty good.

I know they could still be better but hopefully with time. For now I’m pretty happy!

The adwords is still costing a lot (as I know you mentioned) but it’s returning a profit and I feel it’s worth it as I’m reaching people who I would never reach through word-of-mouth.

My vouchers have started rolling out. I have linked up with a few people who have local small businesses who attract a similar customer. Fitness trainer, pilates instructor (pregnancy classes), mortgage broker, Tupperware representative, birth/children acupuncturist.

I took your advise and told them to only hand the vouchers out as a ‘reward’ so it is valued.

In return for these people, I promote their businesses and offer a free photo shoot if I receive a lot of sales through them.

Fingers crossed the ball will start rolling more with the roll-out of vouchers and business will pick up.

But for now I’m definitely much happier than I was back when I spoke to you, things are looking much better!

Thank you again :)”   Michelle

Why My Sad Face

There are so many photographers who would like to create a better income from their photography.

The sad fact is that only a small percent ever will.

They read books, watch webinar relays, listen to podcasts, have some great ideas, ask other photographers advice, but never act on anything that they have learned.

My sad face.

Michelle is the reason I do what I do…she is serious in walking the path toward success.

Are you like Michelle?

Will you act on some solid proven Marketing strategies to propell your business forward.

Rants Raves And Myths

It was great to be invited back by Michael Coy onto his Cashtography Podcast.

We ranted and raved about some of the misguided information that is being put out into the photography business world.

Pricing, wall art, and the reality of how long it takes to go full time in a photography business, were some of the  topics that we became “fired up” about.

You want the truth….here it is.

Put on your headphones and tune in at www.cashtography.com/podcast/21berniegriffiths

Need help in your photography business….

email me on on info@berniegriffiths.com or call 0418509228.

NEW….Magic Business Wand For Photographers

“A great new miracle magic Business Wand designed specifically for photographers, has finally arrived, and it is promising amazing results.

No Photography or Marketing skills needed.

Simply wave the wand over your phone or your computer, and get as many customers as you want.

No need to learn about lead generation and converting clients into paying customers.

No need to set up an email database so that you can send out regular emails to your clients to get them into your studio on a regular basis.

Thousands of photographers worldwide are scrambling to get on board and purchase one of these amazing, revolutionary magic marketing wands.”

Sounds great?

But will it work?

Get lots of customers without having to do anything?

The least amount of effort for the biggest result.

You and I know that it isn’t true.

Because the stark reality is…that magic wand that promises to help you, that is often advertised on the internet, just doesn’t exist.

A bit like when I set out to lose a bit of weight.

I have read many times about a new weight loss  pill, or “how to lose 10kgs in 48 hours!!” etc. etc. etc.

The reality is that to lose weight, I have to cut down on the volume of food that I eat, eat the right food, and do a lot more exercise.

Once my head accepts the reality, I can move forward and start implementing the steps I need to do to get the new body that I am looking for.

Building a successful business takes hard work, a little time, and some know how.

Work Smarter Not Harder

shutterstock_262734269

It seems that just about every day a new magic pill appears to solve all of our problems.

Over the past few months, I have been working hard find an effective and affordable solution for photographers to grow their business.

No B.S. but rather TESTED and PROVEN methods of growing a photography business.

I am very excited to announce that my online course is ready.

Each month there are strategies and shortcuts for you to get MORE CUSTOMERS and make HIGHER sales.

You will not find any promises to instant riches.

You are also smart enough to know that you have to take action and do something.

So if you’re looking to start or to grow your photography business, want to work smarter not harder, and want to build a sustainable business, with up-to-minute advertising and marketing strategies, this may be for you.

Why not work and earn that extra income that you want and also have extra time with the family.

Access to my online Photography Business Coaching will guide you in doing the right actions that will ultimately lead to the success that you may have been trying to get by doing things that just haven’t worked.

Get excited, and go to……….

http://www.createaphotographybusiness.com

If you have been struggling in getting your camera to make a good income, I want to help you.

The course comes with my promise of a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE.

PLUS I will personally guide you with regular “one on one” sessions.

Happy to answer your questions…. ..info@aswpp.com.au

PHOTOGRAPHY IS NOT DYING…INNOVATION, AND THE ABILITY TO ADAPT AND IMPLEMENT CHANGE IS.

Email me on on info@berniegriffiths.com or call 0418509228 for all the info.

www.berniegriffiths.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Is Your Life And Photography Like Tug-of-war?

I suppose as I reflect on my forty plus years of being a studio owner, there were lots of things happening in the family as well as in my business.

A business, just like family life is a moving thing, yet we constantly search and try to find the holy grail of a perfect work/life balance.

I love this recent article from Dave Gillen in Flying Solo.

This is what Dave had to say………………

“26 long days ago (who’s counting) my wife gave birth to two milk-swilling intruders twins and our lives changed.

Needless to say it’s been a challenging time for my business – I have less time, less sleep, and more to do.

So what do you do when life happens?

Do you downgrade your business goals?

Delay them?

Forget about them?

Well it might surprise you, but three weeks of sleep deprivation and unrelenting demands on my time are resulting in the biggest steps forward for my business in two years.

 

Here’s how I turned what seemed like obstacles into a breakthrough.

DaveFeatured

“Three weeks of sleep deprivation and unrelenting demands on my time are resulting in the biggest steps forward for my business in two years.”

I remembered what I was really chasing

When you’re chasing a goal and something starts eating away your precious time it can be frustrating.

But sometimes we forget what we were chasing in the first place. I remembered that money and business success are just stepping stones to getting what I really want, and started seeing that many of the obstacles popping up were in fact the very things I want in life.

Life events (good and bad) are not just diversions and time outs, they’re often the most important things and need our full attention.

I’m instantly happier when I remember that my kids and the time I spend with them are not obstacles at all – they’re the nuggets of gold I’m seeking.

I realised that my life is the canvas for my business.

We tend to ask questions like “Which business model is the best?” and “Which niche is more profitable?” as if we’re designing the perfect business on a blank canvas.

But no business is ever built on a blank canvas.

Your life is the canvas and your business needs to fit its unique size and shape.

When life changed I caught a glimpse of the shape of my canvas changing. That was a breakthrough for me because for the first time I saw the type of business I needed to fit my life and goals.

I felt my constraints made life easier, not harder.

It’s easy to think of new constraints as frustrations, but in fact they are the instructions that point to the business you need.

I used to have a million unanswered questions about my own business. How many hours do I want to work? How big do I want to grow? Where should I specialise? I’ve found these questions difficult to answer in the past, and this constant uncertainty over the details can be paralysing.

Now, with more options eliminated I can spend less time navigating (being lost) and get on with it.

Exciting times for life and business.

All of a sudden we are a family of five, but just when I feared family growth would spell the end of business growth. The twins have brought with them a clearer set of instructions for business than I’ve ever had before.

This clarity has brought some rapid progress already – I’m now working to a specific design for my business (instead of broader goals like growth), and I no longer feel life is competing with business.

Do your life and business work together or is it more like tug-of-war?

FULL ARTICLE

Your Time To Shine

You have the tools for your photography, now you need the business tools to fill your business with customers.

Is it time for you to take the next step in your business?

Is It Your Time To Shine?

shutterstock_91295978

Welcome to my BRAND NEW ONLINE COURSE called “CREATE A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS.”

little money from your photography passion.

Like to know more?

Email me on on  or call 0418509228 for all the info.

www.berniegriffiths.com

I Couldn’t Believe It.

I Couldn’t Believe It

I had a massive response from my last newsletter about selling prints not pixels.

Everyone agreed that selling printed product was he only way to achieve a sustainable and profitable business, and of course maximise your portrait sales.

While I was sitting having my early morning coffee I received this email from a photographer that I knew………………..

” Hi Bernie….

Good to see you are encouraging the printed medium. It seems that those starting off in the industry don’t have the confidence, and I guess if you don’t entirely depend on photography to make your living, then selling only digital files becomes an easy option. The pity of this, is the spin off that encourages the general public out there to ask or demand digital files.

I recently photographed a family for the 3rd time. Nowadays they have grandchildren, so the shoot expanded a bit. However the $33,000 order made it pretty worthwhile!! Canvases, albums and prints made up the order, and he even spontaneously paid me $100 travel money when he discovered I had travelled 2 hours from a weekend break.”IMG_2474Wow!  I nearly spilt my coffee.

I didn’t believe it, so I replied asking whether he had made a mistake and it should have been $3,300, but he replied that the $33,000 figure was correct.

This certainly is the highest portrait sale that I have heard of in the last couple of years, and it smashes the previous $22,000 record sale that one of my clients did last year.

What is the highest portrait sale you have heard of?

Are You Trying To Grow Your Business?

Over the past few months I have met a lot of photographers who are just starting out, but are tired of struggling to make any impact on growing their photography business?

What’s stopping you from taking your business to the next level – to its full potential – whatever you feel that is?

How many hours in the year do you think that you are wasting trying to get your business up to the next level?

When is the last time you invested money in seriously trying to grow your business?

Are you committed to making changes and going forward toward your happiness?

Anyone who has achieved success usually has paid a price or made a commitment of money and time?

You do need customers?

Customers are like the petrol in a car.

If you have no customers just like in a car your business will stall.

And if it stays in the one place for long enough it will rust.

shutterstock_278365199

You need the right products, that your customers find irresistable.

You need a good pricing structure to encourage customers to maximise the sale.

You need help and guidance from someone who has been where you want to go.

You have the tools for your photography, now you need the business tools to fill your business with customers.

Is it time for you to take the next step in your business?

Your Time To Shine?

Welcome to my BRAND NEW ONLINE COURSE called “CREATE A PHOTOGRAPHY BUSINESS.”

For just $97 a month, or about the cost of 5 cups of coffee a week, you can move forward in your business with my BRAND NEW START UP PROGRAM that could have you on your way to achieving the happiness that you are struggling for.

You need a minimum of 5 hours a week to achieve success in the program.

Expect to make a minimum of $35,000 in the 12 months from your photography.

It’s ok to make a little money from your photography passion.

Like to know more?

Email me on on info@berniegriffiths.com or call 0418509228 for all the info.

www.berniegriffiths.com

Sell Prints, Not Pixels

Sell Prints Not Pixels

Many of the photographers that I coach are achieving some incredibly high numbers in their portrait sales.

In an era where we hear so much about photographers selling files at incredibly cheap prices, there are many photographers who are regularly making sales well over $2,000 and more.

Whether it is babies, families, or even pets, there is a big market out there for people wanting to buy wall art, albums and other products that will become priceless memories of their family history.

I came across this great article last week in Photography Spark, that really gives a good case for printed products.

“As a photographer, you should be thinking of printing long before you sit down to edit.

During a shoot, printing should be forefront on your mind in order to capture the correct images and ultimately cut your workflow in half.

It is crucial to shoot with intent to create a printed product that tells the full story.

For example, when photographing a wedding, you know to always get the emotional shots (for example: that moment when the mother of the bride puts her mother’s bracelet on her daughter, the bride).

But if you shoot with intent, you know that images that support that story will help in an album design—the follow up shots that complete the story (close-up of the jewelry; the tear on mom’s cheek).

To accomplish this way of thinking, we need to move beyond the concept of “printing” as only prints, because a single print will never tell a full story.

As children who grew up in the age of snapshots, we may have had them all around us, but we may only have had one or two of a specific story.

As professional photographers today, we are hired to tell the whole story, and to create the fullest account from the images, and to put that in print.

Then we have more than just slices of time but a full record of that moment.

The truth is: photographers who shoot with intent have less design changes from clients because they are telling a full story versus just trying to arrange images on a page.

When a printed product is designed well, telling the complete narrative, it truly becomes an item the client cannot live without.

Whether your images are digital or print, at some point, they will all go into storage.

As we are constantly adding to those images, we just can’t keep everything out at all times.

Let’s take the wedding photo example again; at some point, those framed photos or albums are going to end up stored in a box.

If the photographs weren’t printed out, that thumb drive might end up in that box instead.

The difference between digital and print is that twenty years, thirty years, forty years later—when someone other than us finds this artefact, how are they going to access it?

Someday, that box will be found.

Who knows if the same technology will exist?

Sure, there may be some specialist who could recover the images, but maybe not. If you pull a print out of a box, you have access to a final artefact.

You are basically guaranteeing that you will not disappear.

No matter who finds it, no matter who discovers it, they will have the final product.”

FULL STORY….www.photographyspark.com

Need help in your photography business? Simply contact Wendy

.wendy@aswpp.com.au  ph 0417 526 466

How a Single Mom with 5 kids went from Broke to making over $1000 per photo shoot

LISTEN TO FULL PODCAST HEAR

Interview by Brent Mail…….

My special guest in today’s PhotoProfit is Photography Business Coach Bernie Griffiths. He has been in the photography industry for over 40 years and on his 4th year of Coaching other photography business owners.

This is a great podcast. We will look at a case study of one of the photographer he coaches and learn from her story. This is a great story if you are just getting going with photography and you are looking for a way to position yourself as the expert photographer in your area. If you’re already running a business and you’re looking at other marketing opportunities on how you can make extra money through Facebook marketing or doing something like pet photography marketing charity, this is also an added bonus for you!

Enjoy! Brent

In this episode:

(02:36) – Being in the photography industry for over 40 years

(05:42) – How coaching works

(06:05) – The Case study of Kimberly Kent:

(07:55) – What needs to be done with Kim?

(11:30) – Why Kim chose Pet Photography?

(11:55) – How to position her as the “go to” pet photographer?

(15:33) – The book project – A dog book

(16:28) – Crafting the pricelist

(19:06) – How Kim do the presentation of the photos

(20:32) – How is Kim doing right now?

Help me make MONEY from photography

LISTEN HERE

Being in the photography industry for over 40 years

At the age of 15 years old Bernie worked as a press photographer

At 22 years of age he got the dream job as a photographer in a cruise ship

Migrated to Australia from England

After 6 months purchased photography business

A successful wedding and portrait studio for over 40 years

Decided to pass on the knowledge to other photographers

Began coaching to photographers for four years now

How coaching works:

Photographers who implement what is taught

Photographers who take action

The Case study of Kimberly Kent:

Pet photographer Kimberly Kent

Single mother of 5 kids/boys

LISTEN HERE

Struggling as a photographer

What needs to be done with Kim?

Work on her mindset to give her worth and value for work

Attracting the right kind of people

Position her higher than all the rest

Position herself on the market place as the “go to” pet photographer

Why Kim chose Pet Photography?

12507328_912003715520661_8161816384818637416_n

She felt she had to work with a niche

How to position her as the “go to” pet photographer?

She gets into the local paper

A book project – promote a book

Invite a local dog charity

Put it on Facebook

Published in the local paper

The book project – A dog book:

Newspaper will inform the people on how they can participate

Kim’s details will be put up in the write up in the newspaper

Kim will photograph the pets then sell the prints

Crafting the price list

4 collections; 1 is the cheapest and 4 is the expensive

Sell wall prints as extra

Kim will do a lot of shoots – gain confidence

Kim will make time for the family to come back

How Kim do the presentation of the photos:

Small room or office

Computer, desk, couch and a TV

Photos will be displayed on the TV

How is Kim doing right now?

Kim progressed fantastically

She got overwhelmed

The phone didn’t stop ringing

She had to all the sessions

As her confidence increased, slowly increase the price list

From a $100 “shoot and burner” to an average sale of $1,000

LISTEN HERE