Saving the World One Pixel at a Time

“I ran the wrong kind of business, but I did it with integrity”—Sydney Biddle Barrows, the Mayflower Madam

I know from my e-mail that many readers work in corporate environments harboring dreams of someday being their own boss. While some may actually be planning for this eventuality, others may find that, like greatness, being an entrepreneur can be thrust upon you. In my own situation, I long had a dream of owning my own photographic studio and had started making plans for that day, only to get laid off long before my scheduled departure. So I said “the hell with it,” and started my business the next day. I was unprepared for how similar my little operation was to my Fortune 500 job but the big differences lie in all of the advantages of flying solo.

Along the way, you may have to make a few sacrifices in lifestyle or quality of life, but true entrepreneurs do it because they see a future payoff. It took me many years to make the same kind of money I had received from corporate America and it took me many years after that to have health insurance as good as when I was a wage slave.

Most new entrepreneurs don’t do it for the money; they do it for the freedom. As “the boss” you have the freedom of making decisions that affect the direction of the company. This includes flexibility in making quick U-turns to adopt new policies, strategies, and technology without having to run it through a middle-management filter. (“Oh Rob, Snafu Industries could never do that!”) If you do it and it works, you’re a hero. If it flops, you gain valuable “school of hard knocks” experience.

Some people are attracted to entrepreneurial life because they want to take time off to play golf. If you received a golden parachute from your former employer that may be possible but few of us are that lucky. While you may work more hours than before, you will have flexibility in your calendar to take your kids to a ball game during the week or attend a recital at their school during the day without “your boss” taking the gas pipe. If you can’t be flexible regarding spending time with your family within your work schedule allocation, then you’re a workaholic and should consider getting a “real job.”

In addition to having the freedom to make decisions that affect your studio’s growth and work schedule, you also have the freedom to run an operation that has more dignity and ethical concern than the company you left. You have the freedom to treat your clients with the kind of respect you think they deserve, not what some suit in the home office long removed from what it’s like in the real world tells you to do. For many entrepreneurs this is one of the major reasons they left what, for some, were long careers. Knowing that you “did it with integrity” will help you sleep at night and live longer and prosper.

 Joe Farace has been an independent photographer for more than 30 years and can’t image any other kind of lifestyle that’s better.

“Drinking beer doesn’t make you fat, It makes you lean….against tables, chairs, and poles.”—Anonymous

Sometimes I think that photography is a lot like Miller’s Lite beer. Instead of tastes great or less filling, the argument would go — is it art or commerce? One of the problems with the business side of photography is that we always don’t get to choose the kind of assignments that come our way. Bread-and-butter studio or location shoot may pay the rent but may not always be as exciting as we would like. One of my old studio’s biggest moneymakers was a shoot for a national department store that involved making photographs of every (and I mean every) display in one of their flagship stores. While technically challenging and financially profitable, the assignment was, nevertheless, aesthetically, unsatisfying. It was as the beer commercial goes “less filling.”

One of the best ways to get the kind of assignments that you really want is to give them to yourself. Here are two self-assignments that had very different outcomes but regardless of what happened after the assignment was completed, the projects “tasted great.”

Mary knew that a local bank held monthly art shows and was having an upcoming anniversary and used these two facts as a basis of pitching them an exhibit of environmental portraits of prominent local business women. The subjects of the portraits were selected by members of business woman’s network and a local lab sprang for all of the prints as well as a sign to place in the bank’s window. The display ran a month but the bank liked the portraits so much they asked Mary to leave it up for another month, which naturally she did. All but one of the women photographed eventually purchased the prints and another ordered many prints as gifts. The result was increase in Mary’s stature as an on-location portrait photographer and the project made money

My project involved volunteering as a photographer at a streetcar museum and the photos would be used the museum for publicity purposes and by me as portfolio material. It was all shot in black & white and the result was that I got to met some interesting people, had some pictures entered into an juried art show, but little else. Nevertheless, I made some fun photographs and got to meet some great people.

Joe Farace is author of “Studio Lighting Anywhere” that’s available from Amazon and your friendly neighborhood book or camera store.

On this Business Friday, I am honored to welcome Skip Cohen with today’s marketing advice:

It’s always tough to get back on track after a great weekend, but there are times when I wish I could get off track a little easier.

Small businesses like photographers are a lot like sharks: Every year during the Discovery channel’s Shark Week, a sonorous narrator reminds viewers that if a shark stops swimming, it dies. I believe that when a photographer or studio stops promoting and marketing itself, it dies too, but there are obstacles in the way of becoming a lean, mean marketing machine. Some photographers (and I am just as guilty of this as the next guy) are just not naturally adept at marketing and, at the same time, not solvent enough to afford a dedicated marketing person. This means that the bulk of marketing falls on Big Enchilada, but it doesn’t have to be traumatic.

Your business card is the single most important marketing and promotional tool. While seemingly tiny, this lowly card has billboard-like implications. Are you using those cheapo, generic cards from a business-card-in-minutes machine? And vertical cards! Let’s strangle the designer who came up with that idea by his or her mouse cord. No Roladex in the world is set up for these and you want potential clients to save and refer to your cards even if they scan it into a database.

Avoid the temptation to knock out some cards on your ink-jet. Future clients will be less likely to toss out something with a quality look and feel especially if it has a photograph of a person on it. It’s like a real photograph to them When Mary and I had our studio people would hang onto out photo cards for years before calling for an assignment. Here’s a tip: Take a look at inexpensive photographic business cards—using your own images—from Moo. And make sure the card has your website, e-mail, Twitter, and Facebook addresses as well.

Wearing a blazer didn't work; the right shirt did!

Wear your company. One successful entrepreneur I know almost always wears a golf shirt emblazoned with his company’s logo. These are nice-looking shirts, some are even silk but all of them get attention because you never know where your next sale might come from. Several of his clients liked the shirts so much they’ve asked him for one, turning themselves into walking advertisements for his company.

Let me tell you a true story: I was photographing a car show in Los Angeles. On day one I was nicely dressed wearing a blazer and wanted to photograph this racecar but it was surrounded by stanchions and ropes and I could never get a good shot. On Day two I  wore one of my long sleeved shirts that has the Tortuga Racing logo discreetly embroidered on the front and www.joefaraceshootscars.com on the back. I went back to that same display and someone from the race team sees me and says “let me move these out of the way so you can get a better shot.” And while shooting he returns and says “ Would you like one of our models to pose with the car?” Needless to say, I got much better shots. A coincidence? Maybe. Maybe not.

All of your marketing efforts don’t have to be expensive. Never underestimate just being nice to your customers and potential customers. And I think that over-the-top customer service almost always pays off in the long run. And if it it doesn’t; it just feels better to be nice. Finally, look for ways to show your company in a positive light, because I believe that where small photography businesses are concerned “Nice Guys Finish First.”

F. Scott Fitzgerald once told Ernest Hemingway, “rich people are different from the rest of us.” “Yeah,” Hemingway replied, “they have more money.”

Making more money is the goal for most photo operations, and while some startups often know who their target market is, only a few know who their actual customers might be. What they often lack is the kind of depth of information about future clients to sustain their new enterprise, but finding new B2B clients can be easy; all it takes is some hard work. What surprises me is how many newly minted photographers are more interested in their golf game than beating the pavement to find new business. If you’re not afraid of some old-fashioned, roll-up-your-sleeves sales techniques, here are five steps for increasing your share of any market segment you choose.

Step One: Start is a geographic area that has a high concentration of potential clients and visit each business in the field you’ve targeted. Present your business card, and introduce yourself to the receptionist. Don’t be put off by any “NO SOLOCITING” signs that are there to scare of the faint of heart. Ask who’s responsible for buying photography products or services and present them with an informational package. (Oh yeah, you’ll need to develop one of these two but you can keep it simple—list of services, rate sheet, and business card.)

Step Two: Using database software or even old fashioned index cards, use information  from the cold call to prepare a list of potential client names. In addition to contact information, add impressions about your visit to a database that will form the nucleus of your target market mailing list. Send a letter or postcard to each contact informing them about your products and services. I have found that clients will hang onto postcards—especially those with photographs on them—for years.

Step Three: After a week’s gone by, call all of the people on the list. The potential client can say they’re not interested and never will be. If they say “NO,” delete that record. If they say “YES,” make the notes on their card. My experience is that 10% of the time; these calls result in appointments.

Step Four:After you make an appointment be brief and to the point. Clients usually don’t have a lot of time to spend with vendors. Tell them you’ll only take twenty minutes and when times up, prepare to leave. If they want you to stay longer, they’ll tell you. At this point, you may or may not make a sale. If not…

Step Five: After building a list of potential clients, keep in touch. Sooner or later, they’ll need your products and services. They are more likely to call someone whose name appears on their desk from time to time than “A. Nonymous.” Be sure to mail—not e-mail—reminders that you’re alive and well at least twice a year to everyone on your list. When there’s a staff change, make an appointment with the new person to get acquainted.

And yes all this takes time and is a lot of work. That’s why it’s important to remember that most important of Farace’s Rules of Business: Success is hard, failure is easy.

Joe is the author of the new book, “Studio Photography Anywhere”