BUSINESS AND MARKETING

Business and Marketing

Concepts and Theories

I have seen some extremely talented photographers fail at building a business in the photography industry. I have also seen some average, middle-of-the-road talent become super successful in the photography business. You can become a technical genius. You can be one of the most creative people in the industry. You can understand light and composition like no other. However, unless you have a good foundation in your business and brand, and you know how to capitalize on the markets that interest you, you will struggle to succeed at the levels you dreamt of when first starting your business.

You definitely want to increase your technical knowledge and do your best to build creative and interesting images, but if you want to truly elevate your brand you will need to focus on the fundamentals of starting and improving a business. The average photographer can hit the heights of the market. The truly talented visionary can struggle to get a paying gig. It is your ability to run a profitable business, more so than the ability to take a photograph, that will lead to success.

If you structure your business with a solid foundation, including a business plan and a checklist of attainable goals to accomplish over time, you can take your brand anywhere you please. Once you learn how to sell your brand in the markets that interest you, your potential is limited only by the amount of time and effort you want to invest. I am going to be focusing on the concepts and theories that you need to consider when attempting to either start your business from the ground up, or in your attempt to break through the market barriers that you feel have been holding you back. Again, no play-by-play with exact “do this” directions, but you will be getting a crash course in business fundamentals that helped us to succeed as quickly as we have.

Everyone’s brand goals are different, with some wanting to break into luxury, and others wanting to maximize bookings in the middle markets. With my business and marketing concepts, you should have the knowledge you will need to elevate your business to the levels you want to attain.

In this course you will learn:

• Business pre-planning and market research for brand establishment.
• Setting attainable goals and establishing comparable benchmarks.
• Identifying the proper market for initial entry, and pricing appropriately.
• Pricing strategies for market movement or growth in current markets.
• Steps to establishing a legal business
• Concepts and theories on business practices for success.
• Identification of market breaks and friction to be expected when crossing market levels.
• Communication expectations by clients and planners.
• Blending work and life in healthy ways.

With this business and marketing course, you should be able to pick and choose which concepts and theories you want to implement in your business practice to increase the probability of future success. As time progresses, more concepts will be added to the course. As I progress further into the market, I will give updates on my experiences with both planners and clients to give you the highest chance of success when entering higher markets, if you choose to do so.

The information in this course is current. I’ve built my business in just the last 4 years, shooting my first wedding in late 2018 and starting to market with zero social media or web presence. Every step we have taken in the last few years has been under the same algorithm and market changes everyone has had to suffer through. I have planned my best to avoid the usual brick walls that can stop a brand from rising too quickly, and so far we have avoided the usual stalls. I talk through some of the tactics I used to get through the market quickly, and the various issues I came up against at each market break. At the end of this course, you should be prepared to begin your journey to elevate your own brand to the levels of the market you wish to be present in.