Business planning
1. Evaluate business strategies relevant to the sole-trader.
2. Report on aspects of business operation relevant to the photo-imaging sector.
3. Review professional skills necessary for the business environment.
4. Discuss the advantage of marketing and self-promotion tools to the freelance photographer.
Peachy pics
Peachy pics is a family run business of photographers, Mother Andrea and three daughters.
After recovering from a life threatening illness, Andrea decided to follow her dream and open up a studio.
They focused on portraiture but struggled to keep the dream alive.
Alex Polizzi steps in to help the family make the business into a success.
They lacked a good understanding of business knowledge and was in danger of loosing everything and no money for Andrea's retirement.
Polizzi gives them a chance to work with a successful photographer who has photographed celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan and Angelina Jolie.
Time to expand their client base by introducing them to Whipsnape zoo and a world of commercial photography.
They begin selling packages and making a good profit from this.
They no longer call themselves Peachy Pics but 'Peach Lane studios.'
www.PeachLaneStudios.co.uk or peachypics.net
Team:
Andrea Lane
Rachel Lane
Nikki Lane
Emma Lane
Yellowkorner
Alexandre de Metz and Paul-Antoine Briat created Yellowkorner during 2006, both best friends and lovers of photography from a young age.
They designed this website and business for photographers all over the world to increase the number of copies of their work to make it accessible for many more of the public and collectors.
"Stack them high sell them cheap" is a good way of selling instead of stacking less at higher prices.
YellowKorner chooses to publish 500 at £100 rather thanoffering 10 prints at £5,000.
Their aim is to create space for a different range of photography whilst maintaining high artistic standards.
They want to attract big named photographers also such as Man ray, Dorothea Lange etc.
Yellowkorner also want to have a big selection of prints to sell them at more affordable prices, making it more accessible to those who dont want to spend much on prints.
Prints are produced in a laboratory and are supplied with a certificate of authenticity whilst the artist is aware of the amounts being sold. Images are available in many formats such as(20x30cm, 24x36cm, 60x90cm and 100x150cm.) Every finish has full consent and agreed with the artist.
Prints have a certain amount of editions (open edition, limited editions with 30, 200 or 500 copies).
Yellowkorner also hold several exhibitions where photographers and collectors can talk and speak about experiences, ideas and culture.
The really like the idea because it enables people to have famous prints of their favourite artwork at cheap prices.
You chose your finish and how you want the print to look.
Examples of the sizes and finishes.
Research...
Workflow equipment.
Shooting planning > capture > image management > image storage > imagedistribution > output/ archiving.
(Looking at ( Dslr. (software
location before). Lenses. Master computer
Capture. Suite)
Cards
Harddrive
Laptop)
Starting a business..
Cashflow
Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | ||
Income | |||||||
Sales to bank | 5000 | 6000 | 7000 | 8500 | 9500 | 9500 | |
Other Income | 0 | 0 | 560 | 0 | 313 | 28 | |
Expenditure | |||||||
Wages | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | 2000 | |
Rent | 1250 | 1250 | 1250 | 1250 | 1250 | 1250 | |
Electricity/Gas | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | |
Telephones | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | 50 | |
Equipment | 48 | 24 | 48 | 24 | 48 | 24 | |
Rentals | 150 | 300 | |||||
Materials | 42 | 45 | 47 | 49 | 50 | 37 | |
Car Fuel | 80 | 65 | 62 | 88 | 60 | 120 | |
Hospitality | 25 | 40 | 35 | 38 | 10 | 56 | |
Marketing | 56 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 56 | 56 | |
Vehicle costs | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 | |
Sundry Items | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | |
Total | 3856 | 3835 | 3853 | 3860 | 3979 | 4198 | |
Net Cash flow | 1144 | 2165 | 3147 | 4640 | 5521 | 5302 | |
Opening Balance | 0 | 1144 | 3309 | 6456 | 11096 | 16616 | |
Closing Balance | 1144 | 3309 | 6456 | 11096 | 16616 | 21919 |
In our business planning session, we as a class worked out a good cash flow for Peachy Pics. This is a really good cashflow because there is a good profit coming in for the six months and would be very successful.
Before starting a business you need to generate one of these to show how the six months will plan out and whether there will be profit.
Cash flow forecast (6 months) if you want funding from an entreprise they will always ask for this first!
Wages and rent should add up to 35% of turnover.
Ideas
* Name of business?
* write up of business eg: what it does? (Rationale)
* How will you go about it?
* logo?
What funding is available to you before you begin?
Accounting.
This is something that needs to be done in all businesses, you either do it yourself or hire someone to do it for you.
Accounting is recording, summarising and analysing your financial transactions.
This provides details of every aspect of the business so you know what is going in and out. The records could provide insight for future prospects also.
Accounting includes documenting revenues such as sales receipts, invoices and agreement forms etc.
This helps manage expenditures and sale orders.
Microsoft office accounting is a good program to begin this process and frees you from repetitive tasks such as calculating and summarising.
Generate reports, governmental, investing and banking needs.
Examples: Templates of agreements, model release forms and invoices.
Agent/Photographer Agreement.
Commission estimate and invoice.
Licence to use
Model release form.
I'm including a diagram of how the database will look when accounting to get rough idea of the kind of transactions going in and out.
If I set up my own business I would begin by completing this myself and then later when the business picks up I would hire someone.
| ACCOUNT TYPE | NORMAL BALANCE | DEBIT | CREDIT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asset | Debit | Debits increase asset balances | Credits decrease asset balances |
| Liability | Credit | Debits decrease liability balances | Credits increase liability balances |
| Equity | Credit | Debits decrease equity balances | Credits increase equity balances |
| Income | Credit | Debits decrease income balances | Credits increase income balances |
| Expense | Debit | Debits increase expense balances | Credits decrease expense balances |
The following table illustrates which accounts are debited and which are credited for three types of transactions.
| ACTION | ACCOUNT TYPE | DEBIT OR CREDIT |
|---|---|---|
| Sell an inventory item | Accounts Receivable | Debit |
| Income | Credit | |
| Inventory | Credit | |
| Cost of Goods Sold | Debit | |
| Create a credit memo for a customer for an inventory item | Inventory | Debit |
| Cost of Goods Sold | Credit | |
| Income | Debit | |
| Accounts Receivable | Credit | |
| Purchase an inventory item |
Insurance
Photographers need insurance as a precaution for things like equipment and protection against legal claims.
Insurance is a legal requirement.
There are different kinds of insurance policies and so when setting up, you choose what is best for you.
This is important and if avoided could incur great penalties.
Insurance policies can protect against individuals, income, premises, equipment, film, portfolio, car, home or personal possessions from damage, accident, loss and theft.
There are specific policies that cover a professional photography practice.
Kind of insurances available
* employer's liability insurance
* public liability insurance
* professional indemnity insurance
* equipment insurance
* motor insurance
* goods in trust
* portfolio insurance
* income protection insurance
* loss of business/business interruption
* critical insurance
* working abroad
And so many more...
Public liability insurance:
This isn't compulsory but is advisable for a photographer because this will protect you against certain situations.
Protects against;
Loss or damage of property.
Injury, death or disease to another person.
I would get this if I was to start a business simply for my own protection after listening to several other photographers stories.
If harm came to another person, all costs are handled by the insurance company such as legal fees no matter of the outcome.
Employers liability insurance:
Employers must, by law have employers liability insurance.
You are paying for someones else's services and so you have a duty of care to those working for you.
If you don't have a valid liability policy then you, yourself will be liable for cost, fees and compensation or even face prosecution if a situation ocurs.
This only provides cover in the UK for UK nationals only.
Protects against;
A Person under contract or apprenticeship.
A Person employed by labour-only sub-contractors.
Self employed person.
A Person hired, borrowed by the insured.
A Person undertaking study or work experience.
Professional indemnity insurance
This is essential for most professional practices.
Indemnity insurance covers a lot more to protect your livelihood.
I would recommend this because you are covered at each angle such as;
*Any neglect, error or omission by yourself, agents or employees.
* Infringements of property or contract rights.
* libel, slander, defamation or violation of copyright law.
* dishonesty of employees or agents.
* fees and expenses which a client would have paid to you, but for your mistake.
* additional costs incurred by you to rectify a mistake.
* the costs of replacing lost or destroyed films, photographs and documents.
* compensation for court attendance at £100 per day.
* legal defence costs
* the film, camera or processing is defective so no photographs are available for the client, resulting in a re shoot.
* the photographs become lost in post or transit.
* an engagement is omitted from your diary or you turn up at the wrong place or wrong time.
* libel or slander.
You are limited to £250,000 for one claim.
This would probably cost more a month than the others but could be worth the money because these situations are most likely to arise.
Equipment insurance;
Photography equipment is very expensive, this will cover lost, stolen or damage goods.
To avoid paying for new or fixtures this policy is for you.
You can update your policy at any time such as new edition to your equipment.
A completed list of equipment will be required to calculate your entitlement. There are four types of policies such as;
UK only.
UK and Europe.
Worldwide.
Studio only.
Photographers are most likely to do this twice a year due to the changes of items.
Some will cover theft from your car but it is better to check with policy first.
Certain insurance companies specify the cover of theft from a vehicle is only during daylight hours or consider fitting a suitable car alarm.
These are just some of the policies available.
Quote for photography business (example)...
Marketing
To make your business successful to need to advertise well, we have moved into a generation where technology plays a big role.
Things such as websites are the leading role of marketing.
Photographers need to be seen and presented in a way that stands out.
Prices lists should also be included into your advertisement to help gain customers and contacts.
Research is the key to marketing, primary and secondary.
Interviews, what are we lacking, how can we improve etc
Promotions and offers are valuable.
Marketing ideas;
* Facebook
* flickr
* blogger
* Twitter
* Association of Photographer (AOP)
* British institute of professional photography (BIFF)
* Royal photographic society (RPS)
* British Association of libraries & Agents (BAPLA)
* Portfolio
* Business cards
* Books
* Posters
* Leaflets
* magazine/newspaper (business pages)
And many more...
Example of Facebook advertising and portfolio.
Printing companies
Group business
Group presentation...
Evaluation…
In our business group we came to the decision to producea websiteacting similarto‘Yellow Korner’. The idea is to give students a starting point in their career.Theywill have the opportunity to sell and build an onlineportfolio;each party will receive 50% of profit to make it fair.We would discuss prices with the photographer and come to a price we both agree with.We want to create good relationships between us and the photographer so issues don’t arise.I, along with my fellow photographer friends understand how hard it is to begin in this industry and this would be agreatstart. Selling images would have a positive effect such as confidence and the strength to keep pushing forward.Thiswould give students understanding of how the real world works.We chose the name ‘Genesis image’ becauseit meansthe ‘rise’or‘build’ of somethingand we believerelates to studentsbuilding uptheir career.Genesis imagegivestheaudiencethe opportunity to buy prints at a reasonablecost. We would research yellow korners prices and negogate a cheaper price. overallI thought we all worked very well together, everybody seemed to do what tasks was set them and was in regular contact.Team work never seemed to be an issue with our group.
My involvement…
We was all set particular tasks to complete during our group sessions, me and Abby volunteered to produce the graphicssuch as the logo, letterheads, compliments slip and receipts simply because we both came from graphic design backgrounds.We had severaldiscussions throughemail and Facebook about gatherings and other things that needed to be completed. Me andAbbywas in regularly contactalsoabout ideas we came across during our research,I created the letterheads, compliments slip and receipt on Photoshopandoncecompleted I askedAbbyto check it over and to make sure she agreed with the results. The logo was created by both me andAbby, we wanted to keep it simple and follow the graphic rule “less is more.”Abby decided on the typeface which she created in illustrator then I took a copy of it and began designing the logo for the typeface to sit in. later I helped Phil with the figures for cash flow and participated in the designforslideshow. Our down fall was not including a designed website but I have volunteered to do this if needed because I have the programs to do this and again have a background of designing websites.
Idea for our own business
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