How to Create an Effective Two-page Business Plan

By Jeff Kent
October 2020 issue Business

You know what the problem is with most business plans? They don’t exist. It’s hard to chart a course toward your ideal future when you don’t have a map. Of course, the opposite can be true as well. Some business plans exist in the extreme. Inches thick, they map out every minute detail of a business to a level that no human could ever follow.The common factor: Both types of plans are functionally worthless. Whether you don’t have a plan or your plan is too cumbersome to use on a daily... Continue Reading >

How Photographers Are Pioneering the New Normal

By Betsy Finn, M.Photog.Cr.
August 2020 issue Business

COVID-19 Restrictions Challenge Photographers to be resilient What does it look like to own a photography business while practicing social distancing or complying with stay-at-home mandates? And when those mandates are lifted, what’s the new reality? We’re all in uncharted territory. Many photographers have been adapting  and re-envisioning their business. In June, I asked five photographers to describe their experience as business owners during the COVID-19 pandemic.BEN SHIRK © Shirk... Continue Reading >

Study: Consumer Priorities Have Shifted During the Pandemic

August 2020 issue Business

Family is most important To Your CLients Professional photography wasn’t considered essential business during state and local shutdowns this spring, but positive consumer trends bring good news for the profession. Research shows a shift in values toward the importance of family, home, and friends, as well as supporting local businesses. People are also increasingly focused on making their living spaces a comfortable refuge. A recent study asked consumers how their values changed during the... Continue Reading >

Create a Brand that Resonates

By Jeff Kent
July 2020 issue Business

A Different Kind of DifferentFor a long time, there’s been a movement around differentiation. The idea is that being different helps distinguish you in the market, which can perhaps make you more successful. Well-intentioned business experts have created volumes, courses, webinars, keynote speeches, articles, books, and videos—all teaching people how to be different.Then everyone took the advice and everyone’s different became the same.So if we’re all different in the same way,... Continue Reading >

5 Tips for Surviving an Economic Slump

May 2020 issue Business

We’ve all lived through at least one significant economic downturn, the most recent lasting from the end of 2007 to the summer of 2009. It’s not easy keeping our spirits up when we’re in the midst of it, but remembering that recovery inevitably comes along can soften the psychic blow. If your business is in a slump, don’t despair. There are ways to make the most of downtime.1. Improve your skills: If there is a skill you’ve wanted to perfect, now’s the time to practice. Maybe... Continue Reading >

7 tips for crafting persuasive messaging

By Jeff Tippet
February 2020 issue Business

Perhaps more than ever before, you’re going to have to work hard to capture consumers’ attention. Some studies indicate that our attention span today is less than that of a goldfish. Whether in person, on the phone, or online, you’ve got but seconds to capture someone’s attention.Use these eight tips to help you craft messaging that will capture attention:1. Start with them.Find a way to use the word “you” at least once. Do this very early. By speaking to consumers directly,... Continue Reading >

The right light

By Jane Gaboury
October 2019 issue Business

How clients see youHas it ever happened that after you’ve finished a photographic work some delightful detail revealed itself that you hadn’t even known was there? Like a deeply submerged thought you hadn’t yet given voice to, some aspect needed to bubble to the surface. So it is with the written word, I find. With nearly every issue of the magazine, there comes a time in our production cycle where I’m excited and slightly surprised to see a theme arise that had somehow escaped my... Continue Reading >

Branding: Be the opposite of normal

By Jeff Kent
September 2019 issue Business

Before he was the Man in the Yellow Tux, Jesse Cole worked for a college summer baseball team in Gastonia, North Carolina. It was one of the worst baseball organizations in the country: About 200 fans showed up at each game, the team had $268 in the bank, and the organization was losing more than $100,000 a year.Cole thought hard about the business he was in. Was it baseball? No, not really. More than baseball, per se, people wanted to be entertained. And that’s where Cole and the team had... Continue Reading >

Study reveals how clients want to be contacted

July 2019 issue Business

If you want to connect with consumers, you have to know how they want to be reached. After their inquiry to you, would they prefer a follow-up text, email, or phone call? Recent  consumer research by Professional Photographers of America shows that phone is the preferred communication method for all generations, including millennials. That's closely followed by email. As you might guess, millennials (born 1981-1996) are much more comfortable with text communication than baby boomers (born... Continue Reading >

Consumer-centric marketing for photographers

By Jeff Kent
July 2019 issue Business

Name youR heroFor 30 years, Glynns Thomas built her reputation as a marketing all-star while working for some of the world’s best-known advertising agencies. Her accounts included Hilton Hotels, Princess Cruises, American Airlines, Infiniti Motors, and Bank of America, to name a few. Today, she teaches her favorite corporate advertising strategies to small business owners while running her own small business focused on headshot and branding photography.This dual experience has allowed... Continue Reading >