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Stop Wasting Time & Money

Lesson 7 from: How to Start a Photography Business

Pye Jirsa

Stop Wasting Time & Money

Lesson 7 from: How to Start a Photography Business

Pye Jirsa

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Lesson Info

7. Stop Wasting Time & Money

Can your clients really tell the difference between an f/1.2 and an f/2.8 lens? Between a good camera and a high-end camera? No -- which means you shouldn't be wasting money on gear that you think that you need. Instead, re-focus on what clients easily notice.
Summary (Generated from Transcript)

The topic of this lesson is the importance of focusing on the client experience and communication skills in a photography business, rather than being overly concerned with expensive gear. The instructor emphasizes that clients do not differentiate based on gear, but rather on the overall experience and quality of communication provided by the photographer. The lesson also discusses the cost of failure in terms of wasted time, money, unhappy clients, negative reviews, and potential loss of future clients. The instructor encourages learning from other people's mistakes and investing in education and skill development.

Q&A:

  1. What is the main focus of this lesson?

    The main focus of this lesson is to shift the focus of a photography business from gear to the client experience and communication skills.

  2. How does the instructor emphasize the importance of the client experience?

    The instructor states that clients do not differentiate based on gear, but rather on the overall experience and quality of communication provided by the photographer.

  3. What are some examples of things that clients can differentiate in a photograph?

    Clients can differentiate good communication versus poor communication, great poses and flattering expressions versus average ones, and good experiences versus not so good ones.

  4. What is the cost of failure discussed in the lesson?

    The cost of failure includes wasted time, money, unhappy clients, negative reviews, and potential loss of future clients.

  5. What does the instructor recommend in terms of investing in education and skill development?

    The instructor recommends investing in education and skill development through resources such as audio books, online classes, and in-person experiences, but cautions to research and ask for recommendations before investing in expensive classes.

Lessons

Class Trailer
1

Class Introduction

13:12
2

Common Myths & Unknown Truths

11:42
3

The Road Ahead

13:03
4

Find Your Passion

06:06
5

The Lin & Jirsa Journey

13:54
6

Part-time, Full-time, Employed, Partners?

03:51
7

Stop Wasting Time & Money

06:07
8

Your 12 Week Roadmap

04:33
9

Great Plans Still Fail

06:01
10

Strategy Vs. Planning

04:16
11

Mind Mapping

07:25
12

Select a Focus

14:16
13

Competitor Research

09:34
14

S.W.O.T. Analysis

13:54
15

Strategy & Long Term Goals

03:50
16

Values, Vision & Mission

27:49
17

Effectively Managing Your Time

15:05
18

Artistic Development

07:30
19

Create Your Plan

13:12
20

What's Your Product

10:51
21

Luxury vs Consumer Products & Experiences

11:44
22

Quick Break for Econ 101

16:31
23

Your Target Market & Brand Message

21:25
24

What's in a Name

09:20
25

Your Client 'Why'

05:43
26

Crafting the Why Experience

24:17
27

Document the Client Experience

08:29
28

Business Administration Basics

27:03
29

Book Keeping Management

06:51
30

Create the Logo & Branding

07:04
31

Portfolio Design

15:11
32

Design Your Services & Packages

18:51
33

Pricing Fears & Myths

08:46
34

Three Pricing Methods

25:39
35

Package Pricing Psychology & Design

06:15
36

Psychology of Numbers

07:29
37

Pricing Q&A

23:51
38

Grass Roots Marketing

09:36
39

The Empty Party

07:03
40

Friends & Family Test Shoots

16:28
41

Join Groups

04:32
42

Second Shooting Etiquette

07:44
43

The Listing & Classified Hustle

14:10
44

Make Instagram Simple

13:55
45

Your Automated Pinterest Plan

08:01
46

Facebook Because You Must

07:37
47

Giveaway & Styled Shoots

12:17
48

Content Marketing & SEO

08:12
49

The Monster: SEO

07:26
50

Selecting Your Keywords

05:45
51

Testing Your Keywords

07:53
52

Grouping Main & Niche Goals

12:39
53

Your Content Road Map

11:47
54

Content Marketing Q&A

10:45
55

Inspiration to Keep Working

07:45
56

How to Craft Your Content

15:03
57

Internal Linking Basics

05:30
58

Back Link Building Basics

04:55
59

Link Value Factos

14:38
60

Measuring Link Value

04:24
61

Link Building Strategy & Plan

06:10
62

Link Building Plan: Vendors & Guest Writing

06:45
63

Link Building Plan: Features, Directories, Comments

03:11
64

Link Building: Shortcuts & One Simple Tool

14:44
65

What is Sales? Show Me!

12:58
66

Your First Massive Failure

05:17
67

The Sales Process

07:31
68

Your Second Massive Failure

05:23
69

Understand Buyer Psychology

10:00
70

Step 0: Building Rapport & Trust

15:14
71

Step 1: Identify Need or Want

15:39
72

Cognitive Dissonance

12:01
73

Steps 2 & 3: Value Proposition & The Solution

14:21
74

Step 4 : Close, Make the Ask

04:32
75

Step 5: Follow Up & Resolve Concerns

06:13
76

Family Photography Hot Seat

12:06
77

Business Example Hot Seat

15:52
78

Boudoir Photography Hot Seat

16:09
79

The Best Sales Person

07:45
80

Your Mindset, Vibrations & Frequency

06:56
81

Always Positive, Always Affirming

11:55
82

The Second Money & Dual Process

07:39
83

Chumming the Price Waters

03:57
84

Creating Want or Scarcity

09:54
85

Timeless Advice on Being Likable

11:53
86

Selling Over The Phone

10:59
87

Forbidden Words in Sales

11:40

Lesson Info

Stop Wasting Time & Money

I'm going to say this respect yourself stop wasting time and money. This is a big one for me. Which of your clients can tell these apart? Raise your hands if you think they can. F2 F1.4 F1.2 you guys are laughing why are you laughing? Which of your clients can tell these apart raise your hands. Which of you guys have a hard time telling these apart? Okay so what's all the fuss again. How about the D800 versus the D850. I can't tell. 50 versus 36 versus 28 megapixels. Who knows like seriously. Yet online discussion of photography and in person discussion of photography and workshop discussion of photography, how big of a focus is gear and the gear that you have and what you have. If I can only get that lens then I can do this. If I had an 85-12 I could shoot and be really successful. I've heard that exact argument I can't tell you how many times, I want to deliver that for my clients I can't find clients unless I have an 85-12. Oh my goodness, really? How about this, what if I give you ...

extremes, which of you can tell which is the $500 Rebel Kit versus the $ Full-Frame and Lens combo. This is an example from Photography 101 we actually blow them up so you can see them side by side, it's so difficult to tell, this was a $99 prime on the left side versus a $2000 prime on the right side. If you're having a hard time with it, what do your clients think? How about this. How many of your clients can tell the difference between good communication versus poor, raise your hands. Yeah we're all good at knowing that. How about great poses and flattering expressions versus just average ones, that'll show through in a photograph. Good experiences versus not so good ones, that's something that they can differentiate. Guys there's nothing on the imagery side that they can differentiate, what we're talking about on our side, this is for photographers only. What they differentiate is the experience and they'll talk about that, but you bring your, tell me your name. Lee. Lee, I'm Pye nice to meet you. So you've got an 85-12 I'm sorry brother they're just not going to talk about it you know what I mean, that's fine but we're all brainwashed to spend thousands on gear and nothing on education. This is one of those things that I wanted to talk about because these are all things that have happened to us. So I want to tell you the cost of failure. Time this is your most valuable asset, this is all you've got the one thing you can't make more of. Okay so wasted time that's on the small side of things that you could potentially fail at. How about money? We have had refunds, not a lot, but think about this for one second. If we've shot over the last five, six years 300 plus weddings, let's say it's 1500 clients. It would be doing great if you had less than 1% refunds which we do, we have in something like ten years we've given two. Even those two let's say they were $6000 in total, compare that to how much money you spent on your education. $6000 how much could you spend on education and never even come close to $6000? Isn't that kind of a stupid thought to think of like oh my goodness if I could've done something to prepare for that, so unhappy clients, negative reviews and negative word of mouth oh my goodness those can cost you big time. Because it's not going to effect one future client it's going to effect multiple, so if you're booking at two 3000 a negative review can effect the next $20, of income, those are huge. Future clients, if you get enough negative reviews, if you get enough negative word of mouth out there you could potentially take the entire business. And we've seen it happen, multiple times and it all goes back to simply don't shortcut yourself, don't shortcut the process, don't buy into this whole oh yeah you're going to be shooting a $10,000 wedding, here's how to shoot $10,000 weddings next week. Maybe you'll get one, maybe you'll get two and then you'll tank your business right afterwards because you're not yet there ruined it. Here's the cost of education. Audible my favorite place to, I listen to books constantly I go through about a book a week on Audible. So that costs me $250 bucks a year for an entire subscription, cheap. Online classes I spend personally at least $800 to bucks on online classes per year, I budget that into what I'm going to be spending. And in person experiences, I spend money on too. But the one thing I caution about that is just go off word of mouth, don't buy into what the hype is, ask people who attended those classes because a lot of those can be hit or miss and they're a lot of money. But still if you added all these things up together over the course of five years it still wouldn't come close to losing a client or potential clients in the future correct, that's the cost difference I want you guys to think about when you guys are thinking about this. Learn from other people's mistakes, life's too short to make them all yourself.

Class Materials

Bonus Materials with Purchase

How to Launch a Photography Business Workbook
Experience Pricing Example

Ratings and Reviews

Armstrong Su
 

This class and materials are to the point and eye-opening on the business side of photography. Pye Jirsa is an amazing and fun teacher as well! Most photographers need more business classes offered to bring us who love to create art back to reality for a more successful business that makes a living on it's own. This course will definately get you started in the right direction and so cheap too! Great investment! armstrong outdoor tv case outdoortvcase Pye Jirsa is one of the best instructors that I have the pleasure to learn from. He and his team have given me so much more than they'll ever realize. Knowledge, wisdom, training, friendship, mentoring, inspiration, joy... I cannot thank Pye enough for changing my life for the better. I owe them more than they'll ever realize. Thank you, Pye Jirsa!!!

Angela Sanchez
 

This class has been an eye opener for me; a point of change in my vision as photographer. Pye is and AMAZING, INSPIRING, GENEROUS instructor, with an, authentic desire to help people and to share with them the best of his knowledge. I will not have enough words to say thanks to Pye Jirsa, as a teacher and as a human being, and thanks to Creative Live who allows us to benefit from the experience of such a knowledgeable, educated, well-versed photographer and instructor. 1000% recommended!

Yenith LianTy
 

Been following this guy forever. Pye Jirsa may be well known in the wedding & portrait photography world and if there is something that this guy knows it is how to create a business, a sustainable one. The workbook he provided is comprehensive, and I honestly wish I had this when I first started out as a photographer! I love that he talks about his failures, keeping it real and honest for anyone starting out. He is definitely one of the best instructors around, super humble, down to earth and with a sense of humor to boot. The course is worth it! THE WORKBOOK is AMAZING! SUPER DETAILED!

Student Work

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