Where to Spend Your Time?
Lesson 4 from: Building Your Photography Business for under $3,000Kathy Holcombe
Where to Spend Your Time?
Lesson 4 from: Building Your Photography Business for under $3,000Kathy Holcombe
Lessons
Class Introduction
06:45 2Create Your Business Plan
04:53 3Where to Invest Your Money?
27:44 4Where to Spend Your Time?
05:44 5How to be Profitable
08:58 6Write Your Personal Business Plan
16:16 7Business Plan Q & A
12:52 8Products: Overview
02:33What is Your Photography Style?
08:33 10What Products do You Want to Offer?
26:19 11Rules for Products
06:34 12Whats Involved in the Shoots for Your Products?
12:04 13How Will You Produce Your Products?
08:47 14Determine Your Pricing Strategy
06:05 15What to Charge for Your Products
18:19 16How to Use Markup Factors
07:37 17The Per Hour Sale
06:14 18Find Your Target Sale
08:25 19Pricing Strategy Q & A
22:24 20Develop a Sales Strategy
12:57 21In-person Sales Strategy
20:25 22Online Sales Strategy
23:11 23Mobile Sales Kits
18:09 24Identify Your Target Client
33:39 25Define Your Niche Market
16:10 26Develop Your Marketing Plan
14:27 27How to Increase Your Following
06:45 28Develop a Marketing Strategy
11:48 29Maximize Your Website
05:17 30What is The Purpose of Your Website?
09:33 31Website Essentials
14:13 32Website Tools to Create a Great Sale
11:58 33Online Selling Tools
11:30 34Online Shopping Cart
04:59 35Facebook Marketing Strategies & Materials
15:28 36Using Ads on Facebook
11:21 37Engagement on Facebook
08:22 38Instagram Marketing Strategies
15:27 39Define Your Brand
14:53 40Build a Solid Brand
14:46 41Maintain Your Brand through Publicity
10:39Lesson Info
Where to Spend Your Time?
Alright, time. Time is that thing we have so much of until we don't have any of it, right? (laughs) And you're like oh my gosh, where did the last month go, where did the last six months go? Okay, so in your business, there are two ways that you're going to spend your time. You're going to spend it creating client work, whichever everybody loves to do and you're going to spend it growing your business, okay? Possibly managing employees once you get there as well. So, you can shift this either way. In times of scarcity, you're going to be growing your business more. In times of plenty, you're going to be spending more time creating client work. But here is the challenge, if you're planning on doing this business full time, I want you to commit 40 hours, that's it, that's a full time job. There's so much more to life than work. Don't spend another second over this 40 hours. If you're only doing this business part-time, decide how part-time it's going to be. I was a teacher in a previous ...
life and I worked part-time with 40 hours a week. (audience chuckles) Because there were things I wanted to do and that really, the sacrifice isn't worth it. So, if you're working part-time, if you're working full-time, decide today and write it down in your most important business documents how much you're going to work and stick to that. It's really important. So, when you have some spare time in your business, instead of going to Facebook or Instagram or whatever you like to spend your time doing, spend time growing your business. If you find an extra 30 minutes, get your creative hat on and starting thinking about how you're going to get clients in the door, what the next thing is for your business, how you're gonna be new and exciting to your clients, mmkay? And then of course make sure that you are spending time doing a great job for your clients. So, here is the trick to this. Set regular work hours. This is so hard when you work in an RV. (laughs) I can just tell you, I live in 150 square feet with my family. I have a very energetic 13-year old daughter who is always telling me amazing things when I'm trying to work, so I promise you whatever your situation is, it can't be as hard as 150 square feet with three people. So, set regular work hours and stick to those work hours. When you're done, you're done. Go do something fun. Give yourself reasonable deadlines, so if you are starting a business, what's a reasonable time frame for you to accomplish these things? We're doing a lot in this workshop. We're writing a business plan, we are working on a marketing plan, you're gonna develop a new website, you are going to have an amazing social media campaign. You're probably not gonna get it done by four o'clock today, right? (laughs) So, what is a reasonable deadline? If you say, oh I'm gonna get to it someday, is it ever gonna happen? Of course not. So, you need to pick each individual thing for your business and say, okay, I'm going to have my business plan written by the end of the week. Next week, I'm gonna tackle my marketing plan, and I'm gonna have it done the following week. Then after that, I'm going to work on my website and I'm gonna give myself two weeks to get it done. And I'm gonna work really hard in the time that I have allocated. Because I don't know if you guys are anything like me, but if I feel like I have all the time in the world, I'm like, Aww, I'm gonna spend 10 minutes here and then I'm gonna check Facebook and then I'm gonna talk to my daughter and then I might walk my dog and you know, nothing ever gets done. So you need to have a reasonable deadline to get things done and to motivate you to work hard. And then, be done with it. And then the last thing, this is the hardest for us creatives. You've got to know that nothing is ever going to be perfect. And I could spend one minute retouching somebody's face or I could spend four hours and my client probably won't know the difference. (audience laughs) Right? I'll know the difference because oh my gosh, there's one more tiny itty bitty little wrinkle right there and I'm gonna work on it until it is gone. But that's not really productive time is it? Mmkay? So, write this down, put it above your computer. Frame it (laughs) and say, I know that nothing is ever going to be perfect and I'm going to get it 80% there and then I'm gonna move on. Do you guys know the 80/20 rule? The 80/20 rule is 80% of your time, the last 20% doesn't really make any difference, right? So, I'm gonna get it 80% perfect, everything is gonna be 80% perfect and then I'm moving on. And you will be so productive.
Class Materials
Bonus Materials with Purchase
Bonus Materials
Ratings and Reviews
Amanda Beck
Kathy was a wonderful instructor. She was engaging and someone who was precise and incredibly helpful. We have a full time photography business and are always looking for new ways of running our business. Her information was insightful and forced us to have conversations about our business that we have haven't had in several years. She is fantastic and someone who has the information needed to help you start or expand your business. Thank you for a wonderful class!!
Chrissie
Thank you Kathy for yet again another very thought provoking class. You are such an inspiration, teaching us the right questions to ask ourselves so we too can be brilliant photographers / entrepreneurs. I was a fulltime RVer for seven years, traversing 44 states and seeing some of the most beautiful places on our planet. It gave me a great opportunity to meet some extraordinary people and to hone my photography skills. Now I have put down roots in Stapleton - Denver, CO and am soon to launch my own Family Lifestyle Photography business. Your course has definitely given me the courage to just charge ahead and go for it!
Tristanne Endrina
I am VERY impressed with this class! The structure of the class is well done. Each segment was thorough and backed up some knowledge from the previous segments. Kathy breaks everything down into understandable knowledge and also makes it very enjoyable to watch. I HIGHLY recommend this class if you're unsure about what to do to start your photography business. $3000 may sound like a lot of money, but you'll going to find yourself in a determined state to raise that money if you're REALLY passionate and serious about starting your photography business. Thank you, Kathy & Creativelive, for this class. I'm excited to get the ball rolling and build my photography business.