You Can Make Excuses,
You Can Make Money,
but You Can't Do Both
The choice is yours! You can make money or you can make excuses, but you can't do both. While reading the book, Don't Worry Make Money by Richard Carlson I came across this little saying. Saying, it should be a mantra for all photographers!
(A friend Mitch Daniels - a great Videographer and instructor recommended this and other great books to me. If you haven't read it , do! Thanks Mitch.)
I think about all of the instructors I've studied with and all of the advice they have recommended. Then I think of all the excuses I used on MYSELF. Months, sometimes years later I would put the advise to use, after I ran out of excuses.
"You need to raise your prices 10% per year. " I was told by Lisle Ramsey. I couldn't do that, my clients would kill me. (always a great excuse - who wants to die).
"Switch to slide proofs", this I heard from countless speakers from Ann and Jim Montieth to Charles Lewis to Don MacGregor. Never, my clients want to take proofs home! No one would come to me again. I'll be ruined. (another good excuse)
"Pay yourself first", sadly this advise did not come from our industry, but I did hear it. I can't, I want to buy all these new toys. New filters, backgrounds, cameras, gimmicks and trinkets. The more buttons the better. Luckily I did not listen to my excuses in this matter.
"Change the way you charge, use minimum orders or commissioned portraits/weddings. Implement the Prime time concept into your business!", this is my own advise to myself, no excuses here. I did this and it worked. But many are afraid to change.
"Do a clothing conference or planning session with every session." More good advise. More excuses! I don't have the time! There are not enough hours in the day. I'm too busy trying to get clients to return proofs that I let go out without a deposit. These things seem to be related don't they.
"Put up a Hufnagell portrait display." Thanks Les Peterson. (If you are not familiar with a Hufnagell display, this is one negative - usually a family of four or five, full length, vertical and with some space around the subjects. Send the negative to the lab and have them print a 30x40, 24x30,20x24,16x20,11x14 and an 8x10, of the same negative. Frame these in thin frames and put them on the wall in your sales room. The 11x14 goes in an easel frame on a table and the 8x10 goes in an album on the table. When you do this you will notice one thing, you will sell more large prints! It always works. When I finally put mine up, I started selling 24x30s like crazy! But I had plenty of excuses the first four times I heard the idea. I don't have the money! I don't have the wall space. I don't have the right negative. I don't have the time to place the order. Remember the mantra, "You can make money or you can make excuses, but you can't do both. "
"Attend the National Convention or State Convention or one of the week schools around the country." Lots of excuse potential here! No money, no time, I can't decide which class to take, I can't be away form the studio that long or my favorite, I already know everything! My advise, there are no excuses for this one. Go to all three!
Why do we make excuses? I believe it is due to fear! Also because it's easier than doing the work. Excuses free you from doing the work it takes to change. Another reason for making excuses, is to justify not changing. So, fear, laziness, and stubbornness aid us in making excuses and keeping us from making money.
Some may read this and scoff at the idea of making money. I'm serious, there is always someone in the audience who wants to know why I am so 'obsessed' with money. "We're artist! If your good enough, the money will come.", I'm told. When I hear this I think of artist of the past, Van Gogh, who starved all of his life. Even Ansel Adams didn't make any money until he got a business manager and he was almost 60 when that happened. You probably know many modern day photographers , while very talented, live month to month and don't have any savings or retirement plans. Maybe, "Being an Artist and not being obsessed with money!", is the Ultimate Excuse.
Make the decision to not make excuses! Do what it takes to run your business like an Entrepreneur, not like a photographer. Know your numbers! How can you make decisions with knowing the important information about your studio. Average orders for each life-cycle, percentage of profits of all your expenses, do a monthly profit and loss statement and pay your self first. Then you can make the money you deserve,