How to Succeed at the Financial Side of Photography

Photography can both be a fun and exciting hobby and many entrepreneurs who love this find it possible to create a company based around taking and selling photographs. Although the photography may seem like a fun business venture, there are still other considerations you need to fully understand about running a startup just as much you need to think about what makes for the perfect photograph. This can put a strain on photographers who may not have the credentials to manage the financial and business sides of their venture. However, with the following advice in this guide, you will be able to better manage many of the financial aspects of your company in the future, allowing you to sell your photographs while sustaining a viable business model. 

1. Take a Business Course

If you are a fantastic photographer, but are worried about the business mindedness that is needed to make a profit in the photography world, why not consider taking a business, finance or intrapreneurship course which can allow you to gain a better knowledge of the financial aspects needed to manage your business and create a sustainable platform from which to sell your photos? There are many Masters and Bachelors degrees that you can take alongside your business venture which can allow you to support your growing business and gain the new skills necessary to make your business succeed while running your company and making a profit. Click here to find out more about Suffolk University’s Accountancy Masters, which can allow you to get more detailed knowledge of the financial side of any photography business and how you can put this into action. 

2. Create a Business Plan

Another way in which you can plan your finances successfully is to create a business plan designed from a practical template. You can set financial targets which you and your employees can work on. Your business plan is the best place for you to create goals and establish the manner in which you will ensure that your company can collect a viable profit, and it should always contain financial elements such as cash flow analysis and financial goals. These goals can help to make a success of your business by allowing you to edit these according to how well your business is performing, and to help you to have achievable aims which can motivate you to succeed. Not only this, but they can also be indicators that can allow you to see when your company is weak in some aspect, helping you to isolate the areas that need improving in order to improve the financial situation of your business. 

3. Use the Technology Available to You 

Technology and apps can not only help photographers to take and edit the perfect picture, but they can also be helpful in order to manage their business as effectively as possible. There are many pieces of technology that can help photographers to manage the financial side of their business, including mobile and computer apps and software such as cash flow analyzers, accountancy applications, and invoice creators. These can help photographers who are worried about managing the financial side of their company by automating and tracking elements such as expenditure, giving you an easy system to check in one glance how your finances are performing. This can then allow you to focus on the parts of your business that are meaningful to you, such as the photography side of the business, rather than time-wasting tasks that can detract your attention from the quality of your photos. 

4. Secure Financial Funding 

Financial funding is paramount to a businesses’ growth and the amount that you may need in order to secure the start-up costs necessary for your business. However, it can be difficult to secure financial funding from your personal funds or from friends and family, and many photographers may struggle to achieve this if photography has previously been a side hobby. Small companies can apply for a variety of grants and funding campaigns from the government, as well as from different organizations who are looking to support innovative small businesses and start-ups through grants and competitions. Not only this, but there is also funding available for creative projects, with some being specific to photography businesses, allowing you to get the funding that you need to continue taking photographs full time and to start up your business. You can also consider finding financial funding through angel investors at networking events and through personal campaigning such as fundraising or teaching photography. 

5. Deal with Your Personal Finances

One of the struggles that new photographers find with starting up a company is how to manage their personal and business finances at the same time. However, it is vital that you are able to balance your personal and business finances in order to grow your business and have a solid foundation on which to build upon. This is especially due to the fact that much of your early equipment may need to be paid for out of your personal funds; having good personal finances will allow you to support yourself until you break even. 

Additionally, as with the running of any new business, you should ensure that you have enough money to support yourself in periods of low cash flow, or when you are just starting to make a profit, ensuring that you can look after your necessities such as rent and bills. Having good personal finances can help you to get any loans that you need for your organization through a good credit score and financial outlook. 

6. Assess the Start-Up Costs and Budget

Before you start your business, though, you should already start considering the finances of your business through assessing the start-up costs and budget necessary for the success of your business. When considering the start-up costs of your company, you need to consider elements such as equipment, the rent on your retail unit or market stall space, and energy bills, as well as smaller costs such as transport and mailing. This will help you to establish how much funding you will need to make a success of your business in the future and how long you will have to persist before you are able to get a return on your investment. 

The first step you should take when starting up a business though is to create a viable budget from which you can work. When creating a budget for your business, you should consider many different aspects such as your expected revenue and cash flow within the businesses’ first year, the start-up costs and fixed costs throughout your first year. You should then factor in emergency funds and variable assets to ensure that, whatever happens, you can keep your company running far beyond its first year without bankrupting your personal or business finances. What is the usda? It is important to review this budget on a regular basis to plan for the future and allow you to make the necessary changes to either your budget or your expenditure. 

7. Create a Suitable Price Plan

The best way to get a quick return on your investment is to create a suitable price plan which your clients will be willing to pay for. Firstly, especially within the initial months of their business, some companies can have a tendency to undersell themselves with short price margins in order to attract customers. However, you should never sell yourself short and should be constantly aware of the benefits and value of your business to customers. Nevertheless, neither should you create a price plan that customers will be unwilling to pay for, for instance, prices that are too high or above the local competitions’. To find the right price plan for your organization, you should try conducting market research for your business, such as creating surveys where potential customers can inform you how much they would be willing to pay for your products. 

8. Hire Finance Employees 

If you are particularly struggling with the financial side of your photography business, you should consider hiring finance employees who can complete the basis of your financial tasks for you. These professionals include job roles such as accountants and financial advisors who can help you to complete complex tasks such as tax returns correctly, leaving you able to relieve yourself from financial stress and to better focus on the other aspects of your business wherein your input is vital.

9. Consider Your Cash Flow

Above all, to keep your company running effectively, you need constant cash flow in order to grow your business and keep a good level of reinvestment which you can use to improve the quality of your products and the facilities that you provide. You can use a cash flow analyzer to assess the success of your businesses’ finances, and, if these are failing, you should find ways to boost your cash flow. These can include elements such as creating a new price plan and conducting a limited time sale which can encourage customers to buy your products immediately.