It's such a great feeling when your work is truly valued, and especially when it starts paying the bills! There is so much more to running a photography business than just finding clients and taking pictures, of course. Following are a few steps that will take your business to the next level.
1. Surround yourself with people who are strong in ways you are not. Find a great lawyer, accountant, and insurance agent who understand the photography industry and will be able to guide you when you have questions. There are so many details that they can bring to your attention to help you save money and keep your business going in the right direction. Having a lawyer look over your contracts (remember to ALWAYS have a contract!) will save you from issues down the line.
2. Talk to your accountant/banker/lawyer about incorporation. Becoming an LLC was such a great decision for me, and it shows my clients that I take my business seriously.
3. Find client management software that suits your needs and can grow with your business. Keeping track of clients, to-do lists, and payments is vital to having happy clients and clear records. Being able to do that all in one place really helped ease some of the anxiety that was always gnawing at me. My program of choice is the recently launched 17 Hats, which lets me accept credit card payments, track projects from quote and contract to completion, and sync with Google Calendar (among other things). While this is exactly the type of program I have been waiting for, there are tons of options out there that may be perfect for you such as Pixifi or Simply Studio. Have a favorite already? Leave a comment with your experience!
Happy Friday!
-Friday Ambassador
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