I was really struggling to find something to write about the photography business yesterday! I was trying to think about my victories and struggles that week, but although there were many, I couldn't think of anything to write about them! I knew what my victories were, but what did I have to say about it? So I left it, and missed my Wednesday blog post.. but this morning I feel like I should try again and just say whatever is in my heart to say :)
So my victory is a very simple yet still very much an awesome victory! I realised whilst catching up on my book keeping that since I have started the business in April, I had not made any losses! In fact I had made a pretty reasonable profit! This realisation was very encouraging, especially after how I was feeling when I wrote this post 2 weeks ago.
This morning I thought I would share with you how I managed to make a profit in my first 6 months of business, because I hear that can be very difficult!
1) Keep business finances separate from personal finances
When I started out, I opened a business bank account. I had it for about a month before it had any money in it and the first money that was put in was from a client, and that was my starting point! I didn't take money out and I didn't put money in, I just built from that first payment that I received. Now I'm not saying this is the 'correct' way of doing things, I'm just writing about how I decided to do things :) Also, I need to point out that I didn't take any money from my personal income (my one-day-a-week job!) However, every year I have received a tax rebate, and every year I have used that to buy some sort of photography equipment. And that is how I managed to take up photography, my first tax rebate bought me a camera, the second bought me Photoshop and the third one this year, I put into my business account.. I have never seen this money as my personal income, but it has been essential in me building my business :)
2) Keep expenses to a minimum
So by separating my personal and business finances, I was forced to really think about how I am spending my business money, as that was the only money I had to work with! So my next step was to keep my business expenses to a minimum. There are several ways you can minimise expenses in your first two years of business. Here are a few examples:
Website:
Use a free platform such as Blogger or Wordpress. My entire website is built in Blogger! I also started off with a free domain name for a year from Yola, but unfortunately it seems that there is no such thing as a free domain name anymore :\
Advertising & Marketing:
There really is no need to spend a lot of money on advertising and marketing at first. Use social media, get out there and meet new people and be creative! I have designed my own website, business cards and leaflets and have done most of the printing myself. I have used Vistaprint for my business cards (it works cause the cards are so simple!) and have just been creative with home printing for the rest. Although my husband and I were lucky enough to have won a completely free printer and A LOT of ink from stuff.tv (why don't you give it a go!).. The bottom line is, if you are able to, just be creative! :)
Swap Skills:
I have done a lot of 'swaps', either skills or services! Do you know someone who has what you need and needs what you have? Why not suggest a swap? On many occasions I have swapped photography for a certain service or skill. So no money spent or lost and you are both getting what you need! However for this to work, you both will have to swap to the same value, there is no use giving thousands of pounds worth of photography for hundreds of pounds of marketing for example.
3) Keep track of everything
From the start I have made sure that I am keeping constant track of my finances. I have a spreadsheet which shows me exactly how much money I have made, how much I have spent and how much profit I am generating. This way every time I think I need to spend some money, I can look at my spreadsheet and see if it is a good idea or not. I keep note of my monthly payments and make sure that I always have enough in my account to pay it! Again, never dipping into my personal finances. I can also see if I am making enough money in a month. So if I see I am low on money and my payments are coming up, I know I need to be getting more work! So that's a bit of motivation for you ;)
Now I really wasn't sure if I should share this with you, as it is very sensitive and personal information, but I thought what the heck! I want to be real with all of you reading my posts, so please realise how much I do share with you and please be grateful and not judgemental or mean! Here is my spreadsheet so you can have a look for yourself, and I really hope that it can help someone out there! Im sure there are many better ways to do this, but this is what makes sense to me and what helps me. Also, I realise the profit I have made is very small so far, but its still a profit! And I am very proud to have got this far :)
4) Be generous
This is an interesting concept, and I have in fact learnt this from some one else... I have heard a few stories of businesses succeeding because they have been generous They have donated to charity, or used their money in some generous way. I have a whole other view on this concept based on my faith. This is a very biblical principle called your 'tithe'. However, this principle is used in many big companies who will testify that this works :) I have done this all my life personally, and I have never lacked anything! So I decided to bring it into my business, and so far so good! Each month I give 10% to my church, which is my 'tithe' or my 'charitable donation'.
I really hope this post has been helpful! I would love to hear your (positive) comments and feedback!
