Following on from the previous two posts about starting up a photography business, post one and post two, we now cover adding the detail to your business model. The three choices, highlighted above, together, create a configuration that is permanent. The individual business model components may undergo constant incremental change. Wholesale, radical change of any one element (e.g., serving an entirely new customer group) will be inhibited by the other two model elements.

While each element is a necessary (but not sufficient) component of a business model, the three are not equally important.

• Business models are built around customers. They’re the most important element.
• Without a compelling value proposition, there are neither revenues nor profits.
• Resources and capabilities are strategic only to the extent that they fulfill the promises (explicit and implied) made to the customer through the value proposition.

 1. Customer – who will the business serve? – for instance families, teenagers, maybe schools, businesses via product shots or covering events. Think about how frequently customers come to buy from you and the value as a proportion of sales that each contributes. A good mix of high frequency, lower value and low frequency, higher value is something we aim for.

2. Value proposition – “offer” that will be made to the customer. Marry experience, with a physical product at the end of it. Barrier to entry lays in the expertise and relatively med/ high capital costs of getting such a business started.

3. Resources and capabilities – will create/deliver the value propositionIncludes:

•  Suppliers
• Staff
• Equipment
• Expertise
• Pricing / Cost structure

some examples include Photographer skill and expertise (which is still the key ingredient) and equipment, Studio facilities, Graphic designers and equipment, Framers and framing equipment, Stylists and hairdressers providing services providing support services, Clothing suppliers – ball gowns, evening dresses, wedding dresses.

All these points need to be considered when looking to start your own photography business. Doing your own research is critical, preparation, preparation, preparation is as important as location, location, location.

Disclaimer, release and acknowledgment
Mike Turner, is not a financial planner, adviser, registered accountant or financial professional. The information presented in this blog is based on his personal experiences as business owner, researcher, and others he has modelled in detail. You may have to modify them, do further research on them or adapt them to suit your personal financial situation. Any information presented on this blog, or any support materials, are given purely as illustrations and should not be construed as specific investment recommendations. The laws relating to investment, taxation, benefits, and the handling of money are constantly changing and are often subject to changes in government policy, and whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the material contained herein at the time of publication and presentation, Mike Turner will not bear any responsibility or liability for any action taken by any person, persons or organisations on the purported basis of information contained in this blog, or any supporting material.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no person, persons or organisations should invest monies or take other action on reliance of the material contained in this blog, or any support material, but instead should satisfy themselves independently (whether by expert advice or otherwise) or the appropriateness of any such action.

In our previous blog we briefly talked about what this blog would be aiming to cover, today we continue to discuss the construction of a business model when you first start off your photography business.

Knowing which aspect of photography you are going to do professionally is key to the way you develop your business model. Are you going to be a social photographer? Undertaking weddings, and possibly portraits or are you going to be a wedding photographer only. Would you prefer to undertake commercial photography? Capture products for use in catalogues or on the web. Will you require a studio or can you get away from being home based? All these questions need to be answered before you can begin to formulate you business plan.

In my case I decided that my area of expertise was in Weddings, Portraits and Makeovers. I knew that I would need a studio in order to make a living from portraiture and makeovers, because you can never depend on the weather here in UK, to schedule five or six portrait sessions in one day. Any sign of rain and a full days program goes out the window. The same problem exists for weddings but the key difference is you have an option to use the wedding venue if the weather takes a turn for the worst.

These are all issues that need to be considered. Once you have established these key points you can then start to put together your business plan.
Again going back to my particular circumstances. I had decided that I needed a studio to work from. I looked around at a number of locations and ultimately decided to go for my studio in Lowton. I have had to go through this process a number of times previously so had a bit of experience in knowing what locations would best suit my business. These included:
• Good prominent main road position,
• Good parking facilities,
• Residential area close by,
• Easy access from motorway network

I avoided a town centre location mainly because of the parking issue. I personally avoid visiting town centres mainly because of the difficulty in finding parking spaces close to where I want to shop, that is partly why supermarkets have done so well, free easy to access parking spaces. My studio in Lowton is possibly the best location I have had a studio because the studio has its own ample parking facilities, it is easy to access from all locations, from Bolton, Liverpool, Manchester, Widnes, St. Helens as it is just off the East Lancs Road and close to Junction 22 and 23 of the M6.

When I met the landlord I thought he seemed a genuinely nice, accommodating person who was easy to talk to and seemed concerned about his tenants. As it as turns out, whenever there is any issue he is quick to put things right. I also spoke to other people that knew him and they all spoke very highly of him. This was a big plus for me. When I was looking at other studios some where owned by big faceless organisations with headquarters in city centre Manchester that seemed very impersonal and this really put me off at the time. Some had be left empty for a long time and were suffering from dampness and had a big pile of mail behind the door, as if they had not been visited by the landlords for months if not years. This I view as a warning and I decided not to progress with these properties.

When you are starting off in business for the first time it is vital that you tread carefully when looking for a location, often leases can be 10 years plus and if you get it wrong you could end up stuck in a place that is completely wrong for your business. Paying off a 10 year lease is not a consideration for most people so you are stuck with it. As they say location, location, location.

So now you have your business model partially established.

Next time we will be exploring more about adding detail to the business model, using the diagram below

Disclaimer, release and acknowledgment
Mike Turner, is not a financial planner, adviser, registered accountant or financial professional.
The information presented in this blog is based on his personal experiences as business owner, researcher, and others he has modelled in detail.
You may have to modify them, do further research on them or adapt them to suit your personal financial situation.
Any information presented on this blog, or any support materials, are given purely as illustrations and should not be construed as specific investment recommendations.
The laws relating to investment, taxation, benefits, and the handling of money are constantly changing and are often subject to changes in government policy, and whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the material contained herein at the time of publication and presentation, Mike Turner will not bear any responsibility or liability for any action taken by any person, persons or organisations on the purported basis of information contained in this blog, or any supporting material.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no person, persons or organisations should invest monies or take other action on reliance of the material contained in this blog, or any support material, but instead should satisfy themselves independently (whether by expert advice or otherwise) or the appropriateness of any such action.

Having run a number of businesses over the past 10 years, and working in Production management before that, has given me a good grounding in all aspect of running both small and large businesses. I enjoy working in my own business, because of the variety of things I can get involved with, finances, sales and marketing, and the creative aspects of creating something to sell. Many of the aspect of running a photography business, translate into skills that apply to any type of business. In its simplest form a business, whether photography related or otherwise has three main components.

1. Having something to sell (product or service),
2. And someone to sell to (customer).
3. Having some form of business process that links the two together (business model). This is the how-to part of the equation. How do you generate revenue from your product or service? How do your customers interact with your business model? Indeed what kinds of business models exist?

Over the course of the next few months I will be posting content that will endeavour to answer these questions in greater detail. We will be covering all aspects of running a photography business.

• Sales and marketing
• Market research
• Psychology – which applies to all aspects of business
• Financial control
• Wealth building
• Debt management
• Investing for the future

My goal is to share the wealth of information, gathered from years of research, and trial and error. I love to read and gather all things business related, very geeky I admit, but something I love to do in my spare time, to keep the grey matter active. All of the information I will be presenting is out there, on the internet, in books, and blogs (albeit not photography related), but making all this information into something practical and ultimately useful is another thing, I guess that is where the line between success and failure lays.

Disclaimer, release and acknowledgment
Mike Turner, is not a financial planner, adviser, registered accountant or financial professional. The information presented in this blog is based on his personal experiences as business owner, researcher, and others he has modelled in detail. You may have to modify them, do further research on them or adapt them to suit your personal financial situation. Any information presented on this blog, or any support materials, are given purely as illustrations and should not be construed as specific investment recommendations. The laws relating to investment, taxation, benefits, and the handling of money are constantly changing and are often subject to changes in government policy, and whilst every care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the material contained herein at the time of publication and presentation, Mike Turner will not bear any responsibility or liability for any action taken by any person, persons or organisations on the purported basis of information contained in this blog, or any supporting material.
Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, no person, persons or organisations should invest monies or take other action on reliance of the material contained in this blog, or any support material, but instead should satisfy themselves independently (whether by expert advice or otherwise) or the appropriateness of any such action.