I've just finished up a spreadsheet of the budget, but I'm going to add another page to it for projections that include future gear upgrades (damn digital lifecycle), incomes, taxes, insurance and anything else I can think of...like a paycheck
The budget I made first which is very similar to what I've listed in the original post has been slimed down. The first rough budget was kind of a premium package for myself. I've shaved off about 4K from it and got myself down from a 'premium camera kit and marketing package' to a great one.
I've made some connections with three photographers in the area and will probably go back to second shooting for 2011 for some income while my own bookings are thin, then kick ass in 2012
I've written it into my schedule to finish up the docs that I've been redesigning for the last year i.e. day schedule form, contract, client info form, pricelist and a whole bunch more. That starts tomorrow.
But also I've been working on some albums from weddings I shot last year, and I'm a SLOW editor.
edit: my IT guy is another good friend of mine who has had lots of business administration classes. we are going to have a meeting next week about making a formal budget and projection. we also might have some computer talk. i shot his wedding for free for just this type of thing. his brother (i shot also) is a programmer who has been working on a kick ass site for a pretty long time.
* Buy a website for $500
* Spend $1,000 on your best images making large prints for show.
* Spend $2,000 on albums for show.
* Spend $2,400 on bridal shows (here they are $800 so I am saying do three)
* Buy two used 1D3 and two new 24-70L
* Buy 5 new 580EX II
* Buy a set of CyberSync triggers
* Buy four light stands and umbrellas
* Buy two iM2700 StormCases
------------
$17K
What did he tell you in what he wants in return
What is/are consequences if you do not meet his requirement?
IMO, you must have that COMPLETELY CLARIFY (WRITTEN AS A CONTRACT) before you decide to take the investmen....
why did you fail? and what make you think you'll be successful this times?
If it is truly as an support from a close/dear friend, I highly doubt he'll seeking for any return other than he just want to help you get back on track... if that the case, what are the chances you'll be successful? (so you wont waste his $)
I do believe When someone just "purely" like to help someone else but claiming it as an investment (so you could take it)
we haven't talked about the size of his return or any consequences should it fail to come. i'll definitely be outlining these on paper. Im going to include all of my spreadsheets and schedules of purchase along with goals of earning with the contract.
why did I fail? thank you for asking.
ill tell it in long story format
when i first started falling for wedding photography, i made sure to assist for top end photographers who shoot awesome clients. i made their level of professionalism my goal. i new that because of limited funds, i would have to work my way for years to get to their price point. i started at low-ish prices target to somewhat classy market. i was earning bookings at about 2,000 but was offering too much product and not outsourcing enough.
it killed me when i booked a lot and my workflow was WAY too heavy. because of my cost of doing business, my bills, and the time it took to get the work done i started falling behind on my deadlines. the last four or five clients i took have handwritten in the contract "SLOW SERVICE" and i made it clear that i was very far behind. those last few made it passed my reluctance to book due to deadlines and appreciated my style enough to pay full price and accept the wait time written into my contract.
i decided to put a halt to contracting bookings because i don't want to be a brand represented as one that returns packages after a much-too-long wait. every single long-wait-client is still happy and i haven't ever had a single negative feedback.
i've spent about a year redefining my workflow. i have new documents, new processes written down, changes in my contract and pricelists that budget for outsourcing and even more changes.
i've been ready with my strategy for a pretty long time.
however,because i have been working for less money in order to protect my brand image, i've become broke. my gear has become used and outdated. my marketing media is old and is need of an update (read: new large prints)
i believe that i've spent a lot of time updating the way i go about things. i've also spent the entire time working soley in wedding photography and keeping my skills fresh.
i'm ready but i know it's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication. i could fail. i could be finally starting the good part of my career thanks to a good friend who wants to support me with an investment. i could still have a way to go before i actually get it running smoothly.
in any case. i'll just keep doing what i love to do and if i never get rich, so be it. i never have been yet, so i don't know what i'm missing. if i fail at this venture, well i have a lifetime to pay it back, even if repayment is demanded in the form of a lawsuit. i know friendships can get broken, but not only do i have faith in my skills in this field, i also have faith in a friendship that is going to last long enough to pay back twenty grand.
It's nice that your friend is so supportive though. Only way I see this working is if he's well enough off that he's really just trying to help you out because he believes in you and agrees to a rate of return only slightly higher than what he could get in corporate bonds. Which from an investment standpoint would be crazy for him (huge risk, little return).
Thing is if he expects a rate of return that is reasonable given the risks then he'll choke you with interest fees.
What was this "rough patch?" 1 year is a long time to be out of business. Sounds unreliable to me.
-1 to taking a salary from the 20k investment. This seems like the fastest way to fail.
Also, the notion that you can get a few bookings for 2011 and then "blow up" in 2012 (or whatever the timeframe) sounds naive to me. Why would a client want to hire a photographer who didn't do any wedding work last year? What is the upside for them? Why not hire a different photographer who didn't shut their business down last year?
I guess I just can't get past this one part...What is so difficult about photographing weddings that requires an entire year to sort out?
Mitchel107 wrote:
The thing is, I'm not coming here to learn what I need to do,
Then why did you even bring up the, "investor" angle? You should've just said, "I got $20k to spend and what should I spend it on?"
The whole deal doesn't pass the smell test to me. As much as friendship can mean, I certainly wouldn't fork over $20k based on that relationship. Especially something as fickle as this business can be at times.
Borrowing the money is one thing but private investors expect more of a return than any bank can provide.
Chris Cooke wrote:
Don't engage in business with friends...it never ends well.
Saad Syed wrote:
This "investment" can easily turn into a broken friendship and lawsuit.
+1
I own a side business that is non-photography related. First rule is don't let your friend get involve in your business period. You may be friends now but enemy three years from now. You are better off if you can find and outside investor.
If you decide to have your friend as a partner, make sure you have an iron clad contract spelling out the details.
Mitchel107 wrote:
The thing is, I'm not coming here to learn what I need to do,
Ric L. wrote:
Then why did you even bring up the, "investor" angle?
Mitchel107 wrote:
The thing is, I'm not coming here to learn what I need to do, but rather I'm doing something more akin to having a critique on my strategy from business owners with more experience.
I haven't been able to read all the posts in this thread. I would just like to throw in 2 things into the pile.
BRANDING from the start! Get professionals to help you! A nice website or blogsite will get you long ways. Don't really need your IT friend unless he's also a designer. And there are also LOTs of templates that will make your life really easy without needing to know one line of code.
I'd also agree with others that renting gear is a wise choice. Some times you don't even know whether you need that piece of gear until you try it out.
we haven't talked about the size of his return or any consequences should it fail to come. i'll definitely be outlining these on paper. Im going to include all of my spreadsheets and schedules of purchase along with goals of earning with the contract.
why did I fail? thank you for asking.
ill tell it in long story format
when i first started falling for wedding photography, i made sure to assist for top end photographers who shoot awesome clients. i made their level of professionalism my goal. i new that because of limited funds, i would have to work my way for years to get to their price point. i started at low-ish prices target to somewhat classy market. i was earning bookings at about 2,000 but was offering too much product and not outsourcing enough.
it killed me when i booked a lot and my workflow was WAY too heavy. because of my cost of doing business, my bills, and the time it took to get the work done i started falling behind on my deadlines. the last four or five clients i took have handwritten in the contract "SLOW SERVICE" and i made it clear that i was very far behind. those last few made it passed my reluctance to book due to deadlines and appreciated my style enough to pay full price and accept the wait time written into my contract.
i decided to put a halt to contracting bookings because i don't want to be a brand represented as one that returns packages after a much-too-long wait. every single long-wait-client is still happy and i haven't ever had a single negative feedback.
i've spent about a year redefining my workflow. i have new documents, new processes written down, changes in my contract and pricelists that budget for outsourcing and even more changes.
i've been ready with my strategy for a pretty long time.
however,because i have been working for less money in order to protect my brand image, i've become broke. my gear has become used and outdated. my marketing media is old and is need of an update (read: new large prints)
i believe that i've spent a lot of time updating the way i go about things. i've also spent the entire time working soley in wedding photography and keeping my skills fresh.
i'm ready but i know it's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication. i could fail. i could be finally starting the good part of my career thanks to a good friend who wants to support me with an investment. i could still have a way to go before i actually get it running smoothly.
in any case. i'll just keep doing what i love to do and if i never get rich, so be it. i never have been yet, so i don't know what i'm missing. if i fail at this venture, well i have a lifetime to pay it back, even if repayment is demanded in the form of a lawsuit. i know friendships can get broken, but not only do i have faith in my skills in this field, i also have faith in a friendship that is going to last long enough to pay back twenty grand.
mitch...Show more →
If i live around your area, I would invite you out for a drink... and cheer to support you. ..
Yep, I do think life is risky, but we must remain to have faith.
Put in the hard work and work your way back into it. Keep a job and inest photography earnings into your business. Don't use someone elses money to start a photography business...
did you get my email?