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The Business of Newborn Photography

let's talk about the business of newborn photography I think this is important like any other business they business like any other business is jeff did not read my keynote there are legalities to follow and rules to respect realize you need more than a great image of a sleepy baby all the business elements customer service marketing sales and delivery have to be followed I'm not quite sure that we eliseo image makers I'm a photographer I'm amazing d market no do you send out newsletters no diesel in person no do you have product no okay I'm sorry what is this a bizarre hobby well what what are we doing hobby business my hobbies I like to horseback ride I am not questioning performer I love to make headbands I do not really sell them every blue moon my assistance will make a bunch and put him in the shop but that's not that often I'm I'm long hobbies like too so what else do I like to do it to read but I'm not a writer I like to dance from not a dancer so if you just because you admire...

something from td jakes man if you ever listen to reverend t d jakes he's phenomenal I'm some on the oprah channel and I immediately loved everything he did that I subscribe to everything he had signed up for his newsletter is got him on facebook web site because everything that comes out of that man's mouth is gold and I just could literally sit into a room and listen to him all day law surround yourself with positive energy and people and so he says just because you admire something it doesn't mean it's your purpose don't let yourself be distracted by something that should be a hobby and you know a lot of the men are probably looking at their wives going I told you this a hobby or is this a business because I know many couples have had this conversation I was ah hobbyist absolutely I love taking pictures when I went to school it wasn't to be a professional when I went back to school it was play in the dark room I was a hobbyist I had a day job I was a web developer I became certified as a web developer I took tests to become a web developer I worked my butt off to do that I was a hobbyist photographer the day of my my two started mixing and I started shooting child models and the firm that I was working for it didn't want me to work at home even though that was what was in my contract and I realized wait a minute I want to make this my business I don't want to do this is a hobby anymore and I was three months pregnant and quit my job with bonus I was at ninety thousand dollars and I wanted to work at home on a holiday weekend and see a web quiet and cia model client and they said no why because it's not gonna look good to anyone else in the company of your working at home on a holiday weekend why I really don't care what other people think think you've learned that by men by now well let's go have a talk in the conference room we go talk in the conference room hr sitting there hi anna we love you we want you to be happy which can't work at home today okay I think this isn't the job for me you can't quit mister can I quit my husband's out of town so I called him up crying I'm pregnant now they didn't know I was pregnant I'm sobbing it's coming it's coming it's coming up now I'm a queen and quitting jobs in college I was the girl that had a full course credit and took three jobs if I was home on a weekend I would go I could get a job I was the master at getting jobs I have had I've been a bank teller I've been a waitress I've been a cocktail waitress I've been a keypunch operator I've worked in investment firm I mean I could go on and on and on and on and on so it wasn't that because I could have gotten a job the next minute I will never be without a job what it was was a turning point that it was going to now become a business and that's scary right it's like you're my gun and just jump or am I going to go with my safety strength and so what happens is people are working in a full time job and they're doing photography part time right you got a toe in it but you're kind of mad that no one's really paying you you're not really getting work and sometimes you're busy and sometimes you're not and you're screwing around because you haven't said if it's a business or a hobby yet and you maybe have filed the appropriate paperwork um there's a thing you may have done that you may have or may have not done the appropriate permits their licenses you maybe just screwing around and there may be a spouse or a partner or a mother or a father or someone that says what what is it what are you doing I want to become a photographer but it can't wind gauge up can't put my day job because my day job pays the bills and since my day job pays the bills I can't afford to quit it because then I can't go into photography and so then you're never gonna make the money that you need photography because you're still doing your day job day job takes every ounce of your being you know mom enough energy to market and business and sell the photography that you want to do so then you have to tell yourself is it a hobby or is it a business and if it's a business you give yourself permission and you do it obviously if you're married you talked to your partner I did not I didn't it's just how I just did it I don't know why didn't I probably wouldn't again I just don't um now obviously we were okay financially so you're going to say well anna you were okay financially he was making six figures you were close to making six figures you had no kids that's very easy to dio right ok so what happens when the market crashes and your husband's no longer making a six figure job and your making money what happens do you know what I mean it's we had no idea the market return he was working for a corporate corporate like most people did we had the best insurance in the world money was not in issue and then it changed and my health changed and we have three kids and things have happened along the way do you think my drive has become any less since I made that leap not once not my passion and my drive has not changed whether my husband is making six figures or not whether I had when children or three whether my hemoglobin was a fourteen or a five it has remained the same and it continues to climb because my driving force is greater than the economy so you need to decide is this a hobby or a business and if you're on the fence and I told you choose now you have to choose right now and if you don't choose you can't do it you need to make a decision and maybe you say in six months and maybe say in a year and maybe you do what you do but at some point you have to make the decision so jan a roller photography made the decision and she says I made the jump into full time after coming off maternity leave I refuse not to do this this is my only option passion and love no matter what I'm going to do it best decision I have made yes most people don't regret it I honestly can't think of anybody and not just photography if you talk to some of the best business leaders in the world somebody took a risk somewhere you can read stories after stories after stories I had five bucks in my pocket I am one hundred box at the bucks and my shoe under my mattress I didn't even have a bank account there has been a million stories but their drive and their passion was bigger than they're checking accounts it will happen I never worry I remember growing up my mom never worried about money people would give her give her money all the time and should give it right back to the church and we're five kids on one dad's income who's an accountant and I used to be like what like they just give you money and she's like yeah I'm just gonna give it to the church but like I need shoes she's like it will always it will always be provided you're crying okay what hit home um just the you make decisions you make decisions you take a risk we talked about the friends are your clients so I'm not gonna go on that because you know they're not and we've already made the decision that they're not the becoming a professional this is important knowing that every business needs to start with some money spent stop buying mochas and put yourself on a budget let's think about when someone says we're broke anna I've heard it all and don't think I go to sleep in a bed of money either let's just clarify that I work for every single dollar I spend and I worked to put my kids in a private school let's just establish that no one's handing me a free ride okay so people say I'm wrote yeah I'm with you I have to watch every penny I spent and so I'm looking at it sometimes and go gosh I mean don't do it anymore but I used to go to starbucks like every day you know five six seven bucks ten bucks fifty bucks fifty bucks can get me you know two umbrellas on ebay and some memory cards and I can make my coffee at home it can be done the going broke thing doesn't work with me because to me the more broke you are the more driven you should be because I think if you're comfortable and you're making money there's no reason to get up and sweat why would you go to the spa get a massage do a photo shoot I really have to work I like it it's a hobby people kind of pay me when they want us fine oh no I'm blood sweat and tears what if I become a single mom what if something happens to my husband just because you're married doesn't guarantee anything well who well there's no guarantee in my life while I'm living and breathing I'm going to do everything in my power to make my business happen and if if it means skipping a mocha now and then I remember the day I tell my husband or kids we're going in private school there is no way we can't afford private school we have to afford private school we're going to lose our son no we can't yes sir I called my mom crying my son's in a public school he's an artist he's getting told he can't read on the playground he's getting told by teachers kids don't doodle he's getting told he's too creative and boys were making fun of him we're gonna lose my son in the third grade he's not reading like everybody else's reading he's not a normal average kid we're gonna lose him my husband said we can't afford it I called my mom up crying with every power in my being I know they need to be in no he needs to be another school mom I don't know what to do I sat back and looked the after school program he was in was costing foreign dollars a month why is it an after school program were both working at home there's still an after school program we cut the after school program we'll figure out a way to pick him up we have a nanny what do you mean in because we had three children we had three children and I are both working jeff was traveling when I had eva we can weak I couldn't travel in me I'm home alone with three kids I needed help we got a nanny there goes the nanny kind of whom I've got laundry to do I'm gonna pick up we make it happen and I remember telling my husband I'm sorry I have to go against you right now I'm gonna apply for this school talk to my mom found a private christian school I was like shaking in the interview because my husband was dead against it and I said I my mom said to stick with it you feel the quarter core of your being you do it we went on that meaning and I never shake like a never seen before the quitting my job was nothing michael I'm in hot water now and we got in the hallway and he had tears in his eyes they said thank you this is where our son needs to be he would never be a tow ship if I didn't do that he'd be lost in the public school system and he was in a blue ribbon school and I'm not knocking the school system I know my child and my child was going to get lost his and think like everybody else thinks he doesn't understand how creative he is and so sometimes we will get lost we're not we know maybe we're not normal but we still have a job to do we still need to be a professional you got to do permits licenses insurance you have to do it get your equipment off ebay my first four cameras were used they were used decide what to take on first write it down create a business land task was rome wasn't built in a day you know this you know this hiring an assistant you all saw tiffany we bow down to her she rocked it she did exactly what I knew she was going to do with very little direction from me I remember saying I can't afford an assistant I didn't I brought an intern in I couldn't afford an assistant I had had my third child my husband's working I've got kids in preschool I could not afford an assistant I was barely doing three shoots a week at the time and so the intern came in free of charge and the intern taught me who I am that's what employees dio they bring out the best and worst of you and teach you a little bit about yourself but don't give me an excuse list your time wasters this's something else t d jakes if someone else is doing your job you're not living to your life's potential right you should only be doing what is to your life's potential and throw those little stuff for somebody else who needs a job and it's figuring out their life's potential and wants to feed off of your energy and learn from you and then when you get an intern er student that's soaking up everything you say because you're a role model to them you know you're doing the right thing no one will work as hard as you do and remember that many takes many frogs until you find a princess people like where did you get a tiffany I'm like let me tell you I have fired hired and fired the best of them it's a process I'm not saying gladdened hearts and it's gonna be great it's probably gonna suck but get an intern and find out the person you bring in whether it's a friend or an intern or someone even if you have the money to hire don't just say this is done saying we have a thirty day grace period I've been hired for companies that say you've got thirty days to tell me you're good enough to stay here my cool and then sometimes after the thirty days of mike I want to work here you know so you can put grace periods on there and figure it out because the whole employees think takes years to kind of fine tune you know I put back a portion of every bit I make a portion is back in my business but I do a part time so I don't have a huge metal coming in okay what how do you prioritize what you should be doing I think that's why struggle like figuring out what's the most important things I need to start with to build my business like where should I put my money um meaning like what you said bye yeah like I don't have printed marketing there because that was aware I chose to spend my money I bought equipment said or you know like how do you purpose was so first you need your tools before anything you need a tool to take good photos so if you're out there and your cameras breaking every time and the ap pictures like stuck on fourth and that happened one time so I say that or or like your reflector has a hole in it like you need a tool to start like a surgeon needs a tool you need a tool so if you're goingto save money anything you don't buy anything else until you can get the right tool and it doesn't have to be new you buy used okay I'm a big fan of buying used so you first start with the tool so you've got your tool then you say the second one is your brand you're one thing of your brand that people will come to like your website okay that may or may not have to cost money I mean I could build the website few in three seconds at cost nothing so I don't think you need to spend a lot of money on a website there are a lot of free things out their word press is free okay so so you you need something substantial that you can show your work on so that may cost money and then the third is you need something that can deliver your brand like a print a printed material and even if he start with one thing a business card and then work out a product guide if you're gonna sell impersonate a product you have to think of what are your goals do you want to only sell online then you have to have a killer website and killer online selling tool that makes people want to buy if you're going to sell in person how are you showing the pictures well I need a computer or tv or something what's the least expensive option I combined you upgrade along the way I have upgraded my camera ten times I've upgraded my lenses a million times I've changed my backdrops all these air interchangeable just get the basics and go inexpensive and what you can afford and know that you're gonna build my income doubled doubled doubled every time I upgraded when I when I went to five hundred square foot studio you know I read was five hundred fifteen dollars a month can you afford five hundred fifteen dollars a month was pregnant with libby I said I need a studio I'm not asking you to buy anyone anyone can I found one hundred fifty k for that yes one year later I moved into a twenty five hundred square foot studio one year letter like one year later I was making six figures in one year and I didn't have a lot of money in that five hundred square foot studio I had a mom who came from new york to help me but we were buying frames at michael's and I was printing a lot of my stuff for the wall by myself in a dark room before I had my son you know I didn't say I could even afford blobs so that you can you can do it on a shoestring you know my mom's favorite place to shop in which comes california the salvation army and goodwill can be done you can do it on a whole budget do you have a creative lives of course doing photography and a budget on a shoestring if they don't they should because you can I thought there was one you guys have never had a course on creating of business on a shoestring I think we probably have horse we have you have you check it out it's gotta be one somewhere it's not just doing all right yes absolutely okay so we've been getting this from from a handful of people and this is from shane chanel and from I'm a knight I have put both feet in with no money can you give us a marketing marketing on a strict budget yes marketing on a shoestring you have no money um devote anything press printed anything okay you have no money here's what you need to dio you need to go out and find other businesses that need you as much as you need them there's a lot of like minded businesses that are on a shoestring budget as well that have no money and need to get the word out of their business there are also a lot of moms and dads who really want amazing photos and have no money and they might have a skill that you might need like marketing and they might just be in a mom's group they might be in a chamber they might know somebody they might be part of an organization they might be great with social media they might be able to hold up a camera and create a video for you with your own camera and create your own commercial that you can put on youtube so tell yourself you don't have to do it alone say okay I've got no money I've put everything in my power into this I've got nothing but I know how to take a good picture all right let's talk about it let's talk about is your camera d video does it d video does it do you have anybody that can take video of you doing your thing showing who you are your personality doing a photo shoot do you not want to be seen in front of the camera ok that's great anna but you look in front of camera I don't find do a free side show of your work there's a lot of tools that do free slide shows of your work and start getting your work and posting it on youtube and google plus and video for free takes five minutes to get a slideshow of your best images costs nothing cost nothing visit five or six businesses in your area and saying I would love to work with you barter with you put a call out to friends and family go rally up rally up the troops let's do it like they did in the old days I have a baby and I need help everybody move into my house let's rally up the troops and say listen you have one friend to friend I need your help I am broke I have no money I can take photos what do we d'oh how can you help me sit down start talking with someone and you're going to start coming up with a million ideas there's a million ways all these things out there facebook social media twitter video you to all these ways that you can show your work require no money