Running A Wedding Photography: Planning Your Business
One of the most lucrative businesses, when it comes to having a talent for taking good pictures, is wedding photography. One reason for this is because, despite how the overall economy is doing, people simply aren’t going to stop getting married. And people aren’t going to stop wanting photos of the events. Here is what you will need to keep in mind:
Planning Your Business:
The first thing that you want to think about when you’ve made the decision to run a wedding photography business is how big you want the organization to be. Do you always want to work completely on your own, or do you eventually want to hire help? Will you be working out of your home, or would you prefer an outside office? These decisions will affect the direction that you will go with things such as advertising, incorporating or scheduling work hours. But these are something that must be taken care of in order to avoid any major confusion late on as the work progresses.
Sit down with pen and paper and start formulating a plan. Whatever you decide at the beginning won’t have to be set in stone; you can always make changes in your goals as things progress. Having a business plan outline to follow at first, however, can help you stay on track.
Advertising:
For any business to be successful, including wedding photography, advertising is an absolute must. That being said, there are several different ways to advertise, and what you choose will depend on a lot of factors. If you will be running a business from an office and will have one or more people working for you, then advertising in the newspaper, yellow pages, and even through direct mailing is a good idea. If you will be running this part time from your home, and it will only be you, then you might want to advertise through word of mouth and strategically placed flyers. No matter what other methods you use, though, it is always a good idea to have a work website.
Hiring and Managing Employees:
If you’re going to be hiring people to work for you, you want to make sure that you study all of your state and federal tax laws pertaining to having employees. You also want to develop a guideline for hiring requirements, and a guideline for your employees to follow as well. It helps everyone when you clearly specify what is expected of everyone, and what they should expect from you.