I've been officially a photography business for about 1 year. The path to where I am right now has been a journey filled with ups and downs many of which, has shaped the way that I've conducted my business. One of the biggest lessons and challenges has been knowing exactly how to managed the work load that comes with running a photography business.
The photography business has shown me that there is a lot of work that doesn't involve any photography. As an owner I need execute business licenses and transactions, work with customers to makes sure that they are well taken care of, attend classes and workshops - to improve my knowledge and craft, network with other photographers, and then after all of that do the photography. All of this has to be done, in a way that all areas of the business is given the equal amount of time and that not one area falls or goes under.
One of the challenges that I learned early on has been managing the amount of time that it takes to accomplish a task. The item to note about me, is that I still hold a full time job - Monday through Friday - 7am to 4pm. So when you add that to the mix, it only leaves me about 5 hours a day to run my photography business. That's just crazy you might say but for me it is something that I have decided to take one. Yes, there has been a huge learning curve with this amount of time spent. And unfortunately I have had to learn the hard way.
And with my photographic services being needed by many of my outstanding clients mixed with my already buy schedule, my business, I feel at this point I have suffered a bit.
That is why now I am going to go through a reconfiguration and re-examine how I run my photography business. One of the first things that I will do is finish up any outstanding photography jobs that I have pending. Then once all of those have been completed. Examine where my short comings are in the business. I will look at the following first:
1. Workflow
2. Time Management / Scheduling
3. Communication
To improve on the workflow, I will look at what exactly is my workflow? So after I take the pictures and back them up, what do I do? Time Management and Scheduling, I will need to write down on paper my plan is to execute the task at hand. I will need to set deadlines and make sure they are met. Communication. I will keep in contact with clients more frequently than I have and make sure their needs, concerns, and issues with the photography are addressed more frequently.
Those are the portions that I will begin to re-examine my photography business. I will work to improve these areas because I feel those areas have taken a down recently. I should have known better but unfortunately I let those slipped and have lost out on a few photography gigs. Therefore this is my manifesto to make my business run better and make Oliver Henry Photography go further than where it is already.
So if you have read this post this far, please let me know. Leave me a message on the post, message me on Facebook (Oliver Asis), tweet me on Twitter (@olasis). For my readers / followers that do read my blog, you will be my witness to making these improvements to my business. I truly and sincerely, do appreciate the feedback and support.
Thanks,
Oliver
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