Photo Success

A Place to Grow

Operating system VS marketing system in your photography business…

By Leave a Comment

Having a good operations system in place is essential to continued success in your photography business,

But it’s NOT the only thing.

Some erroneously believe, or, are misguided into thinking that the operations system is where it’s at…..once achieved, success!

Don’t be fooled.

The marketing system is the lifeblood of your photography studio.

The operations system is simply how things flow, who does what, getting from point A to point B…it involves steps and procedures. Processes….

And more often it’s behind the scenes stuff.

The marketing is a completely different animal.

Operations can include items such as:
*workflow
*accounting
*employees
*camera brand used
*computer system used
on and on…..lots of logical, black and white thinking stuff.

There’s more to it. And, having a good operations system in place is essential.

It’s something that the smart studio owners improve on in time and make better.

It also helps to delegate the operations and create systems, so that you, as a marketer, a strategist, can spend more time in charge of running the….ahem….you guessed it….:

The marketing system.

Where the monee is.

Never delegate the marketing. Delegate as much of the operations as you can.

Although there are NO guarantees, it’s your best crack at success and growing out of the yard-sale mentality.

Grow up and treat your “business” like a business.

Photography is the NUMBER ONE HOBBY right now…and as a result, many, many hobbyists are getting into the “business”.

And many get confused on this topic.

The smart business owner knows the difference between having a marketing system and having an operations system.

Be smart. Know the difference.

So you’re asking, okay Mr. Smart guy….what is the marketing system then?

Marketing is everything you do to create, innovate products and finding people who will buy them.

Over and over. Rinse, repeat.

Once you have a marketing system in place, you delegate the “grunt” work aspect of it.

Never the strategy.

Marketing is not an easy solution. It does involve much innovation, testing, poking and prodding. And once you achieve success, always keeping an eye on it and finding ways to improve.

It’s a system, in a sense. But not the same as operations.

I’ve said this many times:

“Never try to find one way to get 100 clients…..”

That’s what hobbyists and amateurs think.

Instead:
“Find 100 ways to get ONE client.”

Those “ways” are the tools and techniques that make up the marketing system.

Hold it close. Never take it for granted.

And never rest on your laurels, lest they become wreaths…..

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

How and why I teach photography 101 in my community

By Leave a Comment

I was asked a few years ago to teach a photography 101 class at our local library.

At first I was repulsed by the idea. But after some consideration I gave it the green light with a few conditions:

*The class had to be for serious amateurs. I didn’t want a basic 101 for those
with zero experience
*The class size limited to 12 attendees

Fine. They set a date, announced it, filled up the class with about 20 on a waiting list.

Whoa….ok. The interest is there.

After I ran my first series I noticed a few things:
* the students were eager. They ALL showed up consistently and ALL did their assigned
homework
* I really enjoyed teaching it.
* My style of teaching seemed to be a hit.

Go figure. It was working.

And I had NO idea what I was doing insofar as exactly what to teach. I made it up as I went along, following certain parameters:

*I did NOT want to go all techie, you know, let’s look at ALL the camera settings, file types, bla bla bla
*I wanted to PUSH the students to learn to SEE light, learn composition and create a style their own

This of course required some serious distractions. And this was of paramount importance to me.
Teach them to see, and they’ll learn for a lifetime.

I bombarded them in each class with establishing my credibility (showing images I created), going over the basics of exposure (ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speeds) and how tones & light works (source, distance, angle,shadows, mid tones, specular highlights).

Rinse, repeat….over and over. And do the same while going over the images they submitted each week.

This worked. NO endless rambling about camera settings. Just pure learning the art of “seeing”.
My version of tough love.

They never asked about histograms, file types, camera types, lenses or any other academia distractions.
The way I see it, those questions will arise and get answered organically as they master the art of seeing.

I wouldn’t want to teach this any other way. It wouldn’t be fair to them, and it won’t be nearly as fun to teach.

So when Kirk Saint asked me how I taught these classes, I offered to run a webinar style meeting. Which I recorded, and placed in the forum.

That, AND my powerpoint files for members to use as models in case they want to teach something similar in their community.

Members access HERE.

Yours in photography and success,

Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

Why I don’t do yard maintenance….

By Leave a Comment

I don’t do yard maintenance, or lawn mowing, weed pulling, painting, snow removal, home repairs,  house cleaning…I also don’t do much photoshop workflow ( I outsource the grunt work photoshop out), bookkeeping, phone answering, order  taking,…plus a whole lot more stuff…..

There are two main reasons why I don’t do yard maintenance, or, for that matter, any of the other items listed above.

Reason one: I HATE yard maintenance. I don’t care how much money I would save by doing it myself, why would I want to put myself through something I detest, in order to save  a few bucks.

The pain and frustration would not make me a better person and is not worth it.

Reason two: I know that mowing the lawn isn’t conducive to growing my photography business.

And the truth is, I ain’t saving a dime.

It’s actually costing me money, since my time is far better spent doing things that bring in more money. Like marketing and shooting.

When you do the things that bring in the dough and build the business, then you are spending your time wisely.

Delegation is the key.

Delegation, in a sense, will allow you freedom for your photography business to grow and prosper. Delegation, in a sense, will help you become the person you were meant to be.

AAAaaaa, but you hate marketing, you say. But you love shooting.

Your choice.

You can do the things you love, and not make a whole lotta dough, and be fine with that. Or, you can learn to love it, because, there is no choice.

Business is business, and in order to grow it, you need to put on, like they say at the horse barn where my daughter used to ride, ‘your big girl panties’, and  do the marketing thing.

When you’re in business, that’s simply the way it’s played. There is no other way.

You can’t have your cake and eat it too.

In essence, what I am going on about is to do with the highest form of time management.
If you are starting out, you may have to do a lot of the things that later you will get to delegate.

Just don’t get caught in a rut that you never climb out of.

I have no idea why anyone would want to to bookkeeping. Pushing a pencil and doing any form of accounting is the last thing  on my list.

Lower than lawn maintenance. I used to spend a few hours, and a bottle of brandy, once a month and get my own books done on my own, way back in time. And I mowed the lawn back then too, plus shoveled the dam driveway. But no more.
Nay, nay, nay….

Sure, I know how the basics of accounting, as we all should learn. I like and understand money math, balance sheets, income statements and projections,

I just don’t wanna do ’em. Rather poke needles in my eye.

When you’re stuck doing these things because you are in early growth stages of your photography business, that’s fine, but you need to keep the end in mind.

Know where you are going, stay focused on the big picture until you get to delegate.
If you don’t you risk burnout and wasting time doing stuff that will cost you more in the long run.

Delegating isn’t about giving you more leisure time. It’s about allowing you to do the things that you not only prefer doing, but also the things that bring in business.

This is a hard pill for many to swallow. They lack vision and planning.

They think they have to do all those grunt jobs or else the place will fall apart without them.

Sometimes it makes them feel important. If your into it for your ego, then you will not grow. It’s that simple.

Delegation is often a scary new direction for many. But who said that staying in your comfort zone was synonymous with creative output. And I’m talking about profits when I say output.

Use your time wisely and strategically, always with the end in mind.
Your success depends on it.

Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

There’s plenty of work everywhere for any photographer eager enough…

By Leave a Comment

If you want to run a successful photography business there are many opportunities available.

My eyes don’t deceive me. I see it all the time in my own studio.

AND,I know many, many others who are totally crushing it in theirphotography business. I see it in their businesses too.

Yes, you need to think BIG….not small.

But BIG, I’m afraid, gets confused with MAGICAL.

There is no magic. No ego. No room for small thinking.

Only courage, sweat, focus, determination, guts and showing up dayafter day, month after month, year after year….

…with eagerness, passion, plans and a willingness to remainadaptable.

A willingness to shoot as many sessions as possible.

Master your craft. Become prolific. Grow your business.

There are so many opportunities out there it baffles me!

Sure, nay-sayers and cry-babies are saying the industry is dead.

It’s easy to be a critic when you can’t succeed in your own
business.

Problem is, I think, many, many got into this field thinking it was…wait for it….

…..the essence of magical thinking…..EASY…

Yes, they thought all they needed was to buy a camera….take
photos…

Make money…somehow…..somewhere….everyone would line up once they realized how amazing they were….

Here’s the thing…EVEN if you were really, really good a taking images….EVEN IF you were winning awards and recognition by your
peers…

…..It amounts to a hill of beans…unless and until you can beat your ego into submission and become a marketer.

Yes, my humble followers….a marketer. A marketer of photographic services….

There are opportunities everywhere….EVERYWHERE! Dance schools, sports, commercial, editorials, families, weddings, babies, children, pets, clubs and organizations, on and on and on…many, many opportunities and low hanging fruit for the “marketer of photographic services…”

NOT for the prima donna……who thinks all they need is to “be good”….or own a camera….

Gimmee a break…seriously…..

I’m trying to help here, honestly. Shed some light….cool?

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

Every month I share what’s working in my studio or I bring in a special guest and
we jam on all things marketing and money making strategies. I call it a marketing
mastermind.

Members can access the replays HERE.

Not a member? I’m literally giving this stuff away. For now….Get in while the gettin’
is good.

“…it was not going to be easy street being a photographer, in case I had any illusions…”

By 1 Comment

Let’s go back in time. Way back.

I was a mere 19 years old and I recently discovered photography and the darkroom, that mysterious magical place where images came to life.

I was at the time in college, taking a bird course of sorts, trying to figure out life.
(Photography was one of the courses we needed in order to pass said bird course.)

Photography changed my life, my destiny. But more than that, the two people I met while in this course mattered even more.

The first one was Karl, the photography prof.

Now Karl was not loved by everyone. He was scary, brash and loud. I, however, put him on a pedestal. He was outspoken, brash and he knew photography.

He also had no tolerance for sloppiness or lazy work. I admired that and respected him for it.

I naively asked him if I also bought a Leica (his brand) camera if I too would become a good photographer.

He laughed. It’s not about the camera. Okay, got it.

He set the pace for my career. I knew back then there was no room for being less then your best or being sloppy.

And while some students cowered and crawled in the  corner when he came storming in the darkroom, I stopped and listened.

I was not a good student overall. But I was a good student where it mattered. And it mattered as far as Karl was concerned.
He knew his stuff. And I was eager to learn.

To this day, and I think we can all learn from Karl, being a good student matters.

No ego. No sensitive snowflakes too afraid to “get their feelings hurt”, always opting for political correctness over quality teaching.

Sad. But true for many. Their loss.

I decided to quit that program and pursue photography full time. Enter Fritz Grottoli.
Mr.Grottoli, the head of the program, sat me down in his office and gave me a one-on-one talk that to this day still resonates.

He warned me it was not going to be easy street being a photographer, in case I had any illusions.

He told me I was going to starve, and live every day in doubt and uncertainty.

Good thing. If he told me it was going to be easy, I might have believed him.
He set the pace.

They both did. And to this day I am grateful. It was the BEST education I could have ever asked for.

Every single successful photographer I know, and there are many of them, in spite of what the doomsayers and pessimists say, all have this one thing in common.

They were good students. And still are, no matter their success.

They pushed forward. Eager. Wide-eyed and ambitious. Burning with passion and they showed up. Day after day, month after month, year after year.

Success is like that. You don`t accidentally find it one day. You pursue it with dogged determination.

Truth is, nothing much has changed, has it? The business of making it in photography is still very challenging. As it was then, so it is today.

And you learn the one thing that neither Fritz nor Karl knew, or failed to mention at the time, but I discovered because I never gave up….. that marketing, and becoming a marketer of photographic services was the missing link.

Yours in photography and success,
Robert Provencher

“If you want to be a profitable and successful photographer, then study profitable and successful photographers.”

Freedom 55 is a load of bull…

By Leave a Comment

Three years ago I turned 55. I know! I can hardly believe it myself.
I made it this far. Who’d a thunk.

Three years I also had what I now call my existential beach crisis.

It all started when I was standing in our spacious, open concept kitchen, looking across to our dining room, a “family room”, and over the other way, the official family room, complete with leather furniture. PLUS, we had a fully decked out room in the downstairs area,  with a 60 inch plasma screen TeeVee, ping pong table and sauna. The whole dealeo.

I stood there, pondered: “Do we really need three living rooms? Really?”

Thus began my crisis. We sold the house, with studio, cleaned out about 90% of our possessions, and started spending more time in Costa Rica, where my beach crisis began.

I have NO regrets minimizing our possessions. It’s a cool exercise, and I’d do it again in a flash.

However, I was without a studio for about 1.5 years. That part got to me.

WHY?
I realized I am what I am….a photographer. I need my studio.

So, first opportunity came up and we jumped back into a studio. Last week we completed the wall samples, lighting and furniture (I know, I know…). Signage, window dressing, new flooring, paint and such. Ready and good to go!

Feelz like I’m starting over. Luv it!

Why do I bring this up?

Two reasons….one, we can’t predict what the future is. Even with best laid retirement plans, we may get hit with something out of our control. (How many folks do you know who retired and either dropped dead or got seriously ill)

And two, why retire?

I means seriously? Who came up with that lame-ass idea?

I think retirement is for pussies and the delusional.

Stick with me on this one. I have good news.

Remember that commercial from some evil insurance company that promoted some lame idea that they called “Freedom 55”

What?

Freedom?

From what?

What kind of a hellhole do you have to be in to think that some day, down the road, maybe if you’re really lucky, you can “retire” and stop doing whatever big freaking mess you created for yourself in the first place, and “break free”.

And do it by age 55….I mean c’mon…..who they trying to kid?

Here’s my deal.

I ain’t retiring. Not now, not never.

Ever.

I love working. And work loves me. If you don’t love it, I have some advice….QUIT!
And do something else.

It ain’t worth the price you’re paying. I don’t care how much your paycheck and benefits are. How big your house is. How many toys you got.

It means nothing, NOTHING if you aren’t doing something that fulfills you.

And every day, most days that is, I feel fulfilled doing what I’m doing.

If I get old and feeble, and can’t work no more, hell, I’ll go down to the old age club and volunteer. Or kick some ass…..something. Do something!

But that’s a long way away for me.

You see, I feel 25. Many people are amazed at my health, my energy. Many think I’m younger. My wife wants me to grow up. Ain’t happening anytime soon….

Nope…I’m having too much fun. And loving it.

All because I’m creating, making money, growing a business…all in photography.

I feel in my heart that the biggest reason we stay in our self -made rut is simple.

It’s fear. Nothing more, nothing less.

Be honest with yourself.

On that note, tonight I am running the monthly marketing mastermind meeting for noBs photo success inner circle members.
AND, I’ll be talking marketing, showing some images from my new studio decor and we’ll answer, tackle YOUR questions.

But you gotta be a member….Here’s the link…:
https://photosuccess.com/forums/nobs-digital-shop-talk/mastermind-marketing-meeting-may-23rd-join-us/

The mastermind meeting is one of the most important activities you can
participate in for success, prosperity and health.

Not a member?

Yours in success in photography,

Rob