Originally posted by HouseOfHorla Great article. While you shouldn't have a problem initially working for free, it would be only to gain the experience and portfolio to prove that your worth the money to hire. In a sense, consider it your down-payment on your business.
Everyone starts at the bottom. But you have to have a plan if you are going to succeed as a business on top of having the confidence that you can succeed. And that is exactly what you have to treat it as...a business. You set goals, you watch your pennies, you give the paying customer what they want.
Without a plan, it's just reimbursement for a hobby.
As a businessman, I've seen so many people fail for the simple reason that they didn't have a plan and didn't research their market and industry. They went in blind with a hope and a prayer. This is especially true with the artistic...which includes us photographers. We have a lot of emotion wrapped up in our passion and are biased towards our art. Unfortunately the customer may not share that sentiment. If you want to do it for a business, you have to learn to put some of those feelings aside and be willing to do what the customer would like of you. After all, it's their money they are parting with.
Does that mean we leave our artistic side at home? Absolutely not! You just have to learn how to balance your artistic desires with the reality that you have to make money to continue.
The #1 reason most small businesses fail is they try to compete with Walmart on price and Tiffanys on feature-content at the same time. They get leared into thinking they have to have both in order to compete. They don't have a plan and have absolutely no idea what their customer really wants or what will make them money. They charge way to little thinking that is the only way to get business and if they have money left over after the expenses that go into the product, they have made a profit...forgetting all the overhead and administrative costs associated with running a successful business.
They last a year...maybe two...and then cannot figure out why they are loosing money and blame it on Walmart, the economy, or just fate.
Price is not the only reason people buy a product. Don't get sucked into the trap of competing with Walmart or the photographic equivalent. Do you really want a client that only bases your work on price? You will never go home at night satisfied. You must compete on your quality and service as well as your price. People know that quality costs a bit more, and great service is priceless. If you craft your business plan accordingly, you will succeed.