Video transcript:
How to make 2022 your best year ever
What are you going to start doing differently to make 2022 your best year ever?
You see, if you're still doing things the same way next year then that's probably going to lead to the same results you’re seeing at the moment. But if you want things to be better, then you might need to make some pretty big changes. And I think there are 5 things you can do. Now if you do just one of them then things will get a little bit better, and that’s great.
But I think the real benefit is in doing all five of these, because that’s going to have a synergistic effect where each idea builds upon each of the other ideas and that’s where you get this transformation of your company. So if you want things to be dramatically different, if you want a transformation, and I think that’s what a lot of you need, then I think you need to go big with each of these options.
So, what are they? How can you make next year better?
Raise your prices
Well, the first one is that you need to increase your prices, and maybe not just a little bit, but maybe you need a significant increase.
So how do you do that? Well first of all, it’s currently November and we’re not far away from the new year, so this is something you need to work on right now if you’re going to change your prices.
The second thing you probably need to do is to look at your numbers really carefully and decide what your fees ought to be. Now I know a lot of photographers just copy what everyone else in their area is doing without actually calculating what they need to charge to earn what they want to earn. So that’s the second thing.
Moving on to the third thing, and that is you need to decide how you’re going to share that price change with your clients. What’s that conversation look like? How do you need to frame it so they see it as value and not an unwanted expense? I think you need to carefully go through that, and think about how you can present your new pricelist as a real benefit for your clients.
Do more marketing
So new prices is one thing you could do to make next year awesome, but another thing you could do is more marketing and build yourself a larger base of clients.
Now a lot of photographers find this a real challenge. You want to grow your business, but you’re hoping it will grow by word of mouth so you don’t have to do anything, and sometimes that happens. My photography initially grew on the back of word of mouth, but in those days it was a low competition environment. These days there aren’t too many markets still around where competition is low, so you’ve got to do a lot to stand out and present yourself as the best option in your area, even when you’re charging those higher rates we were just talking about.
So to get to that point, you’ll need to be active with your marketing and be building connections with prospects, and I talked about that process a whole lot more in a previous video. The thing is though is that marketing is a long-term thing, not a quick fix, so I think you need to see it as a long-term investment where you have to keep coming back to it each week.
Hire new team members
Ok, so the next thing you can do to make 2022 the best year ever is you could hire new team members so you’re not doing everything yourself. So if you’re currently overwhelmed with work because you’re doing this on your own, or maybe you have a small team but you’ve still got too much on your plate, then maybe it’s time to hire more people.
Now that might be a scary prospect for you, but if you’re doing the two things we’ve already spoken about – increase your rates and do more marketing – then hiring extra team members might be a natural next step. I mean, if you’re charging more and doing more photo shoots, then hopefully you can afford to hire more people and hopefully you’ll need to hire more people.
And look, I’ve got to be honest with you, hiring team members and training them the right way can be a real challenge, but the cost of doing it, both financially and in terms of your time, is absolutely worth it if it allows you to stay profitable but spend more time away from the business.
Target new industries
The next thing you could do to make next year better is to target new industries, such as commercial real estate, construction, accommodation, hospitality, retail and design. I mean, if you can shoot residential real estate then you can shoot other buildings as well, and the great thing about that kind of work is that they typically have bigger budgets because what they make is more than what agents make, so that really helps.
Another advantage with that type of work is that, creatively it’s a change for you, and that can make things a whole lot better when you can invest more time into your shots and create better images.
But the real advantage here, in my view, is that it provides you with some extra job security.
For example, if you only work with real estate agents, then what happens when the real estate industry slows down, either because of seasonal variation or because of a drop in the number of new listings hitting the market in your area. So maybe when those numbers drop off, you can still be getting work shooting retail stores or office buildings or whatever is going ahead in your area, and that’s going to give you a more stable income.
Rebrand your company
Alright, the next thing on our list for making 2022 your best year ever is to rebrand your company so you look like a high-value photographer and not a cheap photographer. Now if your brand is something that’s holding you back because clients and prospects see you as a low-cost photographer, but you’re trying to charge high-end fees, then there’s going to be a disconnect there. So maybe what you need to do is to make yourself look like a high-end brand, work on your design elements and your portfolio and your website, and then when your brand aligns with your prices, that’s when you’ll see a change in your business.
And to be honest, out of the five ideas we’ve talked about, this could be the best thing that you do, and I say that because how you position yourself has an enormous impact both on the type of businesses who choose to work with you, and the number of clients that you get.
Can you do all of that on your own?
So, here’s that list of 5 things to work on, but can you implement all five of those and do it in a way that’s going to make next year your best year ever?
Now maybe you’ve tried some of those things before, and maybe it didn’t work out for you because you had no one to help you. So perhaps what you need to do if you want to make next year amazing is bring in a business coach or a mentor to help you with all of this.
Now you’re probably thinking, yeah, but wouldn’t that cost too much?
I think it’s actually the other way around – what costs too much is the revenue you’re missing out on if you continue with the status quo for yet another year. What costs too much is all the time that you’re spending working in the business and not getting a chance to spend as much time with your family and with your friends. That’s the bigger cost here.
Once you invest in someone who can support you, that financial cost ends up being relatively small when compared with the increase in revenue, the transformation of your business, the confidence in what you’re doing because you’ve got people behind the scenes helping you, and of course the creativity you’ll release when you can move beyond just doing real estate shoots. That’s the real win here.
Yes, there’s a financial cost when you want someone to help you, but the transformation will always, always outweigh the cost of the investment.
But speaking of cost, I know that you’re looking to save where you can, so I want to let you know that from now until Black Friday, I’m doing a discounted rate for my coaching program, and it’s going to save you $245.
So if you were to join my program, I’ll help you make next year your best year yet.
I’ll work with you 1-to-1, I’ll give you feedback on what you’re doing, I’ll help you with your skills and your marketing so you know what to do there, I’ll answer your questions and I’ll help you introduce those changes to your business that we just spoke about: I'll help you change your prices, do more marketing, hire team members, target new industries rebrand your business or any other change you need.
And what do photographers say about this program? One photographer I'm working with said: "I’ve been blessed by the time I’ve spent under your coaching. You have taught me much, and I will be eternally grateful."
They went on to say that "Without your help, I would have still been struggling with different things in my head. Thank you so much."
Another said that, “Perhaps the best part of the program is having access to a large group of photographers to answer any specific and unique questions you might have.”
And another one said, “After joining and receiving all the information needed to really lift the business I was able to turn it into a successful business in what I would consider a short amount of time."
So that's what this program is about. Providing support to you as a photographer and as a business owner, and getting results. Support, and results.
But who is this for? Who is a good fit for this program?
Really, it’s right for just about everyone. It’s absolutely ideal for beginners who want a strong start, and I’ve worked with a lot of photographers who are just starting out and this program’s great for them.
But this is also perfect for experienced photographers who want to continue to grow, or at least reduce the risk of failure. If you’ve grown your business and you’re doing six figures a year then that’s awesome, but there is always the risk of a competitor coming in and taking away market share. I mean, if one client spends $250 with you each month, then that’s $3000 in a year. So if you lose one client, then that’s $3000 gone.
The cost of this program is far less than that, so if I can help you not lose one client, or if I can help you gain just one client in the next 12 months, then you’ve probably covered the cost of this program.
So what will it cost?
Well, the normal price is $99 for a 30 day trial. But the Black Friday special is $49 for a 60 day trial. So you’re basically paying half the price and getting twice as long to test it out, and this offer lasts until midday on Black Friday.
So here’s what you need to do:
Go to my website at buildaphotographybusiness.com/BlackFriday , then read all about the program and what I do. There’s a lot in there, so I can’t cover it all now, but it’s all about the transformation of your business.
So take a look, and if you think that sounds good and you’d like to take 60 days to test it all out, then you need to submit an application to join. I don’t accept everyone, and places are limited, so that’s why there’s an application process.
Now if you’re successful with your application, then you’ll have 60 days to test out the program, we’ll do multiple 1-to-1 coaching calls, group coaching calls and everything else.
Then at the end of your 60 day trial, that’s when you decide if you’ll stay in the program and pay the monthly fee, and all the details on that and what it costs are on my website.
But I want to get back to what’s important, and that’s your business and whether you can do what you need to do by yourself – change your prices, do more marketing, hire team members, target new industries and rebrand your business. Can you do all of that, or will you do better with someone to help you?
Now most photographers, in fact most business owners, do a whole lot better when they’ve got someone to help them, and it doesn’t matter if they are just starting out or if they are going really well but want to make sure they stay there. Get someone helping you, and as I said, to cover the cost of this all we need to do is either stop one client from leaving, or gain one extra client, and you’ve more than covered the cost. After that, everything extra you earn is a bonus.
So, if you want me to help you transform your business, if you want to finally get to that place you've been aiming for all this time, then there are the four steps you need to do, and if you have any questions about that I'd be happy to answer those for you.