April Letter from the President

Letter from the President April 2009

For this month’s letter from the president, I want to focus on business. As photographers, a lot of us lack the use of the left side of our brain! For most photographers the creative part of our job is easy. It is the logical side (the left side of our brain) that is more difficult.

For 2009 I have been focusing a lot on Business. In a hurting economy, a lot of businesses are closing. I want to run my business in a smart way. While I was at the PPA convention in Phoenix, I took a sales and marketing class. I know that these types of classes are not as popular as the fun creative classes, but as business owners we need to also focus on the things that teach us how to make our business successful.

PPA offers a program to it’s members called SMS - Studio Management Systems. SMS helps photographers increase their profitability. SMS offers sound business and financial advice and guidance, bookkeeping services, in-depth, hands-on business workshops, online business seminars, and other online resources. They also have 2 and 3 day workshops that cover Pricing for Profit, Managerial accounting, Sales techniques, Branding, and much more. For more information on SMS, check the PPA website at www.ppa.com/studio-management-services

There is a free resource in Grand Rapids that I can’t believe more people don’t know about or take advantage of. It is SCORE. SCORE is headquartered in Herndon, VA and Washington, DC and has 370 chapters throughout the United States and its territories, with 11,200 volunteers nationwide. Both working and retired executives and business owners donate time and expertise as business counselors. SCORE was founded in 1964. The Grand Rapids chapter is located downtown on Pearl Street.

SCORE is free and confidential. SCORE volunteers are successful entrepreneurs and executives who love business and want to share their knowledge with you, so you can succeed too. SCORE offers face to face and online counseling. They have business workshops in person and online. You can have the SCORE volunteers mentor you, and there is no limit on mentoring. You can get help as you request answers to specific questions.

I recently went to a SCORE one on one counseling appointment, and also their business workshop. (There is a small fee for the business workshop to pay for materials. When I went it was $40.) The business workshop talked about making a business plan, doing research in your target market and for your target client, and implementing what you are learning. At the workshop we also learned that the Grand Rapids Public Library has a business consultant, who has access to a computer program that studies demographics, and helps you make smart business decisions.

At the one on one counseling, I got more specific answers to MY particular questions. I had questions about hiring employees or subcontractors, Sole Proprietor or LLC, Tax questions... The counselor that I talked with was very knowledgeable. If he didn’t know the answers to my specific questions, he told me how to find out.

SCORE will council you on anything to do with business... from business plans to marketing to employees...etc. They even have a trained Quickbooks advisor to help you with Quickbooks. For more information on SCORE, check the SCORE website at www.score.org, or call the Grand Rapids office at 616-771-0305.


So, I want to end with a question to you... What are you doing to grow your business?