words Al Woods
While you might have spent many years refining your craft, launching your own photography agency can be a big undertaking.
You’ll not only need to compete with various competitors and establish your credibility in the industry, but you’ll also be responsible for growing your profit margin and improving your reputation.
To get your business off to a smooth start, read this handy guide to starting your own photography agency.
Write a Business Plan
A business plan will provide a roadmap to your company’s success. It will breakdown your initial finances, sales tactics, marketing techniques, and financial projections, which can help you to stay on track with your business goals.
What’s more, a bank or investor might request to review a plan before they inject cash into your venture, so it is unlikely you will secure their funding without a professional business plan.
Identify Your Startup Funds
A business plan could also help you to identify precisely how much money you’ll need to invest in your photography agency. In addition to spending thousands of dollars on high-quality camera equipment, you’ll need to fund:
- A commercial rental property
- Utilities
- A website
- Business licenses
- Accounting software
You also shouldn’t underestimate the importance of insurance, which could provide your venture with financial protection from various claims, such as negligence, infringement of intellectual property rights, and breach of confidence. It is, therefore, worthwhile receiving a professional indemnity insurance quote from Hiscox, which can be tailored to match a photographer’s specific needs.
Care for Your Personal Finances
It is unlikely you will generate a substantial profit overnight. After all, it can take a great deal of time to build a rock-solid reputation, generate many clients and earn a steady revenue. For this reason, you must ensure you have plenty of money in the bank to fund your lifestyle and pay your bills on schedule. Alternatively, you might need to maintain your job and run an agency in your spare time until you can afford to launch the business on a full-time basis.
Develop a Pricing Plan
The rate you charge for your photography sessions could determine your company’s success. After all, your customers will want to hire the best possible photographer for their budget. However, a cheap price point could also indicate a lower quality service.
It is crucial to identify exactly how much one hour of your time will be worth, and you must also factor in time for editing any photographs. So, if you spend an hour snapping photographs and two hours editing, charging £50 per hour, you should charge your customers £150 for a one-hour photography session.
Use Social Media to Promote Your Agency
In addition to building a killer website, you must utilise social media to promote your agency. For example, organic and paid Facebook campaigns could help you to effectively market your high-quality photography services and improve your online reach. Also, as Instagram focuses on visuals, it can be a powerful platform to highlight the quality of your photos, as the images could convince customers to reach out to your business.
