This past week Fyrefly celebrated an amazing first year! As of way of documenting what I’ve learned about business and photography over the last year I want to do a couple posts.
So let’s call this one “Photography business in the first year.” Clever, right?. Just so you know, I am writing this to a person who is thinking about going into photography and wants the basics they need to know for their first year. Some of these things I learned by being good at them, most of them I learned the hard way:) So PLEASE don’t look at me as some kind of expert telling you what to do…feel it out for yourself! Here are the values I think are most important to establish early on:
- Be nice. This is actually the first one for a reason. It’s a huge part of my business philosophy and what I think can set you apart from so many other businesses out there. I try to treat couples, families, vendors, etc. the same or better than I would a good friend. There have been times in my first year when I have had to choose being a good person over being a good business person. Those are hard decisions to make if you haven’t clearly stated that “being nice” is a part of how you run your business.
- Be honest. Obviously, this is an offshoot of the first one but it’s really important to separate this one out. When you get into a business that is sales related there is always the temptation to fudge a little to make a sale or book a wedding. Don’t give in! At the end of any Fyrefly experience I want people to feel like I exceeded what I told them I was going to do, not the opposite. Also, as much as it stinks, this applies to paying your taxes, carrying business insurance and just generally running a legal business. With independent photography you could easily skirt some of these issues, but I think it’s really important be an honest, contributing member of the communities we are a part of.
- Be yourself. I love how all of these are just flowing out of the one before. Being yourself is one of the most honest things you can do. When I first started this business I looked around to see who I could copy. Obviously, there is nothing wrong with taking other people’s ideas and best practices and tweaking them to make them your own…that’s called good business. The difference is that I would look at someone else’s brand, one that totally didn’t line up with who I am, and think I could be just like them. I was lying to myself. The only way you will succeed long term in this business (and I assume any business) is by being who you are. The kind of people that you want to work with will only find you if you are true to yourself. This is still a hard one and I work on it every day.
Next post: Some specific things I do in business to intentionally stand out from the crowd.
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So true, everything you’ve said and thank you so much for sharing this! Means a lot to newbies like me!