But obviously it was good enough to give me an idea for a blog this morning!

“Sometimes doing nothing is the right thing!”

Here’s the context I’m using it in at the moment.  Skip’s Summer School was incredible – and I’m not saying that as a sales pitch.  Like so many attendees my head is swimming with ideas relating to my own business, the seeds planted by 15 of the finest instructors in our industry.  I’m always talking about how photography is a career choice where you never stop learning, but the truth is, that’s true for any business and mine is no exception.

So, as Sheila and I sit here waiting for our flight home, I can’t help but live by that quote…and I’m going to do nothing!  I’m going to just relax, enjoy the ride home with my honey and think about everything I learned this week.   We never stop learning – about ourselves, our business and our friends, especially new friends.  This past week was pretty amazing and I don’t know how to thank so many new and old friends for making it a success!

Okay, time to just go back to doing nothing!

Long before the Internet I fell in love with this industry.  People you’d meet at a convention one year you’d consider friends within a couple more years, but my point is that it took at least two years.  You’d see each other at the next year’s convention and remember a speaker, a program or a booth you might have been talking in.  

The wonder of social media, isn’t just in marketing and expanding your reach, it’s in the speed in which friendships can take off.  By it’s very nature the summer school project lends itself to meeting people and growing friendships very quickly.  You’re together in one room Sunday night through Wednesday morning.  You’re all listening to the same programs and just about everybody is in the same hotel.

The fun though, for me at least, comes in part after the program. It’s following people on Facebook and seeing images they’re posting.  It’s attendees like Natasha and Deon from South Africa, Clyde and his son who drove down from Alberta, Joel, GG, “Three Buffet Brian”, Jessica, Larry and dozens of other new friends who I’ll follow over the next year, looking forward to the reunion at the next program.   We’re all now part of an amazing community.

Most important of all is what we all experienced together, and the speakers and I are no exception.   Every day there’s been something that’s moved us.  There’s been some new idea that’s stood out more than others to get us thinking about the next step in our careers, marketing or business plan.

It’s been a work-hard-play-hard-week, but the common denominator has been the quest to raise the bar and the comittment everyone has to growing their business.  We’ve heard some of the finest presentations in our industry.   Even though each speaker has had a slightly different message – the common denominator has been the importance of shooting from the heart and as Matthew Jordan Smith said in Akron almost a month ago, being comfortable in your own skin.

Summer School was never like this when I was a kid!

Sorry, had this ready to go and just missed posting this morning – but at least I’m in PST so I’m actually posting early afternnon!  Hey, better late than never!

The day is going to kick off with Kevin Kubota, but a recap of yesterday simply positions it as an incredible day.  Remember how long I’ve been in the industry and just how many programs I’ve seen, speaker proposals I’ve read and conferences I’ve attended.  I know this is “my” program, but the presentations, every one of them were dead on yesterday and some of the best I’ve ever heard.

Scott Bourne kicked it off with great thoughts on visualization.  Joe Buissink hit a home run with his thoughts on getting your mind’s eye and your heart working together.  Photography is all about working from your heart.  If your clients see the sincerity and develop the trust you’ve got the foundation you need to build your business. 

Jerry Weiner hit two more home runs with two business snipets and made me realize this might be one of the very best ways to try and teach those all important messages about running your business like a business!  Sarah Petty focused on marketing and ideas on selling along with the diversity of her business.  Jasmine Star’s message was amazing, but even more impressive was her lead in slide show about her philosophy.  It was without question one of the most professional pieces I’ve ever seen produced.   The day finished with Scott Bourne back in the driver’s seat and hitting social media with great tips on using Twitter as a marketing tool.

The highlight for me though was a last minute idea I just wanted to try.  We did an open forum with Tony Corbell, Bambi Cantrell, Scott Bourne, Clay Blackmore and yours truly inviting attendees to simply join us to talk about photography, getting started, their business, whatever they wanted to focus on.  There were close to a hundred people who showed up – no slide show, no AV support, not even chairs – just everybody sitting on the floor, asking questions and sharing.

Here’s what I learned – or maybe better is to say what I was reminded of….we’re an industry of friends – new and old.  We share the same challenges, often the same joys and even disappointments.   Each of us have experiences we can share and in turn, that expertise helps each other.

A lot of attendees have thanked me for pulling this together, but in all honesty, they’ve given me far more help and direction than we’ve given them.  What an industry this is!

For all of you not here this year, make it a point to follow these great speakers!  Dane Sanders opened the conference last night with what I thought was one of his best motivational presentations yet and dead on on the incredible role we all play as part of the photo industry.  Get yourself into AskDane.com and keep up with Dane’s thought process and his ability to help you stay motivated and focused on more than just your subjects.

Education is an ongoing process – it’s important for you to attend as many programs as you can, listen to podcasts, watch webinars and read every blog that relates to what you’re doing.  So many of us hit a convention or two a couple of times a year and think it’s enough, but I keep thinking about a favorite quote from good buddy, Roberto Valenzuela.

“Practice doesn’t make perfect.  Perfect practice makes perfect.”

So many people look at getting their “dose” of practice as their educational exposure at an annual convention.  It’s simply not enough. You need to know you’re practicing right and hitting the mark every time.  And it’s not just about your photographic skills, but marketing, promotion and business.

Being a professional photographer is an incredible responsibility and your main goal is to exceed your client’s expectations every time.  It’s about becoming habit-forming to your target audience and the only way that’s going to happen is to be an educational sponge and absorb everything you possible can to make you better at the craft!

Personally, I’d bring a camera body and one good all purpose lens or your favorite lens.  Then, if something happens that you want to photograph you’ve got some gear, but you’re not dragging everything you own to Vegas…light enough to have fun – heavy enough to handle the “assignment”.

If you’re still on the fence about coming to Summer School, come on over.  We’ve got lots of room and it’s a great program, virtually guaranteed to give you new ideas to increase revenue and more than pay for the trip, especially if you’re close enough to drive over!

See you in Vegas!

We all go to lots of conventions and workshops, but there aren’t very many where you get the time to really talk with the industry’s movers and shakers.  Last year I recall one photographer getting some personal help from Jerry Ghionis a few months after Summer School.  Dane Sanders had some new people join him on AskDane.  New ideas and promotions came out of the ideas shared in many of the programs.

If you can join us next week, terrific, but if you can’t, then look for the local opportunities.  Many of you have access to local guilds or PPA chapters – find out when the next meeting is and make it a point to be there.  These are especially great meetings when there’s a guest speaker.

Then there are photographers about to go on tour.  Clay Blackmore is about to hit the road with an incredible tour.  Doug Gordon is on the road.  David Ziser is going to be hitting the road.  Although Scott Bourne and I haven’t set a date yet, some time in the fall GoingPro will be out there too.  Check with your local photo retailers – they know who’s coming to town next!

You need to attend every program you can possibly attend.  You’ll pick up new ideas to help you with your business and your imaging skill set, but even more important, you’ll build your network!

I understand the challenge of the economy and know everybody can’t go to every single program, but if you choose to just stay at home… you snooze you lose!

First, let’s talk about all of you who think you’re just “average Joe’s”.   If it wasn’t for you we’d have no photographic industry.  There are only a handful of icons, but there are thousands of photographers who run great little businesses throughout the country.  You’re the backbone of professional photography.  Are the icons important?  Of course they are, because they’re our tour guides and help us to see the trends, changes in technology and they help us understand how to spread the word.  If this were the old west they’d be the guys breaking the wild horses and leading the wagon trains, but all the rest of us would be in those wagons.

So, all of you who think of yourself as a little guy, just an average Joe - wake up!  You’re the foundation of this industry and I’m serious, without you, there’d be no industry!  Every photograph you take contributes to this incredible world of magic we call photography and imaging.

Now, to his point about more CEOs contacting their customers…there are a lot things I talk about and too often I slip and don’t walk the talk, but when it comes to customer service it’s rare I don’t follow through.  It’s all because of my roots!  

I grew up in customer service when Polaroid introduced the SX-70 and they were 300% defective – every camera came back three times for service!  An incredible executive, the late Jon Wolbarst, was the conscience of Polaroid, fighting with every manager in the company to produce a better product. 

This was all before email and there were only two ways to contact an angry customer, snail mail or a phone call.   The response from a consumer actually getting a call from a live body was amazing.  Put that together with what Jon taught so many of us and you have the foundation for the way I do a lot of things today.

Third, and here’s the real point of this morning’s blog – you have to love what you do every day!  I love this industry.  I called “average Joe” the other day because I wanted to talk to another photographer.  I’m a huge fan of everything you guys do.  As photographers you’re responsible for capturing the memories of the world every day.  As business owners you’re taking risks all the time to grow your client base, revenue and establish a foothold in your community.  I believe so strongly in what you do that I left the security of a great job, a great salary and responsibility to start my own company over a year ago.  Why?  Because I was tired of living vicariously through all of you! 

So, the thanks doesn’t go to me for trying to keep in touch with as many photographers as I can.  The thanks goes to all of you for supporting an industry that along with so many people on the manufacturing and vendor side of photography, we love dearly.  This is an amazing industry filled with amazing people all of them just “average Joe’s”.

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.  Confucius from the Quote Garden.

See you at Summer School!

Postcard Mailing: How about a new promotional piece?  WHCC and Marathon Press both offer some terrific support in designing a postcard mailer.   This is such a simple thing to do, starting with selecting 2-3 outstanding images.  Copy on the back can be anything from a special offer for the next few months to just an announcement of you being available – new contact information, etc.    And the list of who to mail it to?  Try www.listservicedirect.com and pull demographics based on your target audience by zip code. 

Partnerships with non-competing companies: As an extension of a direct mail campaign, how about designing an over-sized postcard and include another company to share the cost.  A wedding photographer fits together with a florist.  A limo company is great with a portrait photographer targeting high school seniors and homecoming events.  A commercial shooter would work well with a local printer. 

Fall Promotions:  You have to plant the seed to get people thinking about photography, but the fall is perfect.  You’ve got all the best holidays in the back half of the year.  The kids are finally going back to school and Mom is ready for some time to herself.  Mom is also the decision maker when it comes to professional photography, but you have to get her thinking about the idea of a new family portrait as a holiday gift idea this season.

Special Offers:  Talk to your lab and see what makes sense in putting together a great offer.  Personally I hate discounts, but I love free goods.  Look for ways to add on value rather than just discount the pricing.  For example, it’s stronger in my opinion to give an additional 8×10 than it is to put out a 15% discount.  Better yet, many of the labs and album companies also offer framing opportunities or special albums and you should be able to actually create something unique.  And if you need help writing this stuff up, or for that matter with anything on your website, marketing support, etc. check out Ghostrighters!

Canvas Prints:  I’m a huge fan of canvas prints, but in my case they’re more fine art.  I have two 20 x 50 panoramics in my living room that were done by Simply Canvas.  What I love is people’s reactions, because most people outside our profession have no idea what they’re looking at.  Well, August is a good time to look at your entire fall selection of products and what you’re offering your clients this holiday season!  Does your own product line need a face lift?

Diversity:  Maybe it’s finally time you announced your ability to photograph kids as well as weddings.  It’s just one example, but if your skillset is solid is it time to let people know you’re ready to handle more of their photographic needs?

Workshops and Conventions:  Maybe August is just a great time to figure out what you need in new gear and decide what workshops, trade shows and conventions you’re going to attend in the next six months.  The clock is ticking on being able to attend Skip’s Summer School, but coming up you’ve got WPPI’s Road Show,PhotoPlus East in New York, Pictage’s Partner Con in New Orleans, Clay Blackmore’s new road show, Matthew Jordan Smith in Dallas, the Akron Photo Series and there’s a rumor thatJane Conner-ziser and Jack Davis  are about to hit the road for a command performance of their program in additional cities.

Getting extra help: August is a great time to consider all those photographers and instructors out there who also offer programs, DVDs, podcasts and webinars to help you grow your business.  Check out Dane Sanders and his Ask Dane resource, Sarah Petty, Kevin Kubota, Doug Gordon, Bambi Cantrell, Jerry Ghionis, Yervant, Mitche Graf, Ken Sklute, Jim Garner and for anybody I left out – cut me a little slack -  it’s 6:00 am as I’m writing this – email me with your link and I’ll add your program in tomorrow! 

Podcasts:  We’ve gotten great feedback on the podcasts we’ve been doing at GoingPro.  Here’s a chance to take advantage of the free downloads and just listen to suggestions from me and Scott Bourne on ideas related to building your business.  We’re now doing three a month on the 1st, 10th and 20th!  It’s FREE guys, but you have to hit the download button to be able to listen to our suggestions and we’re about to expand the series with a few surprise guests!  There’s also a ton of helpful information on Scott’s blog, PhotoFocus!

The point is, summer is coming to a close, but your business is about to potentially blossom with an opportunity to take advantage of fall and holiday seasonality, but you’re the only one who can make something happen!

At the end of last week I got a call from Vicki Taufer.  After a lot of years of waiting, she and her husband, Jed, got a phone call from the adoption agency.  As a result, they’re probably on their way to Nepal as you read this blog.  It was one of those good news/bad news calls.  We’ve all been friends for a long time and I couldn’t be happier for them, but the challenge became who could hold a candle to Vicki’s experience and presentation, since she’ll miss teaching at Summer School.

I’m ecstatic to announce Sarah Petty will be presenting in Vicki’s time slot on Monday, August 9.   Sarah’s presentation style is incredible and she’ll be talking about children, family and pets.  She might even throw in a few things related to senior photography as well.

Her goal on her About page says it all:  “…to celebrate children at every age, to unveil the spirit of a child…and to help families decorate their worlds with highly personal artwork. Artwork that matters.”

The only thing more impressive than Sarah’s images and approach to developing her market is her passion for photography.  I can promise you you’ll enjoy her style and her ability to be approachable and help you with the challenges of building a strong children and family portrait business.  In fact, through The Joy of Marketing Sarah and her team help photographers all year long to grow their photography business.

Just to get a feel for how great a presenter Sarah is, check out her video from WPPI’s Photographer’s Ignite program a few months ago!

What a program we have with this year’s speakers!  See you in Vegas!

In just under three weeks a whole bunch of us are going to show up in Vegas for three days of intense creativity, networking, solution solving and most important of all recharging our batteries before the fourth quarter!

If you’re still on the fence about going, it’s time to make the decision and join us!  Here are a few things to help you make the call:

1) We actually lowered the cost for Summer School this year, because we had a better idea of what to expect and how to run it more efficiently.  At $239 for 15 different instructors plus 50% off registration for WPPI, this may well be the biggest bang for your buck in photographic education!

2) The focus for this year is still heavily on wedding, but with great programming on diversity, helping you to photograph just about any assignment that comes through your door.  We’ve got an incredible mix of instructors, all interested in finding ways to help you in your business, even if you haven’t started it yet!  And don’t forget the Lighting Lab with two of America’s leading experts to help you with questions on lighting.

3) There are no lines at Summer School, unless you want to hit the artery-clogging buffet at the MGM Grand.  Everyone has a seat at a table and free wifi all day long, helping you keep in touch with home base while you’re gone. We’ve even set up charging stations for your phones and laptops.

4) This year’s sponsors are pretty exceptional and Jill-e Designs is already planning on giving away a few incredible camera bags.  More companies will follow with special offers for attendees.  Plus, all thirty of the exhibitors, are there to interact with you and help you find solutions for a stronger business, increased revenue, reduced costs etc.

5) MGM, as of 12 hours ago, approved a special package and it’s almost as good as the original $79 rate.  The Summer School rate is now $84.99, but with free in-room wifi, which is normally $14.99 per day.  So, you’ve still got a great room rate to work with!

Last but not least, we’re going to work hard and play hard.  This is about having fun – and just because the economy is tough, doesn’t mean you can’t have a good time learning new ideas, networking with new photographers and expanding your skill set!

Seriously, I understand how things get in the way.  I know how hard it is to break away and attend a workshop for three days, especially if you’re a part time photographer with a full time job.  But, I also know what people took home from the program last year and with this year’s instructors, it will be no different.  Virtually everyone left with a renewed level of energy, new ideas they could implement almost immediately and a level of optimism that helped to change their business in the months that followed.   

One of last year’s attendees, who’s become a significant part of my own network and a good friend made the comment, “…this is the kind of program people can’t afford NOT to go to!”

If you have any questions, please drop me an email at skip@mei500.com.  Hope to see you in Vegas!