Here’s my topic for this morning…it’s not original but it’s certainly near and dear.  I’m tired of photographers who blame everything bad on their business, but the person in the mirror.  Yes, I’ll admit I’m the perpetual cheerleader and I’m a complete optimist, but how about if you guys slow it down for a little and look at all the things you should be doing to build your business, instead of blaming it all on the economy, competitors and the “Uncle Harry’s” of the world. 

1) Do people know who you are?   Remember, it’s not who you know it’s who knows you.  Press releases, being involved in the community, giving something back, advertising, marketing – they all play a role in building brand awareness.

2) How’s your reputation in your community?  If it’s bad then you need to back off for a little while, get involved in some charity events and look for ways to change your “rating”.

3) Are you producing outstanding images? This is all about the finished product.  Are you a great photographer or does your work look like everybody else’s?

4) Are you a one trick pony?  I still believe you need a little diversity in your skill set so that you can expand a little outside your specialty.  You never know who’s going to walk through your door and what kind of help they’re going to need.

5) Are you competitive on what you offer for your services, prices and finished products?  Everyone always thinks they need to lower prices to beat their competitors, but lower prices simply change the dynamics of the entire market and most often, NOT for the better. In an earlier post, my good buddy Cliff Mautner wrote:

“I felt the need to add a bit of value to their collection in lieu of reducing my pricing – which I was dead set against. An added hour here, a flexible payment plan there, and things fell into place nicely.”

6) Are you involved in your photographic community?  Virtually every community has a group of photographers who get together once a month, just to talk about the business.  Often there’s a guest speaker.  I’m on my way to Dallas to speak tomorrow night at the Dallas PPA meeting.  Marathon Press offers a whole series of marketing programs. In fact, they’re in Dallas a week after I am.  Follow Mike Larson and you’ll find him at Pictage meetings.  Check on Candice Cunningham and she’s out there with SmugMug meetings.  Dane Sanders is out there with FastTrackPhotographers and doing his own monthly coaching meetings.  And there are dozens more out there – all offering you an opportunity to get some help.

7) Do you follow a few different blogs?  There are so many different resources and some of the best are photographers who are writing about the challenges of being on the front line every day.  Yes, I’m self-motivated, but check out some of the material Scott Bourne writes at www.PhotoFocus.com and also the new www.GoingPro2010.com.   There are even free blog tips starting to build at www.GhostRighters.com.  

8  Are you attending every possible program and workshop you can?  There’s no excuse for not attending on this one – check out the new educational venue that Chase Jarvis put together, www.CreativeLive.com.  This whole week is dedicated to CS5. 

9) Last but not least and I know it isn’t easy, but are you spending too much time “negative selling”?  Negative selling is simply talking more about how bad your competitor’s work is instead of talking about how good you are.  Don’t compare yourself to your competitors, it’ll only back fire.  

Years ago Rollei ran an ad in the major professional photographic magazines.  The headline said, “While Hasselblad has slept, Rollei turned dreams into reality!”   They even showed a picture of a Hasselblad in the background, on a pillow!  Remember, I was president of Hasselblad at the time and couldn’t have loved the ad more.  I even called their agency and offered to pay for more runs of the ad.  The ad was a big contributor that year to helping us continue to build awareness for Hasselblad!

I know how frustrating it is to have competitors in your face, but that’s what keeps you on your toes too.   If you’re a tennis player, people always say your game gets better when you play with somebody better than you.  Well, in business it’s the same.    A tough economy and competition forces us to look at things we should have looked at a long time ago in our marketing efforts, running our business and even the way we photograph.

10) How’s your customer service skill set?  Check out Saturday’s blog as it relates to your phone skills.  Read the guest post by Gene Ho about how service plays a critical part in his close rate on new bookings.   It’s all about exceeding your client’s expectations.   If your customer service is bad or perceived as bad because you didn’t respond fast enough or people feel bounced around, then you’ve lost the battle before you even had a chance to fight it.

I guess it’s just a great day for the world according to Cliff Mautner and I can’t think of a better close than his quote:

…”I still believe there’s no substitute for busting your ass. I’m working harder than ever to stay working hard. I don’t think that will change. It’s the survival of the fittest out there and this is no time to chill. Sharp skill sets, innovative marketing, and top notch customer service will always prevail…”

I can’t think of anybody better to kick off Open Forum than Nicole Wolf.  Her first guest post, Don’t Get Stuck in the Middle, got a lot of people thinking about the way they shoot and hopefully a few people were influenced enough to start mixing up their game a little.  I know she got me thinking about the various projects I’m involved with and she gave me a different perspective to consider.

Thank you Nicole for this morning’s first Open Forum!  You’ve given us a great way to kick off the first full week of April!

“So I just got back from another whirlwind 5 days at WPPI in Las Vegas.  I always tell myself every year that I am only going to do three days because I am an old lady and can’t handle the late night debauchery! Actually, I am always so thankful that I stayed longer than I thought, because the fun level is off the charts.  There are so many wonderful people who are beyond excited about the opportunity to meet and become friends with their peers.

I can see how WPPI can be slightly overwhelming at first for anyone new, what with a rumored 17,000 wedding photographers this year!  However, you are bound to make at least 1,000 friends and I bet that is a whole lot more than you came with;)

As I sifted through the catalogue the first night trying to decide what platforms I wanted to attend, I noticed a common theme this year, personal projects.  I found that interesting on the heels of my first Blog post before the convention entitled “Don’t Get Stuck in the Middle.”  I touched on the importance of making yourself stretch past the boundaries of wedding photography and break outside that bubble into an area that is raw, vulnerable and uncomfortable.

So needless to say, this peaked my interest and so I attended a few of these platforms just to see what was being discussed.  I was pleasantly surprised by some and left confused and underwhelmed by others.  I think it is important to address that anyone who is discussing the idea of a “personal project”, finding your voice outside the industry, stretching the possibilities of your own imagination and discovering your “creative” self, needs to be doing the same thing THEMSELVES.  We can not teach others what we do not know or experience ourselves.

I personally feel that the sales pitch needs to be left at home when you are discussing the idea of digging deep within yourself to discover a new way of seeing.  There is something to be said about being authentic when encouraging a hungry, impressionable, searching photographer. Someone that feels stuck in a rut, looking for answers, is trying to find those people within their community of artists and we need to be available to them.  By available, I mean, no ulterior motives when engaging others and giving out your knowledge.

I thoroughly understand the importance of feeding your family and paying the rent, as we all do. However I do not see the necessity, when teaching and encouraging others about growth within themselves, to be selling something they DO NOT need to find that! When we have the ability and platform to encourage, to touch someone in a profound way by our words and our work, we need to be open within ourselves and not be afraid to let others see that. 

One of the most authentic and real platforms that I attended, in which I observed two men, who give of themselves through their work in a way that I have personally not experienced yet, was Matt Mendelsohn and Greg Gibson.  Their work individually is a testament to authenticity, vulnerability and taking yourself to a very uncomfortable place in order to convey the human experience through your work.  No product sales, no workshop pitches, just a look inside of who they are, the realest part of themselves and they shared that with the viewer.

My point being this.  We all have a responsibility when either educating about or participating in a “personal project”, to let ourselves go.  To create a place that others feel comfortable sharing that part of themselves with another human being.  It’s not an easy thing to open up and reveal the most intimate part of who you are, which is what a personal project should be.  I think that the future for wedding photographers is exciting because they are understanding the importance of this and letting themselves move forward in a way that has never been done before.  Instead of talking, let’s be doing, and discover that part of ourselves that we are all searching for…our voice.”

Nicole Wolf

So, to you my Saturday readers, who tend to be more serious, if for no other reason, you’re reading the blog on the weekend, I’d like to extend the first invitation to participate.  I’d like to make at least one day a week, Open Forum on the blog.   I can’t promise everything you send me will get published, because I’m not about to give trolls a new forum, but I’ll do my best.  We’ll also use Open Forum to answer specific questions.  I may not have the answers, but I’ve got an amazing network of friends and associates who do and they’ll be here when we need them.

Rather than use the blog for Open Forum, just email me at skip@mei500.com and let’s crank this thing up to the next level.  Monday, we’ll do our first Open Forum with a terrific post from Nicole Wolf called Discovering Your Authentic Self.

Thanks for being a part of Skip’s Photo Network – have a wonderful Easter weekend, enjoy your family and remember to hug them all at least once a day.  They’re the reason you’re here and no career field focuses (pun intended) on your family more than photography.