For many, a photography business is the dream mixture of a passion, a hobby and a career rolled into one. It can be a daunting prospect, however, to start your own business, so what should you keep in mind to give you the best chance of success?

These six tips will help keep your budding photography business developing the right way.

1. People skills matter – a lot!

Photography requires a lot of things to make it work – you need a mixture of talent, experience and technical understanding. But nobody is going to use your photography business if they feel, or they’ve heard from your other customers, that you’re difficult to work with.

Photography as a service is a very collaborative effort. You need to be able to learn exactly what your client is looking for and blend that with what is technically and realistically achievable to reach a satisfactory end result.

The key skills for dealing with people are empathy, communication and patience. So no matter how good a photographer you are, you need to work on these key skills from the moment you start establishing your budding photography business. It will make everything else that follows easier.

2. Make smart equipment investments

All businesses need to invest in equipment in order to succeed, and photography businesses are no different. You will need cameras, lenses and appropriate editing/printing software in order to meet your customers’ demands.

That being said, make sure you don’t fall into the rabbit hole of buying equipment based on the “what ifs”. When you’re building your business, you need to make every penny of your investment count, so be sure to prioritise the equipment you’re buying based on how useful it will be to you.

3. Get photography insurance and camera insurance

The next thing to consider is comprehensive business insurance that is specifically tailored to your needs.

You need camera insurance because you never know what sort of damage your equipment is going to get. In the course of filming on location, or even just a mishap in your studio, vital equipment can be broken. You need to be confident you have the right insurance to cover it.

Photography insurance is a broader pool and covers some other business-specific types of insurance you might need. Some clients and venues might require you to have public liability insurance to shoot for them and if you are employing people in the UK, the law requires you to have employers liability insurance. It’s essential you are properly covered.

A specialist photography insurance provider, like Aaduki, can make getting that coverage easy and affordable.

4. Work up a pricing structure

Photography can be difficult to estimate prices for because every photograph you take – and every client you have – is going to be different. With that in mind, it’s important to give potential new customers an idea of your charges, so spend some time working up a price list.

For inspiration, you can go to your competition. See what kind of prices they’re charging for similar services to the ones you’re offering. This can give you some clear guidance as to how you should structure your own pricing depending on how “premium” or “affordable” the experience you intend to offer is.

5. Market yourself as much as possible

It’s hard to get customers when nobody knows you exist, so you need to let them know you are there. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to market either, thanks to the benefits of technology. Make sure you have a social media platform – Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest etcetera.

Be sure your business is visible on Google and that you have a Google My Business account where people can easily see your location, your opening times, your contact details and your reviews all in one place. Also, consider investing in a website as soon as possible.

Business cards, social media marketing and an easily sharable portfolio are your three first essentials.

6. Cultivate word of mouth and referrals

Think of every customer you have as an opportunity to earn two more. You want to make sure you provide the best possible service possible, and if your customers are happy don’t be shy about asking them to share their experience. Word of mouth is invaluable marketing for small photography businesses.

Sweeten the deal by offering referral benefits. For example, both the customer and the person they refer can get a 10% discount on their next purchase with you. This is your way to entice customers into sharing your business and to help them get over the nervousness that comes with being a first time customer.

Also, referrals and the like will help give your business a more established air, further helping secure your customers’ confidence.

Contact Aaduki today

These six simple tips can help you kickstart your career in photography, and help you make your passion into a successful business. Remember, for all of your photography and camera insurance needs, contact Aaduki for affordable quotes and comprehensive industry-specific coverage.