We’ve just completed our First Six Months in business so it seems like a great time to reflect on how we did starting Lininger Rood Photography.

It was a challenge to balance the wants and needs, understand where the labor cost really are, and to give up our precious free time.  Figuring out advertising , pricing, and where we wanted to be in the market was exhausting and expensive. We could have spent that money on equipment. Oh, more equipment decisions have to be made. And somewhere in there we had to communicate with each other about what we were learning.

If I had to pick the one single thing that caused the most grief, hands down, without a doubt, it would be the communicating.

That brings me all the way to where I left off with my book, Getting Your Name Out There. It’s all about a business plan. Having one is great but unless you have a franchise then be ready to change something every day.  See where it can get hard? When do you change and when do you stick to the plan? Who knows. But it all come out in the wash if you under promise and over deliver without giving away everything you earn. Charge fair prices for your work and don’t compromise your service by doing something your not comfortable with. Make that part of the plan. We did and we feel great about it.

We haven’t broken even yet, and we probably won’t this year. But we have good equipment, a solid advertising plan, and some good content to start with for next season.

Hope to see you soon.

– John