Revamp Your Photography Business: 5 Must-Read Books for Success in 2023
Mar 06, 2020
Show notes
We love celebrating stories here at Sprout Studio. Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools you can use in your photography business to engage and connect with your audience. Let’s get into my top 5 must-read books for photographers.
While you may be tempted to pick up that classic fiction novel you adore, here at Sprout, we challenge YOU to instead read one of the following photography business related books below . They may not seem like the most ‘attractive’ to read, but we promise the outcome will be full of insight that will help you ‘attract’ not only more clientele, but the right clientele.
Here are 5 books every photography business owner NEEDs to read:
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie Buy on Amazon
Getting Things Done by David Allen Buy on Amazon Listen in Audible
BONUS:
Pricing for Profit: Solid Business Techniques for a Profitable Photography Studio by Bryan Caporicci & Robert Nowell Buy on Amazon
Let us know if you’ve read any of the books listed above! Was it insightful? What did you learn? What other biz-related books have you read in the past that have changed the way you run your photography business? Comment below or join the discussion in our Facebook Community Group!
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
Leap day: 24 things photographers can do with 24 more hours
Feb 28, 2020
Show notes
Happy Leap Day photographers!
Every 4 years we add an extra day to the end of the month of February because it turns out… the earth doesn’t orbit around the sun in 365 days. It actually takes 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 27 seconds longer to be exact. This amounts to almost 6 extra hours a year, which adds up over the long run. And without it, our seasons would fall out of sync and the weather would be constantly shifting each year.
So what does this mean for you? The extra 24 hours could be a blessing or a curse depending on where you land on the spectrum of “employee”.
For example, salaried employees (that are paid twice a month) will be essentially volunteering their time–and with an extra day of variable costs, many get upset and request the day to be a statutory holiday. ♂️
For those employees who are paid hourly benefit from the bonus day, as the extra hours they work will be paid for.
But the cohort that should be really leaping for joy, are the entrepreneurs and business owners of the world! How many times have you said, “If only I had more time in the day…” well here it is folks! Now let’s make the most out of it!
We’re challenging our community of professional photographers–as 80% of the industry (in Canada alone) is made up of photographers’ who own their own businesses–to pick and accomplish one of the tasks below:
Sunday, February 29, 2020: You’ve got 24 hours photographers! Which will you choose to cross off? Let us know in our Facebook Community Group or tag us ~doing the thing~ on Instagram. Have fun!!
Taking the fear out of tax-time and how to avoid the annual freak out
Feb 27, 2020
Show notes
So … tax time is here.
Maybe you’re freaking out. Maybe you think you’re unprepared. Maybe you’re overwhelmed. Maybe you feel like you don’t know where to start.
Do you worry that you’ll owe and won’t have the money put aside? Are you worried you’ll do something wrong and get in trouble?
Don’t! Tax time doesn’t have to be scary.
Running a successful photography business is 80% business and 20% photography. And taxes fall into that business bucket. It’s a necessary evil. You don’t have to love it, but the sooner you accept it as a part of being an entrepreneur and learn to best deal with it, the easier it becomes!
The best time to plant a tree?
There’s a Chinese proverb that says:
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
To prepare for taxes, it’s best if you’re … err … prepared!
When you plan for taxes, they aren’t scary; they’re just another thing to do. And you’ll know what to expect. Plus – when you have the right help, it’s not even something that you have to do yourself! Bonus! More on that later …
Tax time can be a walk in the park
Tax time can be a walk in the park!
Sprout Studio is a studio management suite built for photographers by photographers. I’ve been where you are. I know what it’s like to run a photography business. You automatically follow business (and tax) best practices when you use Sprout.
Here are 7 ways Sprout Studio makes tax time a breeze.
Tax tip #1 – Set up your taxes in Sprout Studio
Set up your taxes in Sprout, so your invoices automatically charge taxes. In Sprout, you can set up as many taxes as you’d like, and you can even group your taxes. So it’s easy to set up taxes according to your local and federal tax laws.
You can have Sprout charge taxes on each invoice within an order, or you can have Sprout defer the taxes to the last invoice within an order. These are two different tax collection methods, and I’d certainly suggest talking with your accountant about which is best suited for your business.
For each order in Sprout, you specify which tax is to be charged. You can even exclude specific items in an order from being taxable – which is helpful for many photographers who have to follow particular tax laws.
Tax tip #2 – Use Sprout to invoice your clients
Use Sprout for every client invoice. Sprout is your home-base and the hub of your business, so there’s no need to create invoices using a Microsoft Word document manually or to issue invoices from other software.
Sprout does it all for you!
Every time you need to collect money from a client, invoice them using Sprout. That’ll keep everything organized for you, for your clients, and it’ll make the rest of the steps simple!
Tax tip #3 – Turn on automatic invoice reminders
To file taxes, revenue is usually helpful. Err … I’d even argue that it’s required! To generate revenue, your clients need to pay you.
Sprout can help make that easier and less painful! Set up Sprout Assistant to automatically send out email reminders when invoices are due so you get paid on time, and you don’t have to waste your time manually following-up with clients.
Tax tip #4 – Set up payment processing
Your clients can pay their invoices online (on their Sprout invoice) with their credit card. That money can automatically be transferred to your bank account with zero hassle.
You can integrate your Sprout Studio account with:
Square
Stripe
PayPal
Using a payment processor saves you a ton of time from having to manually cash cheques or manage (and keep track of) e-transfers.
Tax tip #5 – Print off every invoice payment
Every time a client pays you, you get a notification turned on in Sprout Studio. By the way – if you don’t have those turned on, turn them on!
Every time you get a notification for a payment, print it!
Keep a physical folder, labelled for each month (this will help in a later step, too) and put a printed copy of each invoice payment into a folder for that month.
At the end of the month (or the end of the year), everything is organized and ready for your bookkeeper or accountant. More on that later, though.
Tax tip #6 – Track your mileage in Sprout Studio
Did you know that you can write-off your car expenses and mileage as a business? I won’t get into all the details here because it will vary for every photographer. You should talk with your accountant about the details, though, because it can be a great tool in your tax-time toolbelt!
But – did you know that you can track your mileage in Sprout?
Every time you drive anywhere for your business, track it in Sprout! This makes write-offs for vehicles, gas, and other related expenses a breeze!
Tax tip #7 – Check in on your business health
Sprout Studio has a dozen helpful reports and analytics. Use them to your advantage – they aren’t just there to be pretty!
Give yourself a reminder to check in on your reports at least monthly. As it relates to this tax-time guide, checking in on your sales tax report will give you a ballpark of how much sales tax you’ve collected.
Now – it needs to be said – I don’t recommend using the sales tax report as the “be-all-and-end-all” for your taxes. Taxes are way more complicated than that, which is why I recommend hiring an accountant. But use the sales tax report as a point of reference so you can see how much tax you’ve collected. It will give you a good indication of how much you can expect to remit.
Remember – tax dollars are not your dollars. You collect it from your clients and hold it for the government until you have to remit it. That’s why you should know how much you’ve collected on an ongoing basis. You should even be putting that money into a separate account because it’s not yours! Believe me – the last thing you want is to be stuck with is a $10,000 tax bill without any money put aside to pay for it!
Taxes made easy with Sprout Studio!
How to make tax-time a little less scary
Tax time doesn’t have to be scary!
Planning is key.
Your bookkeeper and accountant (more on that in a few) will give tips on how to prepare and stay on top of your taxes. But from one photographer to another, here’s a rapid-fire list of best practices that you should put into play right away to make tax-time a little less scary:
Hire a bookkeeper for your monthly bookkeeping. Your time isn’t best spent doing your own bookkeeping – you don’t make money when you do your bookkeeping. You make money when you’re selling and shooting. Spend your time there.
Hire an accountant for your year-end accounting. Make sure that your bookkeeper and accountant are on the same page – a lot of firms will be able to provide both services for you under one roof. Don’t try to do your own taxes. A good accountant will save you more money than they’ll cost you, so don’t even bother wasting your time trying to do it yourself.
Keep a separate business bank account and credit card.
Pay yourself a salary, and pay yourself first.
Make sure you’ve priced yourself appropriately. Tax time is usually when most photographers find out that they didn’t make any money the previous year because their prices were too low.
Keep every receipt for every expense. Put it on the same folder we talked about earlier that you’ll keep for each month. That way you have one folder for each month of the year with all of your income and expenses neatly organized. You’ll save boatloads of cash on your bookkeeping bill that way.
What to do when you haven’t prepared for taxes
We talked about this earlier, but it bears repeating …
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.
The best time to start planning for taxes? Last year. 2 years ago. 5 years ago. And the better your workflow and the more organized you can be, the easier tax time becomes.
But – maybe you’re reading this guide because you’re freaking out. Maybe you didn’t plan properly. Maybe you didn’t follow the best practices above, and now you’re worried.
It’s ok. I won’t slap you on the wrist.
… hard
Kidding. It’s ok. This business thing is a constant learning process.
If you didn’t plan, didn’t prepare and didn’t keep track of things the way you should have, and if you’re not sure where to begin for tax time, here’s a simple 6-step process:
Hire an accountant.
Print off a receipt from every payment you’ve received from your clients.
Gather up (and print off) every receipt for every expense you’ve had.
Use the Sprout Studio Tax Report to get a quick glance at how much tax you can expect to owe. Start making plans to gather that money up.
Give all of the above to your accountant and be prepared for the loose ends and many questions. You’ll likely have to spend a few days with your accountant and answering questions to clear things up before they can finalize your taxes. But they’ll help you get through it.
Start planning and follow the best-practices above, so you don’t have to play “catch up” ever again.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
Candy Heart Valentines for the Photographer in Your (Love) Life!
Feb 14, 2020
Show notes
Happy Valentines Day flash-crossed lovers!
We’ve designed some heart candy (insta-)grams to share with you photogra-lovers… but first, here’s some interesting stats to keep in mind when running a Valentine’s Day campaign or promotion for your photography business.
Whether you love or loathe “Cupid’s Day”, ALL categories of photography businesses can benefit massively from “the second-priciest holiday on the U.S. calendar”! We can think of just a few ways where pro photogs can get a slice of the ooey-gooey pie…
Commercial photographers: A whopping $27.4 billion in spending is projected for Valentine’s Day this year–up 32% from 2019. From your typical florist and jewelry stores to unconventional “love” businesses–like the telephone company, T Mobile, prompting potential customers to write a Break-Up Letter to their existing cellular provider–this is an optimal time for shooting promotional products and services for businesses of any size.
Wedding/engagement sessions: A predicted 9 million marriage proposals will be made on V-Day this year. This is a key time to show up on social and start building relations (liking, commenting, following, sending DMs) with newly engaged couples–a tip we learned from Devin Robinson from Anchor & Veil Photography on ep. 414 of The Business of Photography Podcast.
Family mini sessions: $4.3 billion will be spent on family/kids this year. Families, especially first-time parents, are looking for new ways to celebrate the seasonal holiday and your V-Day promotional campaign should emphasize this!
Boudoir photographers: Over $1.7 billion will be spent on lingerie, accessories, and personal care. The “sexy” holiday provokes V-Day to be one of the busiest times of the year for boudoir photography. An album filled with sensuous pictures is a great gift for your significant other, or even more so… yourself!
Newborn photographers: Children conceived on V-day spikes up to 6% higher than other weeks out of the year. Now this one might take a little while to come to fruition (…9 months to be exact ), but it may be interesting to relook at November’s numbers and build different campaign strategies around this time (such as running more ADs or offering specialized packages). And like the wedding/engagement sessions mentioned above, the months following February are an optimal time to start building those relationships early and set into motion a new client’s journey with you (such as starting with a maternity session.).
Photographer-edition candy heart Valentines
Cut the crop this #ValentinesDay !! Post your favorite candy heart background to your IG Story and tag your photog-lover (or us @getsproutstudio ) to let them know how you REALLY feel about them
Oh, and as a bonus, here’s a screen saver for your phone if your “lovesick” all year round!
Let us know in the comments below or in our Facebook Community Group what your favorite candy heart is ?!
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
This podcast is sponsored by Sprout Studio, the first all-in-one business software made by photographers for photographers. Sprout Studio combines studio management software with online galleries, wall portrait sales tools, design proofing, bookkeeping and more!
Join the Business of Photography community on Facebook to continue the discussions between episodes. Also, be sure to join Seeds to Success, our free weekly email where you’ll discover one thing (a tip, an idea or a resource) to focus on for the week to move your business in the right direction.
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The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago.
