5 Ideas for Creating New Streams of Revenue in Your Photo Business
As family photographers, we can only fill our calendar with so many sessions per year. And if you live on the east coast like me, almost all sessions are clustered during spring and fall. We might run booming businesses and be perfectly capable of getting new clients and booking the work, but something’s gotta give. Eventually you run out of steam. Your inspiration takes a hit, the editing stacks up, you fall behind, and burnout creeps in.
When you first start a photography business, it can be thrilling to run all around town scooping up job after job. But those of you who’ve been in business for at least a few years are likely beginning to realize that the time-for-money tradeoff has its limits. Eventually we have to look to other options in order to ensure we stay sane (and financially consistent) throughout the year. Creating additional sources of income in your business outside of picking up the camera and shooting is the key to a better work-life balance and a healthy, well-rounded stream of revenue.
Photo by Kate Thompson of Betty Clicker Photography
My business coach recently assigned me homework that involved creating a pie chart of how I’d ideally like to be dividing up my work time. She intended it to be an exercise in aligning my business with my personal needs, filling the pie as much as possible with tasks that are fulfilling (“input”) rather than depleting (“out”). My chart is pretty strongly tied so the depletion I feel after extended time with people. As much as I love my family sessions, I’m still an introvert at the end of the day, and all that ‘on time’ - especially during a busy season- can be incredibly depleting. Your chart will look much different than mine, but I encourage you to work through this exercise and think about where you stand now vs. where you’d like to be.
*You’ll notice several photography-related tasks aren’t on my chart (blogging, social media, editing, bookkeeping, managing associates)… outsourcing, folks! A topic for another day.
Most of you are probably thinking, “Ok, Kate. Sounds nearly impossible to run a sustainable business booking on average one shoot a week and spending 75% of my time doing things that feed me creatively.” Well, here are some ideas for how you can ‘work smarter’ and bring more money into your business this year without increasing the number of sessions you book… ideally leading to more flexibility and time for things that fill you up:
Start mentoring 1-on-1
If you’ve been in business 5+ years you’ve probably learned a thing or two about how to run a sustainable photography business. There are *always* new photographers out there who are eager to learn how to get started. Next time a stranger reaches out and offers to buy you coffee in exchange for letting them pick your brain… send them your mentoring info & pricing. :)
Create an info product
You’ve seen it all - presets, workflow guides, pricing templates, client prep guide templates. If you have these perfected in your own business, why not share?
Use the Simple Sales System (and sell more prints!)
Shout out to our fellow boss-lady, Annemie Tonken, for creating a system for increasing per-session revenue by limiting client package options and mimicking in-person sales through automation and print sales. If you’re a Pic-Time user you’ve probably seen this by now.
Hire an Associate
This is one I’d recommend only for those of you who’ve been in business 5+ years. Before hiring an associate you need a clean workflow and a clear understanding of why clients hire you. Bring someone on board who fits somewhat seamlessly into your brand and hire for both attributes and skills and before long (with adequate training) you’ll be making passive-feeling income throughout the year.
Shoot stock photography
Set up a few sessions this year specifically with stock imagery in mind. Or ask a handful of your “dream clients” to sign model releases - stock companies are always looking for good family photographs and your clients might be flattered.
Bonus… if you have any $ sitting in your business bank account make sure you set up a high yield money market account that accumulates interest. No reason a pile of money should be sitting around without growing!
A little shoutout to one of our community members, Kristyn Miller, who is a master of managing multiple streams of revenue in her business - commercial photography, coaching, weddings/family shoots, and a brand-spankin’-new 365 mentorship program to boot!
