Saturday, April 25, 2009

Photographer Business tips 101

As photographers and artists we tend to be slightly more creatively minded than business minded.
If you can get both these attributes down, your gonna go far!
I just wanted to share an obvious, or maybe not so obvious business practice tip.
The 30% rule.
When initiating an estimate for a job state in the estimate that you need 30% down payment at time of booking. (This covers pre-production fees) 30% on the day of the shoot and the remainder due upon delivery of the media. It’s up to you to decide if your terms are Net 30 or 60 days.

Once the estimate is approved stick to the 30% rule.
If the client is hesitant and will only pay the total 30-60 days after the shoot, you probably don’t want to be doing business with them. Once you hand over the film/media you have no leverage.
As photographers we are generally small studios dealing with mega corp Inc companies. However our expenses are just as important. Why should we pay interest on expenses for a shoot , waiting for the Big client to pay us. If you use the 30% rule you keep your cash flow in check, and keep your assistants happy.
On a side note, don’t be shy about late payment fees. If you pay your Visa bill late do they waiver the late fees?

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