The Photography Business Plan in 6 Easy Steps | Kentucky Photographer | Mentoring

For Christmas my husband bought me a new planner that is focused on helping women grow their businesses. It’s called “Business Boutique 2020 Goal Planner” and I absolutely love it! I highly recommend this planner for anyone wanting to or who already has their own business. Each month has monthly teachings, calendars, weekly outlooks, mostly reviews, and it’s basically just more than just a planner.

Anyways, thanks to this amazing planner I have been able to focus more on my goals and how to achieve them. Starting with creating my own business plan for the whole year and breaking it down into each month. So far, its been helping me and I would love to share what I have learned so far.

In order to create a thriving and profitable business, us entrepreneurs MUST have a plan! Business plans are not just for large corporations, but something that even the smaller establishments should have!

Having a business plan is literally the bones and structure that YOUR business will be built on. Whether you’ve been at this for awhile and never created one, or you are just starting out, it’s never too late to create a plan for your photography business! This will be the foundation for everything that you do from here on out, so take your time and don’t rush the process of creating this business plan. It is one of those things that is better done right than done quickly.

Here are six steps that have worked for me:

Step 1: Make A Business Outline

Your business outline should be a brief description of your overall vision, mission and purpose with your business. This does not have to be lengthy or in depth, but instead very decisive. Your outline should explain what your mission statement, vision and purpose are. It should also explain what sets you and your business apart from others and what your hours of operation (among other things!) will be. All the things!

Step 2: Find Your Ideal Client 

Describe the client’s you strive to have in your business in as great of detail as you can. This will help you identify your target client so that you can later market to them more effectively! Trust me it makes a huge difference.

Step 3: Decide On Your Products and Services

This is when you should state which pricing structure and methods of sales you will be using for your business. How much will you charge and how will you sell your products and services?

Step 4: Set Your Operations 

When it comes to operations, try to describe how you are going to RUN your business. What tools and software are you going to use to track expenses, payments and your client’s information? What methods of payment will you accept and what will your preferred method of communication be are all things that should be clearly written out in detail in this section of your business plan.

Step 5: Planning Your Marketing Strategy

Explain how you plan to market your business. What is your photography business marketing plan? What forms of marketing do you plan to utilize and do you hope to be the most successful in targeting your ideal client you described above in step two?

Step 6: Figure Out Your Financials 

It’s always good to know what is happening money wise and that is where step six comes in! To finish up your photography business plan, answer the following questions about your financial plan and situation. What will start up or continuing expenses be? What are your monthly and yearly expenses to run your business? What are your sales projections and forecasts?

That’s it friends! I hope that this post helps and if you have any questions, I am always happy to help anyone. I have found a huge passion in sharing my education and experiences with others. I believe in you! If you would like to consider Mentoring through me, I would LOVE to hear from you. I have my information listed on my website and you can find it by clicking HERE. I would be so honored to help you in your business and become besties!