Inspiration

BUSINESS ANALYTICS begins with researching your competition. 

Use your rival’s success as your master’s degree guidebook for potential improvements – what exactly sets them apart, and what do clients captivated by in their images? What are the high-line business standards seen on the top competitor’s website and Instagram that we need to use as a wake-up call?

Raising your creative level in this industry depends on understanding who the best of the best are—those you’re competing against or hope not to be competing against when triple bidding on a job. Knowing who these top competitors are and why they are successful is fundamental to improving your own work.

Researching your competitors is not just inspirational; it’s also crucial for understanding their business strategies. Look at their websites: is it their image flow, coloring, or production value that stands out? When they test, do they use wardrobe stylists, prop stylists, or experiment with different lighting?

Study what makes them appealing to clients and what sets them apart. Analyze their approach and think about what you can add to your own site and images based on your findings. Be your own analyst of that type of competition and use that knowledge to elevate your own creative and business practices.

Don’t be too busy to focus on your long-term career intentions. Our freelance industry is distracting and zooms by quickly; we could wake up and feel shocked that we let time get away from us. Spend at least one-third of daily busyness aiming at the desired career path. 

Don’t be too busy for your career, especially for those in the freelancing industry. Freelancers may feel that they have the luxury of not working on days when they are not on set or in the office, but this is not true. Freelancers must be accountable and keep themselves on track by setting goals, scheduling their time, and mapping out how they will achieve their goals. They must make the most of their time, working towards their office goals every day, whether they are working or not. Be disciplined and stick to a schedule in order to succeed in this fast-paced industry.

Getting back on track requires more than hopping back to where we were before. Fine-tuning the business tools*, making sure they are up to par, and matching the level of achievement we are setting our sights on. What we put into this is what we get out of it. 

*See our Marketing Strategy Planner on AskSternRep.com

Setting our goals and understanding our intentions are crucial. We need to determine where we want to go and ensure that the path we are on aligns with our current objectives. To get back on track and move forward, we need to evaluate the tools that will help us reach our goals.

Assess the following:

1. Website: Is it current and effective?
2. Branding Identity: Does the branding, including the logo, still represent who you are and who you want to be?
3. Social Media: How is your engagement on Instagram? What about LinkedIn?
4. Lists and Email Promos: Are your lists and email campaigns performing well?

Conduct a comprehensive review of what you’re putting out there. Identify what’s working, what’s not, and what needs attention. Determine where you can get the necessary help and whether you’re working with the right designer. Assess your budget for these tools and resources.

By evaluating these areas, you can lay out a clear plan to get your business to where you want it to be.

Success as a Creative Business requires a simultaneous balance of our daily work mode coexisting with our recharged creative tank. It takes both of these parts of our business, yin and yang, working together to set ourselves up for true long-term satisfaction. 

Success in a creative business hinges on the fundamental balance between taking action and replenishing your creative energy. We’re in this for the long haul, not just for short-term gains. It’s essential to honor our creative needs by taking time to recharge.

Enjoy your breaks and use this time to fill up your creative tank. While you’ll return to work after the holidays, taking this time off is crucial for maintaining your long-term creative goals. Remember, replenishing your energy now is an investment in achieving the success you’re aiming for.

Photographers, if you are like me, you want this career to last long and not be a one-trick pony blip on your path. 

As important as your work may seem, that fades. Bring the deeply satisfying joy into your career now; that is the road to stay on. 

I have a personal insight to share with you, and maybe you can relate. The more I’ve been in this job—over 25 years now—the more I realize how much I love it and how passionate I am about being a rep, both in this role and in social media. However, as I grow older, I also see that life is bigger than just my job and career. Other things in life are more significant.

So, how do I navigate this? I find that by continually shifting my career to include what I love—like working with certain photographers, building meaningful client relationships, and engaging with you—I feed my passion and maintain my excitement. If I didn’t truly love it, I don’t think I could keep doing it. My advice is to keep loving what you do and direct your career in a way that allows you to stay passionate about it.

Q:

How can a photographer get out of the loop of comparing themselves to others and their careers?

A:

Photographers looking for inspiration must be careful not to fall into the ‘comparison trap.’ Our careers move quickly, and if we get sidelined, assuming there is some correct roadmap to follow, we will get off course and never reach our potential. We are in an artistic career with one requirement – appreciate your “eye.”

Thanksgiving Holiday Assignment:

• List 5 ways your business is right on track. 
• List 5 areas where your business needs your attention.

Ageism is Not about AGE. 

Ageism is any age photographer who gets tired, stops pushing the boundaries, and stops testing and exploring. 

Younger photographers don’t own the exciting, hot, trending markets, but they often seem more available to lean into newness with an open mind.

Business lulls in the creative field are a part of the norm. What we do with them can help us wake up those creative spurts, feeding the machine and opening new avenues to more unconventional unexpected new ideas. I like to take a step back, change my ways and notice something I didn’t see before.

Photographer’s office hours can be challenging as it’s not exactly what we signed up for. Or is it? “Office hours” keep us plugged into work mode with random actions motivating us to keep going. Have your resources and your people, and reach out to those you want to connect with for no clear-cut reason. Plug yourself into all that keeps the office activated.