The Daily Mentor Minute Blog | Bruce Hudson

Terri’s New Venture- Part Two: Get Organized!
Tuesday, Mar 09, 2010

Terri’s second step was to get organized and formulate a plan. Sounds easy enough, but it took a lot of thought on how to arrange and re-arrange what the previous owner had implemented or not implemented before. Terri is a master at organizing in notebooks and binders. Instead of files, she puts all of her permeate information in a series of binders, almost like a franchise management system. Grouping things together and setting specific systems is a great way to get and stay organized, not to mention on task. I’m blessed in my own business to have my son Josh who inherited this gene from his late mother Sue, thank god! As I write this blog tonight I’m looking at a shelf in our main office area, it’s filled with binders and procedure manuals for running the day to day operations at the studio. Some of these are the Charity Auction Binder (which keeps track of the 30-40 auctions we donate to every year), a Follow Up Binder (keeping track of every studio inquiry that comes in via phone, web, and referral), the Frame Order Binder (which keeps track of frame orders, matting, etc.), our Policy and Procedure Manual (which contains phone scripts and “what to do if” documents), and many more. Those of you who have our Studio Support Materials have seen these documents before. You’re probably thinking, “I have a small studio, why do I need systems like this?” My answer is this…read The E-Myth! Do you get distracted, disorganized, or overwhelmed with the day to day tasks of running a business? This is why, getting organized and setting up systems will save you time, money, and your sanity. But laying the ground work for getting organized takes time. In the long run though, you will find that owning a business doesn’t have to be as stressful. If you are a person like many photographers out there, just the thought of doing something like this is overwhelming. My advice is to do a little bit each day and gradually you will find yourself in organized bliss! Take care everyone! -Bruce

Going the extra mile, some thoughts from a senior session today!
Saturday, Mar 06, 2010

What’s the number one thing photographers ask my dad and I on a daily basis? Give up? Well, it’s “how can I separate myself from so much competition?” And with today’s senior market, we are not just competing with other store front studios; we are competing with anyone and everyone with a camera! This includes the seniors themselves; they are taking their own senior photos! Ok, I know my dad was going to blog about Terri’s progress as she starts her business, but I wanted to give him a break. He had a jam packed Saturday that started with a projection in the morning, followed by a pet session, then an on-location senior session (which I am blogging about tonight), another projection, and finally he was off to enjoy the sunshine and help out at Terri’s high end doggy boutique. I wanted to bring up 2 points from our senior session today on how our studio is set apart from the rest. First, we literally go the extra mile at no additional charge! We photographed today’s senior back in September at the studio and got some amazing stuff, she is such a cutie. Her mom really wanted to have some shots taken of her at the high school in her band uniform. With our fall fast approaching last year, we decided to postpone the second session until the spring, which was today! Do we charge extra for these on-location add-on’s? Heck no! The more “must have” images we create the better their final collection will be. For us, capturing the true personality of each senior is priority one. If we have to take an hour on a Saturday, drive 20 minutes to our north to capture that it’s totally worth it to us. Plus, her mom was very grateful and excited. This particular family lives on Mercer Island, home of the likes of Bill Gates, Paul Allen, you get the picture. If you have never worked with affluent people before, they are a different breed of people, but not in a bad way. They do not like to be nickel and dimed, they like to be catered too, and they don’t mind paying extra for a product they deem worth it. Extra session fees, fuel surcharges, and inflexible schedules are not their cup of tee. We stand out because we are willing to customize and personalize every session and situation, period. Secondly, we are able to work any time of day anywhere, even in full sun. In order to make a good living outside of your studio you need to be able to photograph during the off hours, say noon in direct sunlight like today. As you can see, my dad nailed it; the image above is right out of the camera! Most people are busy, that is just our way of life these days, and we have to cater to our clients on their time. This Saturday at noon was the only time they had available; thank god my dad knows how to light in full sun! Plus, we are able to explain to the mom how we are creating the situation and show her the difference between us and someone with a camera. What ends up happening is she is now going to brag to all her girlfriends about how good we are! Don’t believe me? Well, this family was referred to us by another family on the island that did just that! Anyway, take to heart what I am saying and try to be flexible for your clients, they appreciate it and trust me, building that relationship pays off! -Josh

Terri’s first step as a business owner! Build your list!
Friday, Mar 05, 2010

I was so proud of my wife on Sunday when the keys to her new store were handed over. The previous owner told us that she didn’t have a formal database, but she thought she might have some names and addresses lying around somewhere. We didn’t expect a whole lot, but Terri did find a small notebook with about 160 names! This was a major bonus since we didn’t expect anything of a list at all. So, the first thing Terri did when she got home was type all the information into an Excel document. She’s not quite sure what POS system or dbase program she will invest in yet, but everything transfers from Excel these days. Making your list or dbase should be the first step for any business; you need to know who your customers are. The more specific and organized your dbase is the better. This is something that is an on-going thing; you have to consistently update addresses, phone numbers, client history, and emails. But, your labor can pay off handsomely! For instance, let’s say you want to have a family portrait promotion, what are you going to do first? If your dbase is in order, you can search for wedding clients that are 5 or more years back, odds are they have kids now. You can also look at how many years it’s been since a family client came in last, has it been long enough to market effectively to them? It’s a great way to start crafting a marketing campaign that is specific to clients that need the service. And, who is the easiest client to sell? An existing one! But if don’t know who your clients are, this can be tough. So, whether you are just starting out or have been in biz for a while, make sure your dbase is always growing and staying up to date; it can make or break your business in most cases. Good job Terri, so proud of you! Tomorrow we’ll cover the second thing every new business owner should do and how it relates back to photography. -Bruce

Starting a business, maintaining a business, re-inventing a business- An on-going blog series discussing the evolution of any business!
Wednesday, Mar 03, 2010

You’ve probably said to yourself at some point in your life, “If I only knew then what I know now!” I’ve always wondered what it would be like if I closed the studio, moved to a different city, and started over in business. What things would I have done differently now that I know what I know? The answer is plenty! There’s a ton of things I would have done differently because I’ve experienced running a successful company for 27 years and certain things have been etched in my soul. Sounds a little heavy, doesn’t it? Part of who I am is my passion for sharing my experiences throughout life and business with photographers and fellow entrepreneurs. I’ve never professed that I have all of the answers, but I feel like I a pretty good sense of what has worked in the past and why it has worked. I’m also blessed to have a son and business partner today that has a marketing sense for what works in today’s varying business climates. Thanks to his enthusiasm and passion for success, we are making it though this economic downturn. With all that said, I am now faced with a rare opportunity to share with you the journey of my beautiful wife (inside and out) Terri as she starts her new business venture! 2 days ago she took over a high end pet boutique in the small town of Enumclaw, WA. This store has been in business for 2 ½ years and has done pretty well. In some ways Terri will be continuing a lot of what the previous owner had established. But, she will also be making some drastic changes along the way too! During the next few weeks and months, from time to time, I’ll be reporting to you what she is doing to grow her new business. All of us can learn a thing or 2 from what other businesses are doing, especially a higher end product or service company. I hope you enjoy the journey all of us are going to embark on together. Tomorrow I’ll be discussing the first thing Terri did when she took over. Whether you are just starting your studio or have been in business for a number of years, there will be valuable insights to be had by all! See you tomorrow! –Bruce PS. I want to thank my sister Patty for all of the help and support she has given Terri, thanks big sis, you rock!