Business Mentoring & Training

Photography Business Mentoring

Many professional photographers find the business side of things much harder than the image creation. But there are simple principles that can make a big difference. These lead on to developing a strategy, which can quickly help you sort out your marketing and advertising activities. Having a little logical structure in place will help you to run your business more smoothly. Business mentoring helps you to get this structure in place more quickly and efficiently. It can also help you to identify your target market and understand how to reach them.

If you believe some of the business books and websites out there then it might look like you have to do things a certain way to succeed. Thankfully, this is not true. You can adapt your business to suit you and your personality. There is no need for an introvert to become an extrovert or for you to abandon ethical principles to create a successful business. We firmly believe in a flexible, individual approach to business and have been running profitable businesses for many years.

Don’t expect “hacks” and shortcuts to success. Building a successful photography business takes time and effort. Things that work for some people might not work for you. So, spending time with your mentor will help you to clarify an approach that is line with your personal values and goals, while also communicating more effectively with your intended audience. Together we can find more effective ways of working that can help reduce your stress levels and increase your happiness and connection to your business.

Your Business Mentor Can Help With:

Identify Your Target Market

What do you want to offer and why?
Who might your clients be and why?
How can you reach them in a way that is authentic to you and them?

If your marketing and advertising efforts aren’t bringing in customers then it could be that somewhere along the line there is a mismatch. Perhaps you need to reconsider what services you offer or who you want to buy from you. Or, maybe you need to identify new ways of communicating with them to help them decide to purchase. Your photography business mentor can help you to think this through and create a strategy with a clear plan of action.

Communicate Clearly

There are so many different ways to communicate with people that you can’t use them all. In fact, it would be fairly pointless to try and use them all anyway! Different people are going to look for what you offer in different places. For some, they will start with looking on a search engine. So, your SEO becomes vital if you are to be found. Others will connect more socially on Facebook, for example. Understanding the people you want to speak to helps you to know which channels of communication will be most effective. You can put your limited time and money to better use by crafting targeted content that connects who you are with your potential customers.

You don’t need to be on every social media platform out there. But, you do need to have a consistent brand identity and a strong message wherever you interact with people.

Streamlining Your Business

A simple thing that can save time and help keep you organised and focused is creating templates for processes that happen regularly. This might differ depending on what services you offer and the type of clients you work with. For example, as a commercial photographer I need to gather information to help me understand exactly what will be involved in a shoot before I can quote a price. So, I created a photography brief template that covers the kinds of questions that I normally ask. This has the added benefit of helping me to remember what to ask a potential client while I have them on the phone or in my email. It is easy to forget something if you are busy and it doesn’t look good if you have to keep going back to the client with yet another question. My photography brief template can easily be adapted to different types of jobs. A portrait or wedding photographer, for example, could equally draw up a template with common questions that you need to ask when planning a shoot.

More Of What You Want – Less Of What You Don’t

Part of the one to one business mentoring process involves looking at the processes involved for you and how we can simplify and speed them up or consider outsourcing them. This not only means you can spend less time doing things that you may not enjoy so much, it also can help you to be more profitable and have more free time for yourself or other clients. Being well organised and managing your time efficiently can really help you to reduce stress and get more enjoyment out of being your own boss.

SEO & Marketing Advice

Certified SEO Professional:

Joe has trained in Search Engine Optimisation techniques (SEO) and is certified to advanced level with Hubspot, having passed their assessment. He is experienced at implementing SEO to help websites rank better. He specialises in technical SEO for WordPress sites.

Certified DigitalMarketing Professional:

Joe has been trained in aspects of Digital Marketing and is certified with Hubspot, having passed their exam.

Marketing, SEO, advertising, website building and so on can all take up valuable resources. So, we will help you to save money by working out which strategy and tactics are likely to work for you and which things could be a waste of money. SEO can seem very complicated, but we can help you to find quick, simple ways to improve your website so that it has a better chance of climbing the rankings.

Mentoring for Success

Using principles established in psychology, we will work together to optimise your motivation. We will get to the root of what you really want and what really motivates you. This will help you to maintain focus and keep motivated even when things get difficult (and at some point they always do!). Grow yourself and your photography skills as well as your business. Your photography business mentor wants you to succeed, grow and be happy. This means more than simply learning a few marketing lessons.

Latest Photography Business & Psychology Posts:

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Why Values Matter Some businesses spend a lot of time putting together a mission statement including their overall vision and their company values. This might seem like overkill for a small business. However, in this article I hope to persuade you of why values matter for any type of business and why you might like to

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How to Cope with Imposter Syndrome

March 20, 2024

Imposter Syndrome What is it? An illness? Imposter syndrome might sound like a medical term, but it isn’t really an illness. It is more a pattern of thoughts and behaviours related to beliefs about yourself. As we shall see, these are often irrational, flying in the face of the evidence. Highly successful individuals can end

How To Stay Motivated

February 22, 2024

Remaining Motivated Isn’t Easy Motivation is something which all of us can struggle with at times. Very few people find it easy to remain motivated regardless of whatever life throws at them. Negative emotions can sap our strength and we can be tempted to give up or at least stop putting in serious effort. Without

For a no obligation conversation to see if photography business mentoring could help you please get in touch to book a call. Or, email with your questions.