What the Ferengi "Rules of Acquisition" have Taught me About Owning a Real Photography Business

Ok ok ok...first off I would like to say that I (Chris) am a huge Trekie!  (Brandy is a closet Trekie)  So, with that said, some of you may immediately close this blog post, while others might get super excited and read further.  I just ask, if you own a business or want to, that you hear me out for a moment! 

The other day Brandy was out shopping with one of her girl friends and I was at home with the boys and decided to have a mini Star Trek: Deep Space Nine marathon (a la Netflix).  One of the main characters, Quark, is one of the large eared "alien" race known as the Ferengi.  They are a male dominated society whose entire life is dedicated to making profit.  (and when I say male dominated, their females are not allowed to wear clothing...just to put that in perspective)  They live by a set of 285 rules, "The Rules of Acquisition", that teach them how to remain profitable.  Most people, even in the show, just scoff at their entire race as little trolls who are backwards thinking and don't fit in the 25th century, and on most cases I completely agree and just enjoy them as comic relief to the show.  However, as Quark was reciting the rules of acquisition while talking about the bar he runs on their space station for which the show is named, I realized that there's several of the rules that many of us small business owners can learn from! (and a few that we can't).  Here are just five of my favorite rules for real life business use:

Rule of Acquisition #17 A contract is a contract is a contract ...but only between Ferengi.

We follow a lot of forums and blogs that have a lot of people wanting to break into the business of photography and many times they complain about things like clients who cancel on them last minute or want refunds for ridiculous things or a plethora of things that should have been spelled out explicitly in a well written, binding contract.  No matter how much you charge for your photography, whether $50 a session or $10,000 a wedding, you NEED to have a contract and you need to STICK to that contract!  Let your client know that the contract is there to protect your rights as well as theirs and you can avoid SO many issues.

Rule of Acquisition #21 Never place friendship above profit.

This might be a hard pill to swallow for some and seem a little harsh, but hear us out for a second, especially for those that are just starting out.  When you start a business, naturally the first place you are going to turn to is your friends for support.  The problem falls into when that friend thinks they can squeeze a deal out of you because they are your friend.  We have fallen prey to this problem more than once.  Unfortunately, the clients we have had who were supposed to be our "friends" before they were our clients have more than once turned out to be some of our worst clients.  They expect to not be charged as much, circumvent our contract, and rush turn around time for their photos before other clients because they are our friends.  They simply did not respect us as business owners.  They thought by being our clients they were doing US a favor by giving us their business and in return we owed them something more than the stellar service we already provide. Which ends up hurting or even destroying friendships.  Now don't get us wrong, we have some FANTASTIC friends that are clients; but they appreciate us as photographers and business owners.  We finally talked to a friend who owns a bakery; she told us that she does not offer "deals" for friends because of this fact.  This also falls back to the 17th Rule of Acquisition which we previously mentioned.  If they respect your friendship, they will respect your business.

Rule of Acquisition #57 Good customers are as rare as latinum (their currency)-- treasure them.

When it comes to small business two of the biggest things that can increase your bottom line is word of mouth marketing and repeat business!  Both of those things require you to really appreciate your good clients and show them that they are appreciated!  Does this mean giving them huge discounts?  Not really.  Not every client out there is just looking for a discount.  Your GOOD clients will know value when they see it.  They can get pictures from anywhere and if you think you have the best pictures out there...you're wrong.  Somebody out there is better than you.  What you can do though, is provide them with an unforgettable experience from beginning to end.  From your first email, to the packaging of their photos, make them feel appreciated and they will come back to you and bring friends!

Rule of Acquisition #218 Always know what you're buying.

This is another one that I have especially for the newbies out there, but naturally for everyone in this business.  Since 1839, photography has always been a two part deal: 1 part art, and 1 part science.  In the old days the science was more about chemicals and developing.  Today, the science part is more about technology and software.  Know what you're buying!  Do your research and know how the software or camera or lens or lighting is going to help your bottom line.  Do you want it because it will help an aspect of your business grow or because it's the new cool trendy thing to have in photography?   

Rule of Acquisition #255 A wife is a luxury ... a smart accountant is a necessity.

This one I put mainly because it makes me giggle, but there is a little bit of truth behind it.  Brandy is a entrepreneurial business major and she knows her stuff when it comes to keeping us out of the red, and we grow exponentially every single year and I treasure that!  Yes, we also now have a CPA who does our taxes as well!  As a small business, it's not a question of if you get audited, it's a question of when you get audited, and there is probably an obscure tax law out there that you didn't know about.  You need a CPA who knows the federal laws and especially your specific states laws!  In your state is giving a CD of images considered a service or a product, and is it subject to sales tax?  What's the best way to get a tax deduction for vehicle use?  Can I charge this meal as an expense?  Your CPA is going to keep you out of trouble! 

So, although much of the Ferengi rules of Acquisition contains frivolous amounts of greed and selfishness, there are several that have real sound advice for business owners.  You can't always be the good guy in business.  It's not personal...it's business!  If we had millions of dollars we would probably just travel the world shooting weddings for free to people who deserved to have beautiful photos, like Extreme Wedding Makeover: Photography Edition, but alas we are not millionaires and need to make a living and choose to do so by owning our own business like so many hard working Americans do, and even more did so before them.  The next time I get into a business discussion, I plan on having one or two of these rules ready to quote! 

What a Great Year: a brief look at how far we've come in our first year

So Gronde Photography is coming up on its one year anniversary of being an official business.  I'm almost done with my degree in Photography and Brandy has completed her associates and continues on to her bachellors degree in Entreprenural Business Administration with a minor in Marketing.  Am I ready to take on this job full time and quit my IT job?  No, not yet.  Having a day job doesn't make us less photographers like some might think.  What it DOES allow is for us to take risks, try things we wouldn't normally try and be inovative in our photography because our photography isn't what is paying our bills.  We aren't double booking weddings because it's the off season and we need the business.  We do this because we LOVE doing this!  It also allows us to keep our prices low and allow people who can't afford the average $3,000-$5,000 for wedding photos for this area to still have beautiful wedding photos.  We don't have to charge an arm and a leg because all our bills are paid by our day jobs; all of the procedes from our photography business pretty much gets turned around back into the business to buy new and better gear and other things we need to make our service to our custmers that much better.  When you're in school and you are trying to figure out what you want to do with your life, people always ask, "If you had all the money in the world and didn't have to work every again, what would you do?"  The answer is simple... I would be a photographer!  But if I had all the money in the world I would just go around giving great photos to brides who couldn't afford it.  And other pro-bono work for cancer foundations, senior photos for kids whose parents can't afford it, and so many other organizations!  Everybody deserves great photos! 

Lets look at what's going on now.  We do have over twice the shoots booked for this year that we shot last year already.  I can't wait to start shooting weddings again this season.  Courtney is one of our first ones up and we had such a great time with them in their engagement shoot last summer and she is our first bride to book a bridal session/"trash the dress".  Did I mention she's a firefighter, a local hero, and we will hopefully have free reign to the fire house for photos?!  Keep your eyes peeled on our Facebook Page to see those pictures!  The Cherry Blossom Festival is also here in DC and it's such an incredible backdrop for beautiful pictures and we hope in the short time that they're in peak season we'll have some clients who choose to take advantage of it cuz either way I'm gonna be out there shooting.

Also, for school I've been working on a documentary photography project on the DC Metro escalators.  For those of you not from this area, there are 588 escalators on the Metro line leading to and from the stations.  On any given day 15%-20% of those are broken or undergoing maintenance.  Several have had failures causing injury to patrons.  I've been going around and documenting these repairs as best I can without getting arrested by Metro and TSA that now roam the stations.  You can watch my flickr account to keep up with the status of that particular project.  Another project for my Adobe Lightroom class has been a series of portrait sessions I've called, "The Alter Ego".  Two of these photos my professor has encouraged me (who by the way NEVER likes my photos and has been known to tell me my shots are "too comercial" for her taste) to enter them into a jurried gallery show where they have a chance to be hung in the campus art gallery and even win a cash prize.  I'll keep you posted on the status of THAT!  I have a few more weeks left and if anyone would like to help me by modeling for my "alter ego" project please email us or comment below! 

Finally I'd like to show two sets photos. 

They are all of my second favorite model to shoot (Brandy will always be #1) and a dear friend of mine since we were 15, Victoria (Torri) Barth.  The first photos are from the first shoot I did as a professional with the help of my lovely wife Brandy not only modeling but also assisting with wardrobe, styling, and art direction.  The second are from my most recent shoot, one of the "Alter Ego" shoots, of the same model.  Changes in style composition, posing, editing workflow, and lighting are quite apparent and the reactions to this photo from the last are exciting.  I'm so happy all of our clients have enjoyed their pictures thus far, and Brandy and I are both SO excited for the shoots we having coming up and continuing to grow and share and capture all of their special memories on film!

Make sure you subscribe to our blog, fan us on facebook, and follow us on twitter so you won't miss any contests, deals, or news that may come out on our 1 year Anniversary on April 21st!

Chris and Brandy

Gronde Photography

http://www.grondephotography.com/

www.facebook.com/grondephotography

www.twitter.com/grondephoto

Providing Northern VA, DC, and MD with all your portrait needs!  From family photos to Wedding photography.  From Senior photos to newborns and maternity!  We capture your special memories on film!

The "Photog Boom": Are Camera Companies Helping the Overflow of "Professional" Photographers?

So Brandy and I (Gronde Photography) have been in business since April of last year and we're starting to come up on our 1 year anniversary of the business.  One of the things that I've come to discover whether it be in photography school or while looking for job leads or shooting in the studio (We <3 Union 206), is that the wold is FULL of photographers.  Everybody thinks they're a photographer!  It's easy right?  Pick up the camera set it on auto and push the button.  If it doesn't do what you want you have that wonderful crutch known as Adobe Photoshop to fix all your mistakes.  Here's an analogy that will help show you how I feel about photography.

I don't know about any of you but I have two tattoos.  I'm not as proud of them as I was when I got them.  One of those reasons I won't disclose, but the other reason is because every one has them now.  15 year old girls are walking around with real tattoos!  1. Your mom needs slapped 2. I wish tattoos hurt more so that less people would get them!  While I was in the military I had been "hazed" several times and loved it because it separates the people who are serious from the people who just thought it was a good idea at the time.  This is how I feel about photography.  I want it to be hard so that less people will want to do it.  Unfortunately cameras, even DSLR's are getting easier to use and less expensive by the day.  Don't get me wrong I love Nikon, but lately they've begun to really bug me!  Since I started shooting Nikon DSLR's they have released the D90, D5000, the D3000, which was then almost immediately replaced by the D3100, then the D7000, and just recently the D5100 which will replace the already discontinued D5000.  These are all ENTRY level cameras.  Where's the D400, or the D800, or even the D4?  Where are the new mid and pro level cameras?!  Why don't they make these, you ask?  That's a great question!  Here's the answer: Because the people that shoot with these already OWN cameras and shoot well with those cameras.  The photographers!  I kind of relate this to auto insurance or cable.  You know how they are always offering deals to new customers or even bigger deals for switching from competitors, but they seem to ignore the loyal customers?  Camera companies are FEEDING the over population of "photographers" in this already over crowded business.  I can understand they're trying to make money by approaching new markets, but it's killing the photography business.  Every soccer mom out there is going out and buying one of these new fancy entry level DSLR's and shooting snap shots on Auto mode of their kids and then going "Hey this is easy!  I think I'll shoot weddings!"  This along with the devil (aka Craigslist) flooding clients with "free shoots to work on my portfolio" make it impossible to charge a decent price for photography.  It's hard to compete with free!  So, here I am trying to make our business separate from all the others by making lasting relationships with our previous clients, formalizing my training through my photography degree, networking with other photographers through our new membership to the Professional Photographers of America, and learning from my mentors at Union 206 and just being the best darned photographers Brandy and I can be!  Eventually I'm hoping the amount of photographers levels out and Gronde Photography will still be standing! 

If you want photographers who aren't trying to make a quick buck, but really have a passion for what we do and actually care about your wedding not just trying to get a good shot, but really capturing those moments you want to remember forever..... the please visit our website.  Look at what people have said about us on weddingwire!  Check out our facebook albums.  Email us.  We would love to talk to you! 

http://www.grondephotography.com/
www.facebook.com/grondephotography
www.twitter.com/grondephoto
www.weddingwire.com/grondephotography

"Too Legit to Quit!": Just Another Step in the Right Direction

So just trying to take as many steps in the right direction towards being respected members of this over populated photography business, we've debated about what sites to advertise on.  There's so many bride websites: weddingbee, weddingwire, theknot, etc, etc, etc.  The Knot contacts us all the time about different things but just to post on their site is $160 a month.  I don't know if I can really justify that, but at the same time if it brings in THAT much business than it would be worth it.  You gotta spend money to MAKE money right?  Well maybe not that much quite yet.  We only have a handful of weddings under our belt, but we have a twice as many booked for this year so far, so maybe at the end of the year we'll think about theknot.com.  Weddingwire on the other hand you can have a "free" posting on their site.  It doesn't get you much as far as advertising but if you follow up with it and keep it up to date and get reviews from your past clients you can become a "Rated Member".  This is something that I see ALL the time at trunk shows that vendors have posted their table.  It basically means you have experience and have been rated by other brides.  It means we're legit...in fact we're now too legit!  eh hem...*cough cough* too legit to quit!  The more reviews we get the higher rated member (i.e. gold, silver) and with enough GOOD reviews we can receive the "brides choice award".  That's the prize we're looking at, and we've been SO blessed with the most amazing brides!  One review that was left on wedding wire literally brought Brand and me to tears!  Even if we never make it huge in this business, if we keep getting reviews like that, I'll never stop doing this job.  We may not be able to charge 5,000 a wedding like some photographers, but I believe we give a great service and lasting memories to real everyday people just like us and THAT my friends is what really matters and what makes America great...not getting rich quick.  Well I think soon we'll pay the $90 a month to advertise on weddingwire.com now that we're "rated members for 2010", so keep an eye out.  I'm sure you'll hear about us soon!   Oh, here's the press release sent to us from www.weddingwire.com!

       

Gronde Photography is now WeddingWire Rated for 2010

 Washington, DC (February 20, 2011) - WeddingWire, the nation's leading site for wedding reviews, just announced that Gronde Photography is WeddingWire Rated 2010 for Photography. WeddingWire Rated is an annual award program for wedding professionals based on hundreds of thousands of recent wedding reviews.

WeddingWire Rated, the industry's first formalized review program, is the most recognized and trusted brand among engaged couples looking to locate wedding businesses. The award program recognizes wedding professionals across the country, like Gronde Photography, that have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to service.
Gronde Photography has several reviews on WeddingWire. These reviews have been written by past clients of Gronde Photography, and include detailed ratings and insightful descriptions of the newlyweds' experience. From quality of service to overall level of professionalism, these reviews showcase the high level of service newly engaged couples can expect from Gronde Photography.

"We are excited to unveil WeddingWire Rated, now in its fourth year, as a way to recognize wedding professionals for their commitment to service," said Timothy Chi, WeddingWire's CEO. "WeddingWire Rated allows wedding businesses to clearly differentiate themselves in their market, while providing engaged couples an easy way to find the best services for their wedding."

 Gronde Photography would like to thank their past clients for sharing reviews of their weddings on WeddingWire. Reviews for Gronde Photography can be found across the entire WeddingWire Network, which includes WeddingWire, Martha Stewart Weddings, Project Wedding and Weddingbee.

For more information, please visit Gronde Photography on WeddingWire at www.weddingwire.com/grondephotography.

About WeddingWire, Inc.
WeddingWire, the nation's leading technology company serving the $70 billion wedding industry, is the only online wedding planning resource designed to empower both engaged couples and wedding professionals. For engaged couples, WeddingWire offers the ability to search, compare and book over 100,000 local wedding vendors, from wedding venues to wedding photographers to wedding cakes. WeddingWire also offers an online community and a suite of cutting-edge planning tools for weddings, including wedding websites, all at no charge. For wedding professionals, WeddingWire provides free online management tools creating the only market opportunity that gives local businesses control over their clients, reviews, leads and performance. Businesses that join the WeddingWire Network appear on WeddingWire.com and other leading sites, including MarthaStewartWeddings.com, ProjectWedding.com and Weddingbee.com (both part of eHarmony), and Celebrations.com (part of the 1-800-Flowers family of brands).

The beginning of what I hope to be a long journey...

Hello and just to make sure we start off on a good foot; THANKS FOR BEING HERE and taking the time to read this blog about my journey into becoming a professional photographer. In here I'll discuss my thoughts on the matter and updates as to the status of starting my "business" and give you a sort of behind the scenes look at some of the photo shoots and editing process.

This blog is intended for people who either enjoy my work, or perhaps are looking to be future clients and is a way of getting to know me and my style a little more or perhaps even somebody else who is wanting to get into the business and is looking for insight or inspiration.

Second of all, or third of all, oh I don't know I've lost track already, but anyways...I should correct myself in saying this is my business. In this endeavor I have so eloquently set out on in hopes of something other than utter failure, my wife, Brandy, is the glue that holds me together. But not only does she support all of my wacky ideas (from my aspiration of creating the worlds first fruit filled churro while we were in SD...stupid Cinnibon for stealing my idea!....to plenty other ideas I've had or inventions I've claimed to have come up with)...she also is VERY handy with a camera herself. In fact she is better with a Sony point and shoot than a lot of people that think owning an entry level Nikon makes them a professional. She also watches the email and handles the calendar of appointments. In fact, she's the one that had to nudge (down right push) me into pursuing this dream of mine. If she had it her way I would quit working on my bachelors degree in IT and concentrate solely on a photography degree, but my IT work pays the bills right now and until I get this biz off the ground...a brotha's gotta eat! lol

So where did all this begin for me?

Well this (or something very similar) was my very first camera...remember with the 110 mm compact film cartridges in the back? Yeah I found it in my house when I was probably 10 years old or so and I took pictures of everything on it. I probably still have a cartridge or two floating around that were never developed (ironically Brandy does too)! From that moment on I would get disposable cameras that I could actually afford I continued to take pictures. In the seventh and eighth grade I was a photographer for the school yearbook and one of my photos even made the FRONT COVER! ahhhh my first publication... I was so excited! After that I didn't really do much else. Just never had the equipment and got interested in other things. Sad, I know.

Once I joined the Navy I had the opportunity to see much more of the world than most people dream of seeing (this is also where I met my wonderful wife). It was my outings with her that sparked my interest in pictures, yet again. When you're with someone as beautiful as her, how can you not take pictures ;-) Then she bought me my first Nikon. D60 which I'm still working with today. It serves it's purpose and still takes great shots. When I feel the need to upgrade I will.

One sunny, spring Sunday, my wife was looking Radiant as ever and the cherry blossom tree behind our house was in PERFECT bloom. So I said hey lets go outside and she climbed all in the tree in her Sunday dress and we just spent a few hours taking GORGEOUS shots. We even brought our two tiny dogs Lady (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel) and Tink (Chihuahua) and took pictures with them and after I edited all of those I think it occurred to both of us that we could do this for real.

Brandy put an ad out on Craigslist and WeddingBee (one of her favorite websites) and from that point on it's been a flood of people wanting pictures taken for various reasons, babies, weddings, engagements or just to have pictures taken of them. What a self esteem booster it is to have gorgeous pictures taken of them. Especially for women and young girls. They are constantly bombarded by modeling and advertising. Even the teenie boppers on Disney Channel are all models now. What better way to boost their self esteem by taking them to get awesome pictures done! Every woman wants a photo shoot in their wedding dress... every high school girl should have a chance to have a photo shoot in their prom dress (other than their dad taking pictures on his 1980's camcorder). If I could continue taking pictures for everyone for free I would, but I am hoping to start making a living with this. It takes a LOT of time and effort, especially in processing, but I do have SO much fun doing it and I always try to make sure my clients are having fun too. Without fun and enjoyment you're going to capture the wrong emotions on film.

From here on I'll blog here and there about the shoots I do and what happens in between them. I hope you enjoy reading them and getting the behind the scenes story about what happens next....

Don't forget to follow me on facebook and see all the sneak peaks as they come out!!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/BAZZINGA/243374428180#!/pages/Burke-VA/Chris-Gronde-Photography/113525125346089?ref=ts&ajaxpipe=1&__a=47