The Sole Proprietor’s Dilemma: Running Your Photography Studio Solo

Do you operate a one-person professional photography studio? Are you trying to create a successful business, but you’re the only one working in it? How many hats do you wear in the course of a single workday? Do the concepts of “weekend” or “time off” seem alien to you?

Welcome To Sole Proprietorship

There’s nothing at all wrong with running a one-person photography business, and many people do just that quite successfully, but I also believe that many of those who do (myself included) are forced to constantly deal with the frustrations that come with being the only worker in a busy company.

The main problem comes from the fact that we have to wear so many different hats in order to keep the business afloat…

• Photographer
• Editor
• Retoucher
• Web designer
• Marketer
• Salesperson
• Accountant
• Social media expert
• Client relationship manager
• Studio cleaner
• CEO and visionary
• Business planner
• … and the list goes on

Don’t you sometimes feel overwhelmed by all this, and that there’s simply not enough hours in a day to get things done?

My personal experience with this in the past has been that work became a never-ending part of my life. Whether I was physically at the studio or at home was irrelevant, since I was working on something wherever I happened to be. Before I knew it, the idea of weekends disappeared, and vacations became a major challenge, since there was no one else to keep the ship on course while I was away.

And that was just for the day-to-day stuff…

After all the regular work was done, it was time to start worrying about the more difficult questions like, “where was the business going?” or “how can I make the business expand and grow, or simply become more efficient or profitable?”

The Sole Proprietor’s Real Dilemma

This is where the really nasty problem started to emerge – trying to be the visionary for the business, the CEO if you will, and to see where I wanted it to go next. There just didn’t seem to be the time to be able to do that.

Worse than that, the sole proprietor’s dilemma is that we have no one to talk to about our business, the challenges we face, or the goals we want to set for ourselves. We can’t have a brainstorming session with ourselves about marketing, social media strategies, or the personal blocks that might be holding us back from success.

When faced with this scenario, most people turn to the ones closest to them, such as their spouse, to help them out, which can inevitably lead to more frustration and conflicts because both of you are too emotionally connected with the business to be able to solve the problems.

I Can’t Brainstorm With Myself!

Not being able to vocalize my own thoughts to someone who could help me see the solutions was one of the single most frustrating parts of running my business solo. Can you relate to that at all?

If you can, have you ever considered hiring a business coach? Such a coach can help you work through business and mindset issues, and also ensure that you remain accountable to yourself and the changes you plan to make in order to grow.

One of the most amazing benefits that I found from working with a coach was the ability to hear myself think, and to have someone there who could listen and then help me orient myself to own inner compass to point me in the right direction.

Secondly, I found a renewed sense of purpose and energy in what I was doing, and could see with increased clarity the goals I had set for myself – goals that I now knew were achievable and actionable.

In short, I wouldn’t exchange the experience of working with a business coach for anything.

Coaching Can Save You Years Of Heartache

As you can probably gather, I seriously believe in the power of a business coach to help us sort through the wreckage of our business to identify critical areas that need changing, and to guide us towards our desired goals.

So, having spent many weeks of soul-searching, I’ve finally decided to embrace a new calling in my own life and become a business coach specifically for the professional photographer.

I’ll soon be offering this service to a very limited number of photographers who are dedicated to taking their photography business to the next level, whatever that means for them, whether they’re new to the industry or seasoned veterans.

I’m offering this just to photographers because I’m passionate about the business of photography and I’ve experienced first-hand the hardships that dealing with a struggling business can bring. I know how very hard it can be to worry every day about a business I care deeply about, and I want to dedicate my time to helping other photographers save years of heartache in their own endeavors.

My coaching services will be available in several forms, with different levels of investment:

• One to one coaching: 3-month, 6-month or 12-month programs
• Group coaching (2 to 6 in a group): 3-month or 6-month programs
• Mastermind groups: 12-month programs
• VIP days: Personal studio visits with in-depth analysis and problem solving

I will also continue to write this blog, as a free resource to you, and am planning to launch a new website with interviews, video presentations, eBooks, special reports and other great resources for the professional photographer in business.

Update: You can now get a FREE business-coaching consultation with me ($97 value) at: Photographer Business Coaching Consultations.

But What Can You Do NOW?

Since this post isn’t intended just as a sales page for my services, I would like to offer a little practical advice that you can use right now to help in your business.

As a sole proprietor, I’m sure you’re all too familiar with the headaches it can cause, especially if you’re busy and seeing lots of clients. So, here are a few of the things I might consider adopting in that situation:

Raise your prices to lower client volume: If you find that you have too many clients for the time you have available to service them in a personable way, then perhaps you can raise your fees a little in an effort to lower the volume of people. One of the big problems I see with high-volume wedding photographers, for example, is the inability to get the photographs and albums to the clients in a timely fashion, which results in a poor client experience and potential bad word of mouth marketing.

Close the studio at least one day per week: Give yourself some breathing space to catch up on things. This is also a day where you can work on marketing ideas, try some creative photography techniques, invest in your education, or just relax. Whatever you use the day for, it’s important to give yourself a break from the usual routine. Ideally, this day should not be Sunday – that should be another day you take off, if only for your own sanity and rest!

Set aside specific times for specific tasks: One thing I found immeasurably useful was setting aside blocks of time for specific items on my to-do list. For example, I will schedule time to work on marketing, and other days for accounting or business planning. This way, I know I can work on those things without having to worry about other jobs that needed to be done.

Plan to be organized: Planning, and having a proper schedule, cannot be overstressed! Have a calendar (preferably one you can access from home and the office, such as Google Calendar) and then schedule times for important tasks, such as marketing, article writing, website maintenance etc. Once they are in your calendar, you’ll be much more likely to action them and make progress.

Did you find this article useful and interesting? I’m sure there must be something I missed, so please feel free to leave a comment and add anything you feel would be useful to add. How do you feel about hiring a business coach for your studio? Is that something you believe would add value to your business and save you time in achieving the results you want? I’ll be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject. Thank you so much for reading, and I’ll talk to you again soon!

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