Can anyone recommend great business tips for a small business?

Answer 1

Be prepared to lose all of your investment!

(That's not negativism. It's sound advice.)

Answer 2

1) do you have all the photographic skills necessary to turn pro ... this also includes years of experience usually working as a staff photographer, but better as an assistant to a working pro (this is where you would have honed your skills as a photographer and learned all about the business of photography) 2) visit SCORE and have them help you write a business and marketing proposal as well as a realistic profit and loss statement which lists all the fixed and variable costs involved in running a business and specifically a photo business. 3) prepare a graduated capital expenditure list which will include not only the office equipment, but the photo specific desktop and notebook computers as well as the complimentary photo programs like Photoshop, Lightroom, Noise Ninja and others. 4) and of course the necessary camera gear and lighting you will need to do business. Contact your local ASMP chapter to learn more about creating a photo business. A list? Here is a short list that reflects the kind of equipment used by event and wedding photographers (many of the same lenses are used for commercial work as well including fashion and advertising photography). 2 professional level DSLR cameras (Nikon D3 or Canon 1Ds, Mark III) A wide angle zoom lens (Nikon 14-24 mm f/2.8 or Canon 16-35 mm f/2.8) A wide angle to portrait range zoom (Nikon or Canon 24-70 mm f/2.8) A portrait to mild telephoto lens (Nikon or Canon 70-200 mm f/2.8) A portrait prime lens (Nikon or Canon 85 mm f/1.4) 2 - dedicated external flash units (Nikon SB900 or Canon 550EX) For more advanced portable lighting, you can use many of the above flash units with stands and light modifiers which can be set off using in-camera triggering schemes (Nikon uses radio, Canon uses IR) As you can see, the equipment can cost $30,000 and up, so while you don't have to buy it all at once, you will have to have a plan to buy equipment over time in a logical way. My guess it that you have never done any of this before. Perhaps before you spend a dime, you may want to work for six months as an assistant to a wedding and event photographer. As you may have found, starting and running a photo business is not as easy as it may seem. Even if you charged $3,000 per wedding, four times a month, you would barely cover the expenses of running a business if you include putting money away for future capital expenditures. This is why most wedding photographers shoot other subjects during the week, so need to know how to use any camera, under any conditions at any time, on demand.

Answer 3

The best routes to take are to research the process of starting a business as well as the industry you're interested in.

I recommend checking out the SBA, Entrepreneur, The Start Up Journal & Nolo. All 4 are great informational resources for the new/small business owner. I posted links for you in the source box.

Research, research, research – this cannot be stressed enough. Read as much as you can. Here are some book titles that are relevant:

* How to Really Start Your Own Business, Fourth Edition by David E. Gumpert
* How to Really Create a Successful Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide by David E. Gumpert
* What No One Ever Tells You about Starting Your Own Business: Real-Life Start-Up Advice from 101 Successful Entrepreneurs (What No One Ever Tells You About Starting Your Own Business) by Jan Norman
* Business Start-Up Kit by Steven D. Strauss
* Start Your Own Business (Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Up) by Rieva Lesonsky

There are plenty of free informational resources out there. Check the source box for links to articles.

Hope that helps! I wish you much success & happiness in all your ventures!

Answer 4

Be prepared to work harder! I love having a small business but I also know that one little mistake can cost me everything... and I mean everything. It's not true that you have more free time when you own a small business because you actually spend more time convincing your clients that you're worth the slightly higher fees for the more personalized service you provide.

Good luck!

Answer 5

You can find some great small business tips for e-businesses at:
http://www.webcashlink.com/articles.html

Answer 6

If it's a Small Business you want to start first read

E-Myth revisited written by Michael Gerber

It will tell you why most small businesses fail and how to succeed.

This is not your typical business book and its not designed to be a motivator, it is however a powerful look at the American business system and why it fails so you don't !.

It will cost $16.00 at the book store and is worth thousands !!.

Good luck

Answer 7

Try the moon apparently there are great opportunities there and very few business have set up there so far. According to another recent question there is apparently oxygen within the rocks so perhaps you can start up an oxygen producing plant and then franchise it to other planets within the solar system.

Answer 8

it takes three years to turn around a business so make sure you can keep going that long before you start. Get all the free advice you can from your local enterprise organisations but don't expect any grants. Get into networking groups locally as the exchange of ideas can save you a fortune

Answer 9

depends what ur business is...

if u havent actually set up a business yet, then why not check out startups.co.uk...

Answer 10

Yes. Trust NOBODY.