Proper planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance is what my old scout master used to say.

You might be a part-time wedding photographer looking to go pro or perhaps you have an inspired marketing plan that will fill your studio with 10 portrait sessions a day.

If you don’t prepare to take on that amount of work how do you think you’ll cope with 50 weddings a year or a fully booked studio?

What inevitably happens is you make mistakes. How do I know this? Well…. consider this the voice of experience as it’s just happened to me!

It was only a little mistake, but one that could have effected my sales (in fact it might have done just that) and damaged my relationship with a potentially very good customer.

What crime against good business did I commit I hear you ask?
Well I missed an appointment, sorry let me rephrase, I didn’t even realise I had made an appointment…..a viewing in fact…. with a parent and a grandmother that had travelled two hours to see some lovely pictures of her first grandchild.

Bollocks

How did I manage to do this?
Instead of putting that appointment in my studio calendar I wrote it down on I piece of paper and thought to myself ‘I’ll put that in the calendar later’
Of course I didn’t, or if I did I put it in the wrong day…. who knows?!?!

I think that’s what they call across the pond as dropping the ball….. bollocks is what I call it.

Nevertheless it’s a perfect example of why having a good system in place for everything you do is incredibly important.

My photography business keeps me pretty busy at the best of times and if you ask me what I have on next week I probably couldn’t tell you without looking at my iPhone’s calendar.

The post-it system for managing my bookings is gone (well almost) and I am constantly looking for new ways to improve my workflow.

But if you’re serious about taking your business to the next level here’s a few things to consider.

Shooting and traveling
How long does each session take you to shoot?
How far are you travelling to each session?

Editing
How long does it take you to edit a shoot?
Are you turning around 5 weddings a year as quickly as you would have to if you had 50?
Would the quality if your work suffer if you took on more work?

Your website and blog
Same issues as above really. Will you still have time to do the amount of work on your website and blog if you got much busier?
Is your website too simple or need investment?
How easily can you post previews even if that is something you don’t normally do?

Equipment
What do you have in terms of backup gear?
The more you use equipment the more likely it is to fail on you. Do you have spare cash flow to replace camera bodies or computers?

Backing up your images
Do you have a good system in place that makes it easy to back up your images? Can it handle a sharp increase or does it require further investment?

Your database
Do you use good database software or are you using post it notes and that fluffy pet calendar you got for Christmas?
Do you have a system of reminders set up for you and your clients?
Do you have an email service set-up?

Money
How easy is it for people to pay you?
Are you relying on cash and cheques or can you take card payments?
Do you have an accountant or at least someone you can ask for advice?
If you answered no to that last question then please don’t hesitate to ask Emma an accountancy question (uk only)

You
Who can do your job if you get sick or if you can’t make a booking?

These are just a few things to consider and it’s something that you should really be putting in a business plan.

The problem with all of these issues is that most of them require investment. It is often the case that we need to invest before we get paid by our clients so it can put you in a difficult position financially speaking.

Here’s a fun little calculation for you.
Out of all the things you think you’ll need to help you reach your client capacity work out how much that will roughly cost you each year.

Then work out how much you’ll need to pay the mortgage, feed the kids, buy fancy hats etc.

Divide that by 12 and there’s the figure you have to achieve every month.

How many weddings is that? How many portrait sessions?

More importantly have you spent enough to equip yourself with the necessary resources to deliver to that many clients?

If you think you have then great! All you need to do now is go find them all!