More Resources: 5 Steps to Launching Your Photography Side-Gig | Shop Education | Dubsado

I am thrilled to share my top 5 tips on starting a photography business this year! Before jumping in to ALL the things I felt this FREE class would be helpful. It's called the 5 Steps to Launching Your Photography Side-Gig and if you found my first 5 to-dos helpful you'll definitely want to take this class. It takes a deeper dive into starting your photography business, so click that link above and get going photographer! Ready to find out the 5 things I'd do if I started a photography business this year? Let's go!

Get Legit

The very first thing you need to do is get legal. Now, I'm not a tax professional, but I know before you ever start taking money you need to get this set up. Maybe it's an LLC or a Sole Proprietorship. I have a video explaining the difference between the two! You can watch that HERE. It's vital you're set up as a legal entity. It's not hard, it can be done in a day!

Invest in Education

The first year and a half of my photography career was spent wasting time. What I mean is I was trying to figure out how to even do photography. So, save yourself valuable time and invest in education. Maybe it's learning to shoot and edit or maybe it's business education! Learning how to market well so you set yourself up for success. I have tons of education in my shop. So browse through and find what's useful so you aren't stressing through the year.

Appear Busy

When you look like you're in high demand it plays into buyer's psychology. You may not have a ton of clients, but you can still be appearing busy! Post for model calls so you can share the sessions. You don't have to market that it was free or a model call. Reach out to family and friends and get people in front of your camera! This is why my business took off so rapidly. And make sure you are marketing the session(s) a lot!

Start Your VIP Email List

What is this? Well, when you're starting out it's basically your email list! You're adding anyone and everyone that will join. So, why use the term VIP? Everyone loves being a VIP. They get priority access to booking, etc. Again, marketing! You can ask people you used for model calls to be on the list. Running a giveaway to grow your list is great. I believe starting an email list right away is crucial because we don't own social media and our followers there, but you can own your email list! Email lists don't have algorithms so you're guaranteed to land in potential clients' inboxes.

Contracts & Invoices System

There are tons of CRM (client relationship management) softwares, but my favorite is Dubsado.  Having one of these in place helps you be up to date. Dubsado has incredible automations and workflows so you don't have to do all the follow up! Friends, we are in the digital age so having to keep up with paperwork and get signatures is a hassle. Using a CRM lets you and your clients get things done with a simple click of a button.

I hope these tips on starting a photography business were helpful for you! Don't forget to utilize that free class if you're hungry to learn more. You can do this. Get things started now!