Why do some photography businesses fail? The trainings talk about how to make a business work, but ignore common mistakes. Here’s how not to run a business, with five lessons from photography businesses that have succeeded and failed.
One of the big problems in this world is that those who seek power are the worst people to have it. If you combine that with the problem of people being promoted to their first level of incompetence, you’ll realize that there are people in the world who aren’t fit to oversee a business.
Many years ago, a friend of mine worked for a photography company. The store manager is a bully. She uses her power to undermine the staff in any way she can. Her usual tactic is to disagree with anything a staff member says. Because of this, my friend will ask in return for what is needed, knowing it will be denied. Therefore, what he wants to happen will then be done. The same manager will also acknowledge the work others have done and disparage other employees towards the business owner.
My friend quit that job, so did many others. He now runs his own successful photography business.
Lesson one
Treat your employees as your most valuable asset. Praise them in front of and behind their backs.
This doesn’t mean you have to accept shoddy work from your employees. Business owners have made a lot of noise about the great work the store manager is doing, while evidence points to the opposite. Aside from the substantial number of employees, the storefront of this business was a mess. The walls display cheap, badly arranged, gilded fake frames. Also, the area behind the counter is also messy. The window screens were an incoherent mess of sun-bleached items, and rotting window frames.
Of course, there’s a reason why business owners see their store manager’s work through rose-tinted glasses. Everyone knows the truth why managers and owners often have business meetings in the evening that they have to attend. It has nothing to do with finance or marketing.
Second lesson
Don’t cheat on your employees.
Both store managers and business owners have a knack for pampering their customers. They will talk to them as if they know nothing. Standing there to serve felt like standing in front of my cane principal at school; Physical abuse and assault of children was allowed here when I was a child.
I have a reason to use that store only once. My favorite printing company let me down and I urgently needed a 48” print to meet a client’s deadline. I regret walking in as a counter service store manager. I told her what I wanted, and she took the pen drive from my hand. Looking at the picture, a landscape that my client asked me to shoot, she scoffed: “I have seen this scene a hundred times.”
“No doubt.” I replied, “But my client needs a framed copy.”
“Are you a semi-professional photographer? I call you amateur sellers. ” Then she started denigrating some local photographers. In response, I told her that I make a living from photography. I told her I wrote about it too, often promoting the work of other successful local photographers in a particular publication I was writing at the time. I recently interviewed one of their main competitors. At that point, she shuts down and realizes that maybe she just blew her chance for a free promotion to the business (which she has).
If she is positive and enthusiastic about my photos and appreciates other photographers, she will receive a positive review and will probably receive future customizations from me. Store does not have.
At Fstoppers, we regularly receive harsh comments about articles that are read by thousands, even tens of thousands. Such claims will only damage the reputation of those who are making them. I browsed the galleries and considered asking a photographer if they would like to be interviewed. Then I saw the nature of the comments they made and walked away.
Number three
Always treat others with enthusiasm and respect.
I dropped the print off at the frame shop in the next town. The framer, a respected craftsman used by all the top artists and photographers in the area, said he would move it to the front of the queue. I drove home, and when I arrived outside my house, a delivery driver arrived with the picture I had previously ordered. So I immediately called the shaper, asking him not to start work. Then I came right back with the new version of the print.
Back in his workshop, we put the two prints side by side. There is a marked difference in quality between them, with the new image appearing to be far superior to the one produced in the local store. Will I ever go back to that store for printing services?
Fourth lesson
If you are going to sell a product or service, make it of the best quality.
I meet a lot of local photographers, both professional and amateur. We often share stories and experiences. Some conversations quickly became clear that many other people had similar experiences at that store. It reminds me of a marketing training course I did years ago. If a business provides excellent service, people will tell others. However, bad experiences are shared ten.
Going back to the malicious replies on articles, I’ve seen discussions of them in online photography groups where people recognize someone making nasty comments as a a local professional photographer. Will the photographer’s reputation suffer as a result? You can bet it did.
Lesson five
Reputation is everything. Number of word-of-mouth and online reviews.
It’s perhaps no surprise what happened to that business. Their staffing became enormous, costly, and their reputation so bad that it was difficult for them to hire quality employees. They also lost customers. In the end, their business collapsed. Is there anything that upsets a business owner more than someone else remembering it as a bad experience?
If you want to read about how to make a good business, then Pete Coco’s recent and upcoming articles on that topic very readable.
Have you run into a lousy photography business? Do you care about your reputation? It would be great to read about the lessons you’ve learned, so add your comments below.
