So you are ready to take the plunge. Opening your studio can be so exhilarating. The ability to share your creativity with the world and creating memories that will last generations.
That first week we decided 100% that we were "all in" and opening our studio was so exciting. We both had butterflies of excitement and so many high hopes and dreams.
And then the fear set in.
Where to start? There were about 100,000 things we needed to do
right now. But which one first? What after that?
I will give you a hint, the 100,000 things will grow. There will always be more to do. More ideas, more upgrades, more research, and that is something I learned with my prop business years ago.
But the great news is, there are things you can do in that first week to make the other things so much easier. Setting your new company up on the right foundation is imperative to your success.
I was so lucky. I had 8 years business experience in the newborn photography community. Contacts. Forums. Workshops. Had I not had that experience, there is no way we could have opened our studio within 2 weeks, let alone been making enough money for Amber (the co-owner of our studio) to quit her full time job and buy our home within 6 months.
There is a lot of information out there, and to make it easier for you, I have broken it down into a few very important steps.
- Legalities : I know this is the least fun, but most important step. The last thing you want is to be taking on clients and not have your business registered, or set up for taxes (sales and income.) Double check with your accountant and attorney on the local and state laws on opening up a business.
- Insurance : "If it can go wrong, it will" Make sure your company is properly insured. You will have tiny lives in your hands- many less than 14 days old. If anything goes wrong, you want to have the confidence that you are financially covered. Not to mention, you will have thousands of dollars worth of equipment and props- being able to have those things replaced in an event of a catastrophe is worth the yearly cost of insurance.
- Studio Space : Are you going to have an in-home studio? Rent a studio? Share one with a fellow photographer? Will you be traveling to clients homes? Cross your T's and dot your I's on studio space. We remolded our bonus room into a newborn studio and waiting area to save on costs and travel. Really think about were you would be most comfortable working because there are up's and downs to each different studio space.
- Training : Many photographers are "self taught" which is great, learning photography from the comfort of your home is wonderful. Amber has a degree in photography, but opening a studio and photographing newborns required a whole different type of training. Make sure you sign up for a mentorship, online or in person. We took and online workshop 3 weeks after opening the studio online from Amy Cook and it was amazing. The first session we learned so many things about newborn safety, which is #1 when you are working with newborns. She also went through Photoshop editing and posing through each session. As someone who had never actually posed a newborn, the information in her class was invaluable. About 5 months later with did a 1:2 mentor session with Abba Color Photography. We were more confident with the camera and posing, but still felt we had more to learn. The hands on teaching was perfect for perfecting our posing and lighting and I had been working with Abba Color Photography as a prop designer for years- so doing our in person mentorship with her was a no-brainer.
- Props: Now we get to the fun part :) Starting out, you don't realize how many props you can go though during a great newborn session (I was so surprised even though I had been helping design sessions for years with other photographers) I like to stick with the basics when talking with beginning photographers, things that are easy to use and don't disturb newborns to much while you are still learning poses. Baskets, Wraps, Furs, Hats and Tie Backs are always great "go to" props. All of these things can be used when newborns are awake or sleeping (we always put babies in baskets and wrap them up while they are wide awake.)
After sitting down and really figuring out the "must do" list - the easier and more actionable opening our studio was. The overwhelm was gone and everyday we had a task to complete. It was complete empowerment. Every day was one step closer to our dream, and here we are 12 months later, able to spend our time and energy on being creative and making memories for our clients.
