Business Building Blocks for 2024 - Part V

If there was a way you could expand your reach, save money, expand brand awareness and increase revenue, wouldn't you want to know about it?  It's time to STOP FLYING SOLO!

Coming together is a beginning,
staying together is progress,
and working together is success!
Henry Ford

by Skip Cohen

I've written a lot about partnerships over the years, but the timing during the "slow season" gives you the perfect opportunity to build some new relationships and add more strength to old ones. Great partnerships can dramatically reinforce so many different aspects of your business. Yet, so many of you sit there and whine about how tough it is and don't do anything because cash flow is a mess. I get it, but I won't let you fold when you're holding some great cards!

Here are eight different opportunities/partnerships to consider:
​

• Direct mail: Doing a postcard with two other partners reduces your cost to a third of what it would be if you flew solo. It expands your reach and awareness because all three partners combine their databases. Plus, each partner becomes an ambassador for the other two entities involved.
• Soft-sell cross-promoting products and services: All of you who are wedding photographers should be working together with a florist, for example. You should have a link to their site on your website, and they should have one to yours. Portrait photographers could do the same and include a restaurant known for things like a Mother's Day brunch, especially as we get closer to Mother's Day.
• Hard-sell promotions: It's cross-promoting, but this time with discounts on each other's products and services. If you don't want to do a discount, add something of value, like an extra mini-album for Grandma, an oversized print, or canvas wrap - something with perceived value.
• Contest sponsorship: Work with other vendors in the community to create unique events to raise awareness and support for something relevant in the community.
• Start a newsletter: They're so easy nowadays, but somebody has to take the lead. Create a newsletter with gift ideas that tie in photography, flowers, gift certificates to a local restaurant, frames, and other gifts. You've got to plant the seeds for the ideas to create sales.
• Other photographers: I know it's taboo to suggest you work together with another artist when there's barely enough business to keep you going, but together, you can play off of each other's strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you're a wedding photographer and don't do maternity, babies, or pets, find yourself a partner whose skill set fills in the holes you have in yours. Then, design a campaign that promotes one-stop shopping.
• Major equipment purchases: Money is tight, but you want to get into large format printing, or there's an exotic lens you know will make your work different - buy what you need together with another artist. This isn't like the stigma of buying a boat with a friend; it'll save you money.
• Share studio space: Tony Corbell is a perfect example - his studio space includes two other artists. They don't compete with each other, and they split the cost three ways. Granted, one of the artists is his wife, Mandy, but this is about each business paying its fair share. Together, they've got a terrific location and facility for everybody to benefit from.​

For those of you who are rolling your eyes and thinking there's nobody to partner with because your specialty is so limited, here's a list to work from. I'm sure there are plenty I've missed because these are all in the portrait/social categories. 
​

• Boudoir Photographers: Lingerie boutique, spa, makeup artist, salons.
• Pet Photographers: Pet food rep, animal shelters, pet boutiques, veterinarians, and doggy daycare facilities 
• Children's Photographers: Toy stores, summer camps, playgrounds, kids, clothing boutiques, restaurants, pediatricians, or dentists.
• Family Photographers: Family restaurants, decorators, parks, and special events 
• Wedding Photographers: Florists, wedding planners, bakeries, salons, bridal shops, limo companies, musicians, tux shops, travel agents, and venues

It's time to stop thinking you've got to do everything by yourself. Business has changed dramatically, but along with the frustrations, there are some unique opportunities for creative leadership. You don't need to jumpstart your business alone - think about the strategic alliances in your community to rebuild together!