Do You Love What You're Doing?

Ray Kroc, the founder of MacDonalds is quoted as once saying,

“If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.”

In today’s economy especially, it’s almost impossible to separate your success from your bank account, but it is possible to answer the question, “Do you love what you’re doing?”

I know it sounds easy when people tell you to just be patient, trust your instincts or it’ll all come together.  When your bank account isn’t where you want it to be and you keep hearing from everybody how tough the economy is, how do you stay focused on what you love doing most?

Here are six tips to help you stay focused on your goals as a photographer, but this is only the beginning...

• Just because the media keeps telling us it’s going to be a bad year, doesn’t mean it has to be! In short, stop listening to the news and stop believing everything you hear. You’ve got to stay focused on what you consider your world.

• Business is out there, but you have to look for it. It means creativity and diversity should be your two strongest points of focus.

• Implement at least one new marketing change in your business every week. It might be an update in images. Maybe it’s lunch with a few competitors or possible partners in a local promotion. Maybe it’s time you did a press release on something new in your business.

• Do people know who you are? When was the last time you went out and introduced yourself to all the companies who share the same target audience as you? If you’re a wedding photographer that means florists, salons, venues, bridal shops, tux shops, travel agents, limo companies, bakeries and talent agencies. If you’re a children’s photographer it’s the local children’s clothing shop, toy stores, local parks and the president of the local PTA. Commercial photographers should be talking to printers, ad agencies and anybody who might need images of products, events or their services. The list goes on and on.

• Get involved in your community! I’ve written this a few dozen times…you’re looking for your community to be good to you, so you have to be good to your community!
• Own your zip code! You've literally got to go door to door and meet every business owner/manger within a square mile or two of your location. This isn't about selling, it's about letting them know you're in the neighborhood and available to help on anything they need photographically. Remember, your goal is to love what you're doing and sometimes, just building relationships is the key ingredient to start building some new business.
  

It's not easy to stay focused on your goals, especially when you've got to accept the impact of technology, social media, consumer trends and the economy on running a successful business. You've got changes to deal with all the time, but remember...

                                                           “If nothing ever changed, there'd be no butterflies.”
                                                                                              unknown author

Photo Credit: © Marek - Fotolia.com