First Quarter 2024 Planning - It's NOT Rocket Science

by Skip Cohen

In the "old days," there was always time to kick back and chill after the December holidays. January, especially, was considered the start of the slow season and convention time. And while winter is slow in most areas, that's only from a consumer perspective. As a small business owner in photography, it might be quiet, but you've got some planning you should be doing for the next wave of seasonality.

• Convention Season: IUSA is coming up at the end of this month, followed by WPPI at the end of February and a number of smaller statewide conferences. You should attend every conference you can and meet vendors, peers, and educators. Look for programs that challenge you. Remember, growth ONLY occurs outside your comfort zone.
• Planning Season: This is the time to pause and consider what you want to do in 2024. From new products to services to partnerships with local vendors - NOW is the time to think about those relationships. An old African proverb is so appropriate here: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." 
• Winter/Spring Seasonality: It starts with Valentine's Day, then Easter, Mother's Day, prom, graduation, and Father's Day. There are opportunities throughout the next few months, and while it might seem like we're in the dead of winter - don't underestimate how quickly the hands on the clock are turning.
  • Valentine's Day Promotion - it's just a month away and a strong opportunity for boudoir, portrait, and pet photographers. Each specialty has a slightly different target, but start with your lab and ask one simple question: "What's new?" You're looking for something exciting in a finished product you haven't previously offered. Next, look at what you offer in terms of marketing packages to your client base. Then, consider a direct mail campaign to past clients. Your database of past clients is the ideal place to start.
  • Easter Promotion - Easter is early this year, March 31, which means you should be putting things together this month. It's an ideal time for family portrait photographers to capture business. Again, start with your lab and look for something new and exciting to offer.
  • May Promotions - Mother's Day, prom, and graduation all hit in May. But it's the same challenge: What do you want to offer your target audience? Mother's Day especially lends itself to partnership promotions. For example, a photographer, florist, and venue offering a Mother's Day brunch are perfect partners for a direct mail campaign. Work together to design, produce, and mail an oversized postcard. The three of you share the cost and the exposure. Combine your databases, split the cost three ways, and suddenly, you've got a campaign costing you 1/3 of what it would be if you were a solo act.

I get it - 2023 wasn't the easiest of years, and you'd like to hibernate for the winter. But here's my point: a little planning now sets things up for the whole year. And there are few things better than being a business owner with momentum going all year long!

Whether you've put any formal time into planning the year ahead or you're still in vision mode trying to think through what you want to be when you grow up - everyone has goals. And while some are tougher to achieve and more long-range than others, nothing changes the importance of planning and turning wishes into reality.

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