Just Take the Leap!

​You can't be the kid standing at the top of the waterslide, overthinking it.
​You have to go down the chute!
Tina Fey

by Skip Cohen

​​This isn't the first time I've used Tina Fey's quote. However, for those of you still procrastinating and not figuring out what you want to do for the holidays - it's right on point! 

There are still too many of you sitting on the sidelines watching the parade go by instead of being in it! So, here are a few things to consider for 2022's holiday season:

1. Family portraiture is back with a vengeance. Think about it for a second - what's grandma missed the most since the pandemic...HER FAMILY! That makes a new family portrait one of this year's best gift ideas. But you have to plant the seed of the idea! Use your social media, including your blog, Instagram, and Facebook - wherever your audience typically hangs out. 
2. Share specific gift ideas. From frames to albums to prints, holiday cards, and video holiday cards - share ideas that demonstrate your skill set along with your creativity.
3. Get to work on your own holiday card. None of you should be sending out a store-bought card this year. Use one of your own images, and on the back, where the "Hallmark" logo might be, include your contact information. You've got to remind people what you do for a living.
4. Time to clean up the neighborhood. I'm having fun with the idea of a "cleanup campaign" - use the concept to help educate your target audience to capture better photographs this holiday season. Make yourself the leader in education and share tips on how to get better photos.
5. The hierarchy of why people hire a professional photographer in the portrait/social categories goes brides, babies, and pets for the top three. What are you doing to capture anybody in those groups?
6. Pet photography is huge right now! While the excerpt below is from an article from Morgan Stanley over a year ago regarding investing - think about what it means for photography!

The $100 billion pet industry is poised to nearly triple to $275 billion by 2030, creating potential tailwinds for pet-friendly stocks...The pandemic has upended the lives of humans, but for pets, it's been a bonanza: Their owners have been home all day, showering them with attention and treats...Morgan Stanley's housing strategists estimate that the growth trend of US pet ownership more than tripled during the pandemic. 

In a previous life, the owner of the company I worked for was a ponderer. He'd spend so much time thinking through what to do that the company was often pondered right out of some great opportunities. There's no such thing as a "sure thing" these days. That means you have to take risks. But the great thing about imaging and business is that nothing has to be forever.

November first is next week - Take some risks, and stop pondering at the top of the waterslide. Stop overthinking what you're going to do next.

PS And yes, that's me at Kalihari Waterpark in Ohio many years ago with our granddaughter. At one point I pondered so long at the top that a little old man, easily 80 years old, stepped around me and said, "Excuse me kid, I'm headed down this thing!"