"Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right!"

Tell the negative committee that meets inside your head to sit down and shut up!
Ann Bradford

by Skip Cohen

​It's my first business post of the new year, and I've been thinking a lot about it. On all sides, the imaging industry, manufacturers, retailers, distributors, and artists were hit hard by the pandemic. Restrictions and fear resulting from Corona have limited income for most photographers since March. As Sherry Hagerman, founder of ClickCon, wrote recently:

The new year will be a recovery year for most photographers and videographers and a time to catch up on accumulated debt from the 2020 losses.

Fully believing 2021 is a year to rebuild and jumpstart your business, let's start at the very beginning.

It's the first business day of the new year. Even with the optimism of the vaccine, the pandemic will not suddenly flip a switch and put us back into a state of normalcy. However, what it does mean is with a little hope on the horizon and positive actions, you've got an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in your craft and community.

Let's start right out of the blocks with your attitude and believing in yourself. Corona didn't destroy your dreams, just the roads you needed to travel to get there! And as simplistic as it all sounds, let's start by getting rid of the negative people in your life! Sound extreme? Damn right it is - you haven't got time to convince them you're on the right path. All your energy has to start with believing in yourself.

Next, let's shut down the "Negative Committee" in your head. Monica Sweeney, in her book, "Zen as F*CK" wrote, 

For every negative thought you have in your head about yourself, there's a positive one scrambling behind it vying for a chance to speak. Give those positive thoughts a f**king megaphone. What are they trying to tell you?"

But just wishing you were a better artist or marketing manager isn't enough. 

• Start by assessing your skillset: Be honest with yourself. You don't need an expert to review your portfolio to know if your images are good or bad. Make a list of your weaknesses and strengths when it comes to technique in capture and post-production.
• Assess your marketing skills: Not every artist has the tools to market themselves. Again, make that list after looking at your website, blog, and involvement in social media. Remember, your website is about what you sell, your blog is about what's in your heart ---and you need both!
• Filling in your weak spots: Once you've identified your weaknesses, let's get you some help. More than ever before, there's a ton of great online education available and even a few small group programs that show respect for physical distancing. From Sarah Petty's business and marketing programs to ClickCon Nation, IUSA this month, Kelby Media's Travel Photography Conference, Tamron's weekly programs and dozens more - they're designed to help you make the most of cyberspace to boost your skill set.
• Assess your marketing reach: Reach is about your community. What tools do you have or don't have to get your name out in front of your target audience? 
• Do people know who you are? What does your name mean in the community? What good does it do working hard to create the finest images of your life if nobody knows who you are?
• How's your curb appeal? Okay, it's a term used in real estate, but what do people think when they look at your website, galleries, and blog? Do you need to clean things up a little? Are you offering people the products/services they want and need? It might be as simple as a call to your lab and asking the question, "So, what's new?" 

Over the next couple of weeks, we're going to break your business down goal by goal and piece by piece. It all starts with you taking the first giant step - committing to not letting anything stand in the way of getting your business back on track in 2021.

Whether you think you can or think you can't, you're right.
Henry Ford