4 Ways Photographers Should Plan For 2023
Whether you are a planner like me or you like to just let creativity come to you at the moment, the new year is an excellent time to reflect and consider how to improve your business.
There are unique aspects to running a photography business and in the last couple of years, you have been challenged in big ways. From having to deal with the pandemic lulls to the rush of everyone scheduling their weddings on the same weekend….there is no doubt you have grown as a professional!
This is why 2023 is the perfect year to level up your game and hit all those goals you have for yourself and your business. To do that, there are a couple of things you should consider as you plan for 2023.
Here are some of our BEST tips to help you make this year a success.
1. Update Your Education
As with any creative industry, there are constantly going to be new tools, tricks, and trends you will want to learn. Some may help take your business to the next level, others you may feel is not your style - and that is ok!
No matter where you sit with your experience or the length of your client list, it is important to constantly be learning. Especially when so much of the photography industry revolves around technology and social proof.
Some great places to up your photography education include:
It is always worth investing back into your professional education!
2. Upgrade Your Tech
There are so many good deals around the holidays, now is an excellent time to upgrade your equipment! Grab those deals and then check out some of the professional education courses mentioned above to get a handle on your new equipment before the busy season hits.
Tax Tip: Not only are there a lot of deals on tech during the holidays but if you purchase before the end of the year you can deduct the cost from your 2022 taxes. Considering that fancy new lens but not sure if you can justify the cost? Keep the receipt and at the very least, you can deduct it from your upcoming taxes.
3. Don’t Just Write Out Your Goals….
…actually, make a plan for them! Start big and reverse engineer your goals to create manageable steps toward success.
For example, let’s say you want to double your revenue in 2023. How are you going to get there? Maybe that looks like this:
Increasing your prices
Upping your marketing to take on more jobs
Creating new packages or service offering to reach a wider audience
Or a combination of all 3!
Once you know the steps it will take to get you there…go smaller. If you are going to increase your marketing to get additional jobs, how much can you invest back into marketing? Do you have a marketing strategy? Maybe you should consider outsourcing some of the social media work?
Have all these questions answered as you develop your plan and then set specific deadlines (with a month and day) as to when you will take action or have the step completed. Plan this out for your entire year and routinely assess how close you are to hitting the milestones you set for yourself.
4. Clean Up Your Books
If you are anything like many of my clients, numbers and spreadsheets are not your thing. There is probably a long list of things you would rather be doing and you may even find the information confusing in the end.
But here is what you NEED to know - when you have your finances organized, you can:
Understand where you are making the most money in exchange for your time and expenses
Know what your profit is, not just your revenue (P.S. Profit is money leftover after expenses. Revenue is money that comes in without any costs taken out)
Lower how much you pay in taxes because you have reports and receipts showing your business expenses - which you can deduct from the income you get taxes on!
And that is just the beginning.
For example, let’s say you want to hire an assistant or purchase a subscription to a new editing app. One strategy is to just check your bank account to see if the funds are available. However, when we see photographers use this method, they often forget about things like cash flow or profit which could be negatively affected.
When you have your bookkeeping organized, you know what you can afford and even estimate how much more money you could make by investing in some expenses.
Tax Tip: This is an excellent example of how organized books can help you build your business but it is important to note here how drastically it can affect your taxes. If you are failing to include your business expenses on your tax returns you are overpaying on your taxes. Getting your books cleaned up is going to be the first step in making some big savings in 2023.
I totally understand that right now you are likely wanting to focus on Hallmark movies, festive cocktails, and your Secret Santa but make sure you invest back into your business this time of year. You and your business deserve it.
