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08/24/2006 12:39:35 AM · #26 |
People will probably tire of reading this comment but seriously, you should be on some business forums or communicating with local small business groups to find out more about business than about the technicals of photography when it comes to "should I do this as a business". Some people on here seem to make a living at shooting portraits or weddings or events. We've shot all three for over 3 years now and I can easily say that with the stupid mistakes I've made (in terms of business alone) and the amount of energy that's required to actually have a business after getting home from an 8-5 job, if I didn't have my salaried income this photography business woulda gone belly-up in fairly short order. I don't know if other DPCers are just better marketers, live on less income or if they depend on a spouse's salary and/or insurance but if this is the only job you're going to have (I didn't see you state whether it was or not but that might have been my oversight) then for your own sake, find out more about profit margins, markup, marketing and decide if you're the kind of guy that you'd hire to run your business 'cause if its your business and you miss a step somewhere that step is gonna be missed and its gonna stay missed until you go back and take care of it.
If you have a "day job" and you're gonna just try to make back the $5,000 in a year then yeah, I'd think that like Bear said, this isn't a huge risk so go for it. If, however, you're thinking that you're gonna buy $5,000 worth of equipment and then pay for groceries, gas, insurance, phone service, etc & the loan payment then I'd have to say that such a choice might not be the wisest.
We had one stretch where we didn't advertise, didn't payout referral bonuses or anything and ran 12 weddings in just a few months. Then, like other professionals in our area we hit a dry period of 6 months with no wedding work coming in. In my experience the old adage "Feast or Famine" is pretty accurate so you want to make sure you have something for those lean times.
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08/24/2006 12:50:52 AM · #27 |
Thank you Kevin for your wonderful insight. I will keep my full-time job and I can't see dropping down to more than 25-30 hours a week (with more almost always available if I want) before I pay off this loan. Both my parents have started and run sucessful businesses and they are helping me, suggesting things I may not have thought of. I will always make sure I have a network of people who know what is going on in my business so they can keep me aware of things I may miss. The one interesting thing about my job is that I work 10 hour days, allowing me 3 days off a week in a normal 40 hour work week. With part time, it gives me at least 4 days off a week.
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08/24/2006 12:57:52 AM · #28 |
First of all, is your lender considering this a consumer or a commercial loan? If possible, go for a consumer loan and use the camera equipment as collateral. Do not let them talk you into putting up your car or taking out a HELOC. $5000 of camera equipment is not worth losing the house over. They can file a UCC on consumer goods or a PMSI on the specific equipment you buy. That way if things don't turn out as planned, they basically just sell the equipment off and you only owe the difference. Do not let on to them that you intend to use it for business purpose. The difference between a consumer and commercial loan of this sort is generally the loan fees. Consumers are very strictly regulated and fees must be disclosed very particularly. For a commercial loan they can charge whatever they want without explaining why. Weird, but true.
Get yourself into a position where the camera equipment is paying for itself. Start shooting weddings or senior portraits or whatever right away and immediately apply those checks to your loan balance, whether or not a payment is due. Consider making bi-weekly payments over monthly: your principal balance will reduce much faster since it will have less time to accrue interest between payments. It's good that you say you will be able to make payments even without the income, but why subject yourself to that if it's not necessary?
Something else to consider: have you talked to your insurance agent about the cost of adding a camera rider to your homeowner's policy? If they take it as collateral, the bank will want to see that the equipment is insured. Anything not used for a business purpose is covered by your homeowner's but if you derive any income from it at all then it's out. These riders can be quite costly, so please check it out before you sign anything.
One more cruder solution is those credit card loan checks you get in the mail. Most of the time they should be shredded without a second thought, but lately some of the interest rates on them are lower than what you can get at a bank. A friend, who happens to be a loan officer, "refinanced" his car like this. Compare that rate to whatever the bank offers you. A $5000 credit limit on a credit card is not unusual and the monthly payment can be lower - you should always pay as much as you can stand, but having an adjustable payment like this can be useful in lean times. The drawback to this, however, is that the loan is paid back only after and accrues interest until your normal credit card purchases are paid off - which could mean trouble if your cards are already running high.
Ultimately, it's got to be whatever you are comfortable doing. Good luck!
Message edited by author 2006-08-24 01:18:56.
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08/24/2006 01:09:42 AM · #29 |
Originally posted by Megatherian:
snip...
Ever shot a wedding? If not you might want to rent something and try one first. Shooting weddinngs is HARD work and definately not for everyone. |
All through the thread seems to be about the Equipment...
I know it is a day late and a dollar short... but the shooting isn't the hard part...it is the Bridezillas, the relatives with their peashooters, the second gun that the bride ok'd to take some shots with their dSLR. (I've been that second gun (they told me they didn't have a primary but did) I took as good and better situation shots as the Primary)...
I'm thinking Megatherian is talking about the Stressful side of the business... Not to discourage but to get you preped...
Message edited by author 2006-08-24 01:10:47. |
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08/24/2006 01:28:50 AM · #30 |
Originally posted by awpollard:
Originally posted by Megatherian:
snip...
Ever shot a wedding? If not you might want to rent something and try one first. Shooting weddinngs is HARD work and definately not for everyone. |
All through the thread seems to be about the Equipment...
I know it is a day late and a dollar short... but the shooting isn't the hard part...it is the Bridezillas, the relatives with their peashooters, the second gun that the bride ok'd to take some shots with their dSLR. (I've been that second gun (they told me they didn't have a primary but did) I took as good and better situation shots as the Primary)...
I'm thinking Megatherian is talking about the Stressful side of the business... Not to discourage but to get you preped... |
yea, sorry, I meant the when I said shoot a wedding I wasn't talking specifically about the shooting (that's the fun part) it's everything else that goes along with it that turns a lot of people off and can definately be stressful. |
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08/25/2006 01:47:28 AM · #31 |
Yea, I work in a very customer service orientated job, and I definately can use some of those skills when it comes to the 'zillas. I am looking forward to the possible opportunity to shoot a wedding.
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