The Chronicles of One - DPChallenge Forums

03/06/2008 05:17:44 PM · #26

It'll happen Michael. Thank you for sharing your expierences. It's nice to know we're not the only one's struggling to get our business off the ground.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

03/18/2008 10:11:24 AM · #27

Week 4:

Why is it that nothing ever goes to plan??? I've been sick for the past week, which is why I've barely been around. Of course this also means that I've been able to do very little on the business end as well... so no new building yet or anything liek that :( we've also not booked any new weddings, which worries me cause that going to be one of the major sourses of funding and savings over the summer... if we don't book enough weddings then we definatly have to get a loan, and we've been trying really hard not to... I know there's lots of time left but I hate waiting!!!!

on the plus side we have another pre-school pretty well booked up which puts us up to about 150 kids ( and appearantly last year every child in this school had a big order) so things are moving. did an even this weekend as well (had another tread about that) but really just over broke even for that :(

who knew this whole business thing would be so challenging :)

angelfire

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

03/18/2008 11:19:36 AM · #28

For printed bags and boxes and albums check out the Wooden Nickel. www.wnalbums.com They will send you a free catalog if you call the 800 number 1 800-325-5179 this number is out of Kentucky. They have others but I've found this one to be the best in customer service.

Originally posted by Eyesup:

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:
Other expenses to figure in somewhere...

Packaging. Bags, presentation boxes, cd boxes/sleeves, invoices, etc. They only sell such things in quantity, often a quantity that will last you years. For example, I just bought wallet boxes. The minimum quantity was 200 boxes. I bought bags 2 years ago - min quantity was 500. These costs add up, as does the space to store them.

I was looking into bags etc... and yes, I will likely have them for the next forever... granted getting a school could change all that....

Where do you get your bags boxes etc? locally or somewhere on the net?

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

04/02/2008 10:22:03 AM · #29

Week 4/5:

Two busy/fustrating weeks cause I'm not sure if anything was actually accomplished. And one unfortunatly pissed of briide.

First he bride story (because it's my peeve of the day) Her wedding was in early February, after the wedding we meet with them (around the 14th) and they ordered about a million 5x7's (rather than a wedding album) and thank-you cards. We designed the thank-you cards and the approved the design about a week and a half later (so this is now the end of feb. Sent the thank-you cards off for printing and they got back ordered. we let the brind know, but she insists on calling EVERYDAY to find out about her stuff... now I have her aunt calling and telling us that we're unprofessional and that if they don't get there stuff (it's only been about 4 weeks) that the'yre going to take legal action!!!!! now I know they have no bases for that, but WTF!!!anyone I'm don't with that now, their stuff should be here today and we'll be done with her for good.

On to the good stuff

In exchange for a cover photo I've arranged for a free full colour ad in our cities Shepherds Guide (Christian Phonebook) This is possibly the best deal I've had in a long time. because a) I'll be the only photographer in the book b) my add is going to be 1/4 page full colour c) I get credit for the cover photo d) I also get a very discounted rate for the book for the city right next door too!!! sweet deal!

We've also seen a place that we may be able to rent... which falls into our price range... the only problem is the time line... we we're hoping to wait a little bit more to move in, but in our city the market is so tight that if we wait too long we may loose the spot... on the other hand I'm sure we'd be able to find something else.. but this place is sort of nice...

I think that may be it for the moment... still moving forward.. but slowly... I guess that's the name of the game... slow and steady wins the race

Spork99

OM System OM-1

04/02/2008 10:41:16 AM · #30

Originally posted by Eyesup:

So my wife (who has been a constant support through out all this, and able assistant)...

You're a lucky man.

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

04/02/2008 10:44:30 AM · #31

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

Originally posted by Eyesup:
So my wife (who has been a constant support through out all this, and able assistant)...

You're a lucky man.

I consider myself very lucky :)

Spork99

OM System OM-1

04/02/2008 10:45:18 AM · #32

Originally posted by Eyesup:

You might consider adding a statement about "delivery time" in your contract and brochure. Emphasize that quality takes time and give a reasonable margin of error. Then you can simply refer them to the contract/brochure.

BTW, when I got married, the photographer delivered our album just in time for our 1st anniversary.

Spork99

OM System OM-1

Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro

04/02/2008 10:45:41 AM · #33

Originally posted by Eyesup:

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

Originally posted by Eyesup:
So my wife (who has been a constant support through out all this, and able assistant)...

You're a lucky man.

I consider myself very lucky :)

Make sure she knows that.

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

04/02/2008 10:55:20 AM · #34

Originally posted by Spazmo99:

Originally posted by Eyesup:
Week 4/5:

Two busy/fustrating weeks cause I'm not sure if anything was actually accomplished. And one unfortunatly pissed of briide.

First he bride story (because it's my peeve of the day) Her wedding was in early February, after the wedding we meet with them (around the 14th) and they ordered about a million 5x7's (rather than a wedding album) and thank-you cards. We designed the thank-you cards and the approved the design about a week and a half later (so this is now the end of feb. Sent the thank-you cards off for printing and they got back ordered. we let the brind know, but she insists on calling EVERYDAY to find out about her stuff... now I have her aunt calling and telling us that we're unprofessional and that if they don't get there stuff (it's only been about 4 weeks) that the'yre going to take legal action!!!!! now I know they have no bases for that, but WTF!!!anyone I'm don't with that now, their stuff should be here today and we'll be done with her for good.

You might consider adding a statement about "delivery time" in your contract and brochure. Emphasize that quality takes time and give a reasonable margin of error. Then you can simply refer them to the contract/brochure.

BTW, when I got married, the photographer delivered our album just in time for our 1st anniversary.

you're right and I will be correcting all my future contracts... granted a norm would still be seen as the 6-8 week mark... they were married on Feb 2nd and they ordered on the 14th so we're just on the edge of the 6-8 week mark... some people are just impatient.

xianart

Canon EOS-7D

04/02/2008 11:11:26 AM · #35

great thread! i'm definitely following it closely.

Canadian bag suppliers -

DBP
Crystal Clear Bags Canada i really like this company - i've used them, and so has my aunt for her greeting card business

PhotoDave

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

04/02/2008 11:59:02 AM · #36

Originally posted by Eyesup:

Day 3:

did you know that you can spend over $20,000 on a Mac computer??? I didn't until today... but man.. what a compter!!!!

Specifications

â�¢ Two 3.2GHz Quad-Core Intel Xeon (8-core)
â�¢ 8GB (4 x 2GB)
â�¢ Mac Pro RAID Card
â�¢ 300GB 15,000-rpm SAS
â�¢ 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
â�¢ 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
â�¢ 1TB 7200-rpm Serial ATA 3Gb/s
â�¢ NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 1.5GB (Stereo 3D, two dual-link DVI)
â�¢ Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)
â�¢ Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)
â�¢ Two 16x SuperDrives
â�¢ AirPort Extreme card (Wi-Fi)
â�¢ Dual Channel 4Gb Fibre Channel PCI Express Card
â�¢ Apple wireless Mighty Mouse
â�¢ Apple Wireless Keyboard (English) + Mac OS X
â�¢ Mac OS X Server (10-Client)
â�¢ Xsan 2 included
â�¢ AppleCare Protection Plan for Mac Pro (w/or w/o Display) - Auto-enroll

now.. having said that... maybe I need to tone it down just a little bit eh?

Im sorry but I can't keep quiet on this one, the hole PC vs Mac thing aside this box is SERIOUS overkill for your needs IMHO.

Is this going to be used as a workstation or file server or both? Either way for photography most of this is overkill.

You can prob build a PC workstation/server that will talk to the other Mac's for half the price and possibly better performance.

The NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 is one thing that unless you are going to be doing some heavy 3D graphics on something like Softimage or Maya then you are better off with an 8000 or 9000 series Nvidia card, the high end gaming cards are out performing the Quadro's in a lot of respects. I do a lot of 3D animation and found that the 8800 GXT is out performing the Quardos here and at less than 1/2 the price in some cases ;) The Cinema displays are nice and used to be better than most everything else but in the few years they have been out a lot of the other manufacturers are catching up and are on the same level as the apple displays now.

Again I'm NOT HERE TO BASH APPLE! Just want to show you there are other options that could save you money with the same performance. If you like I can put you in touch with the guy I use for my computer needs, although I built my own workstations, render slaves and file servers there are lots of turnkey solutions available that are comparable.

Anyway shoot me a PM if you are interested, I just thought I would give my two cents :)

-dave

04/02/2008 12:15:15 PM · #37

Originally posted by dknourek:

now.. having said that... maybe I need to tone it down just a little bit eh?

PhotoDave

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

04/02/2008 03:06:09 PM · #38

LOL well if you really want processing power then you should pick up one of these bad boys:

Boxxtech Apex8 Workstation:

32 cores!
128GB of memory!

sweeeeeet :D

Nathanael_G

Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED

04/03/2008 09:32:17 PM · #39

Fantastic thread! Very inspiring.
I'm just getting into this myself (on a much smaller scale), getting my business license, sales tax ID number (a whopping $300) all the works to sell legally. I've got a some prints ready to go, a showing lined up at the local coffee shop and 4 senior photo sessions. Not a lot, but for a full time student with a part-time job, it's keeping me busy, but I love it.

Bags Unlimited sells bags (obviously), mats, boxes, storage stuff for a very good price, the cheapest I've found. I have ordered from them and have had a good experience so far. Also, shipping is free on orders over $25 and that saves a bundle on bulk orders.

The switch to Mac is a little odd at first, but in the end I think you will be very pleased. I know I'm extremely happy with my Macbook, and the interface is fantastic once you're used to it.

Good luck! I'll keep checking back here for updates!

Message edited by author 2008-04-03 21:33:45.

Kaveran

Canon EOS-50D

04/03/2008 10:38:49 PM · #40

Originally posted by Eyesup:

- My salary $3,000
- Her Salary $1,500 (same pot really in the end so who cares who gets what)

And this is why I could never persue photography as a full time career.

geoffb

04/04/2008 01:28:39 AM · #41

Originally posted by Kaveran:

Originally posted by Eyesup:

- My salary $3,000
- Her Salary $1,500 (same pot really in the end so who cares who gets what)

And this is why I could never persue photography as a full time career.

Why? Do you think that's the top of the pay scale or something?

Kaveran

Canon EOS-50D

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

04/04/2008 08:38:42 AM · #42

Originally posted by geoffb:

Originally posted by Kaveran:

Originally posted by Eyesup:

- My salary $3,000
- Her Salary $1,500 (same pot really in the end so who cares who gets what)

And this is why I could never persue photography as a full time career.

Why? Do you think that's the top of the pay scale or something?

I sure hope not BUT unless I missread there was no account for things like health insurance etc. Health insurance for a family of 4 can be pretty spendy which will also come out of the above $4500 combined salary. Then of course uncle sams share and im sure it would be a pretty big dent in that figure.

I commend those willing to take the plunge and work through a couple hard years to build their business because I dont think I could do it.

xianart

Canon EOS-7D

04/04/2008 09:29:31 AM · #43

as was stated earlier, the op is in canada, we don't have to have medical (all hospital and family doctor care is free - dental and glasses for over 12, and drugs for all cost (but many provinces have a provincial medicare for drugs) and we can get a relatively cheap one to cover drugs ($50/month for a family). plus, in canada, there's a huge tax holiday for business startups.

Message edited by author 2008-04-04 09:31:56.

Kaveran

Canon EOS-50D

04/04/2008 12:26:47 PM · #44

Originally posted by xianart:

Thats certainly a plus. In the USA After unlce sam took his cut and I paid for health insurance id be living in a cardboard box :)

Prof_Fate

04/05/2008 01:49:52 PM · #45

medical for a self employed person is not cheap, but it's tax deductible. even the portion you pay if you work for someone else is not taxed.

My wife has the 'real' job and benefits - that's a lot of what is allowing me to start and grow my business without having to support a family on it.

But then, having to support yourself is one hell of a motivator!

04/07/2008 04:24:22 PM · #46

Week 6:

Well with My grouchy week out of the way I can finally see through to some of the newer and more exciting things going on.

a) if you missed in in my last update I'll be doing my first set of commisioned photographs for our local Shepherds guide (Christian phone book) they wany 4 shots of various things around the city in echange I get a full colour 1/4 page add in the book! I also get a killer deal on advertizing in the guide for our neighbor city too! not too hard of an assignment too... 1 of our rivers, 1 of the skyline in the day time (they did dusk on the last one), 1 of a specific church, and one of mountains (which I think a already have)... I really happy about this one too because I'll be the only photographer listed in the guide :)

b) finished our last ever super cheapo wedding, and dispite the venue (cheapest community hall they could find I think) and having to deal with blacklights during the ceremony we actually got some pretty ok photos, definatly portfolio worthy (some of them). the best part was because

eyesdown was playaing primary I could concentrat of doing some art... some turned out pretty good and some didn't but it was nice to be able to. and hey regardless of if they make a big order or not (and I seriously doubt they will) it was a pretty good day.

SPCAE UPDATE:

still no space... the calgary market is super tight so we are content to stay where we are for the moment until the time is right and in the mean while we're concentration on updating our portfolio, and getting much more shooting in so that we can be primed and ready to go when the time comes.

On that note, we're currently doing a revamp of our website... it's not complete yet but the important infomration is ther if you'd like to comment on it please do Our website

BTW I know some of the photos load slow.

PhotoDave

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

04/07/2008 04:39:18 PM · #47

At the moment I cant look to in depth into your site but just from the inital glance through your images are way to big as far as file size goes, your pwp_banner.jpg for example is 374k. Try saving it as a *.png or use a good program to compress the *.jpg files down like fireworks if you have it or even image ready which usually comes with photoshop... you can prob get it to a quarter of the file size it is without loosing any real quality.

-dave

geoffb

04/07/2008 07:14:06 PM · #48

Originally posted by dknourek:

That banner came in for me at 1.5 MB.

04/16/2008 09:31:02 AM · #49

Week... something:

An Upper Respiratory iinfection has kept me from doing all but essential tasks last week and a bit, which means, no website work, only what shooting I had to do (one commision assignment and one wedding just before I got sick), and pretty well nothing else. on the plus side with not much going on it gave

eyesdown time to catch up on some much needed paperwork and to complete some outstanding orders that came in just before I got sick.

so I'm on the better side now... not 100% but much better and back at it. Thank to those who checked out my site, I will be getting to downing someo of those file sizes so that it load faster and working on some of the other suggestions as well.

this week we will also be doing our first architectural shoot. A friend of my mother has started a business in renovations/construction (which in Calgary is basically a license to print money)and yesterday asked if I would do the before and after photo's of the house he's working on... of course I agreed :) so that's what I'll be spending my friday afternoon on... and then again when he's finished the project.

think that's is for the moment anyway... until next time...

Tez