Advance Notes: "Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -Don Marquis.  Here are some management tips that will help you avoid the dreaded "procrastination." 

A reader wrote last month, “I have great pictures, and I know exactly which photo editor’s desk they should be on at this moment. The only thing standing in the way of my seeing my credit line in national circulation is procrastination.”

Photography is a business, and by applying the same management techniques that are used by successful businesses, you can move forward in 2003. Here are some self-management principles for the small-business entrepreneur:

GET IT DONE.  It’s easy to slip into the habit of narcotizing yourself with the evening news or a sitcom. (I haven’t watched a TV news program since 1995. I rely on weekly news magazines for my information on current issues.) Change your habits in 2003.  Buy a $5.95 quartz alarm to beep the same time every evening to remind you and others in your household that it’s “Photo Marketing Time.”

SPECIALIZE.  Creative people often do themselves in because they are interested in many areas. Choose a select few of your high interest areas and specialize.  You’ll become known as a valuable resource to specific photobuyers in these areas.

ASK AROUND.  Don’t reinvent the wheel. There’s a goldmine of information waiting for you out there to tap, for example on our bulletin board, The Kracker Barrel. Or, with the entrepreneur next door who’s already been there. He knows the pitfalls and the obstacles, especially if he’s failed. Everyone loves to be an expert. Weigh his opinions against others, and then come to a consensus. If you don’t want to consult a local competitor, phone someone in another similar-sized city that is travelling the same highway.

ELIMINATE THE LOSERS.  Take time to analyze what’s working for you and what’s not. Parts of your business are moneymakers, others are not. Don’t let sentiment or the tired phrase, “We’ve always done it this way,” drag you down.

LOOK LIKE A PRO.  Too many photographers feel that because their product is good, it should sell. Not so. A “better mousetrap” will not insure your product’s success. Employ delivery techniques of the 21st century. You don’t get a second chance at a first impression. If you want first class treatment from your photo editors, give them first class treatment. Invest in deluxe stationary, labels, and (white) mailing cartons. Get into the digital area.

DO YOUR HOMEWORK.  Jumping in with two feet and enthusiasm is fun and romantic, but unless you’ve checked to see if water is in the pool, you’re in for some disappointments. If your enthusiasm is still high after you’ve done your research, you’ve got a winner.

UNDERSTANDING MARKETING.  Your product will sell if you position yourself effectively. Super umbrellas won’t sell on sunny day, but poor ones will sell easily in the rain. Your success in the next millennium will be built on not only your photography’s worth to a customer, but your ability to find that customer’s needs and fill them.

RELAX.  Some of your best self-management comes when you are not managing yourself. Develop a deep interest in some hobby or pastime that has no relationship to your photography business. You’ll find the time spent away from your enterprise will afford you a fresh approach and new insights.

BE BUDGET-MINDED.  You’ll see your credit line in national circulation if you have the cash flow available to pay the photographic, office, and Internet bills. Don’t fall into the Madison Avenue trap of buying a new car, new clothes, new office equipment, over the counter drugs, high-calorie ‘goodies’, and other creature comforts that are supposed to make your life fulfilling. If you donate your cash to these dollar-gobblers, you have no excuse to say, “the cost of getting into photo marketing is too high.”

FAIL BUT DON’T QUIT.  Are you afraid you are not going to make it? Fear of failing is one of the greatest deterrents to beginners in the photo-marketing field. That’s why not too many succeed; they never get up after they’ve been knocked down. Most successful people in any field have failed many times. The difference between them and the ones who fail is that the ones who “make it” never quit. Many of the success stories are still in business not because they are extra good, but because the rest of the competition gave up and quit.

PLAY NOT WORK.  There’s a saying; “The luckiest people sweat the most.”  Yes, it’s going to mean long hours.  But don’t translate that to mean work. If you love what you’re doing, it’s mostly play. Choose your area of photography by first asking yourself, “What area of photography do I love most?” Then find if there’s a market for photos in that interest area. If there is, it’ll be mostly play.

START TODAY.  Most people spend their time preparing, rather than doing. “One for the money, two for the show, three to get ready, four to get ready, five to get ready…” Take the leap. Start today.

Rohn Engh is director of PhotoSource International and publisher of PhotoStockNotes. Pine Lake Farm, Osceola, WI 54020 USA Email: info@photosource.com Fax: 1 715 248 7394. Web site: www.photosource.com .

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