How To Survive “These Times”
by Michael Imus
(Part 3 of a 3 Part Series)
In part 1, I spoke about your business racing towards ‘the wall’ of failure, ridicule, lake of money, etc. and how to keep yourself as far away from ‘the wall’ as possible. Without planning long-term you will crash into the wall eventually. I listed several things to do to keep your business not only running, but running smoothly. We continued onto part 2 where we talked about costing out your prices. It is important to know how much exactly a wedding is costing you so you are charging correctly. I listed several ways to definitely NOT survive “these times”: 1. Lowering your prices. 2. Blaming others. 3. Worrying about what others are doing. And 4. Sitting around waiting for the phone to ring. We conclude our 3-part series with part 3 today with some helpful reminders about getting through this economy.
Good news
Believe it or not your clients are out there somewhere right now wanting you, at your prices, regardless of the state of the economy. But how do you get them? Remember the long term plan? Start thinking what you can do to get them to notice you. Remember that “lowering your prices” thing? How can you get the client you want when you are dealing with the cheap people looking for a deal? Think of how can you be different from your competition?
Start off by believing in yourself. Your clients that want you, love what you do. They are the ones that matter. Start marketing yourself, not your work! There are many famous artists that died penniless. Who profited from them? People who marketed the artist not the work. If you don’t tell everyone who you are, then who will?
It is better to be fire than smoke
If you were to slam into that wall tomorrow, could you say you truly gave it your all? Did you go out in a blaze of fire, or did you piddle around and smoke out just waiting for something bad? Most of the time, we come up with our best ideas when things look bleak. I am truly that way. When things are down, I work harder to come up with ideas. When things are up, I usually coast around until things get bad again.
What lies beyond the wall
Fortune? Happiness? Success? Well no. Beyond the wall is just legend. You will always have a wall ahead of you in business no matter what. True fortune, happiness and success is the journey. So learn to enjoy it, follow your heart and never give up!
(Editors Note: You can enjoy the previous installments of this series by visiting . . . PART 1 & PART 2 here on the Nevada Wedding Network. Michael Imus Photographers is a multi-award winning wedding photography business that is noted for their very unique style of photography. See more at www.michaelimus.com)
