How do you know when you’re ready for a retail studio — or when it’s even right for you?
I’m sure anyone running a photography business (full- or part-time) will agree that it can consume so much of your time and energy. Finding a separation between your personal life and your business can easily consume you. So the impulse to have a separate space for your business is very compelling. But how do you know if you’re ready to get that space, or if you can afford it?
Can I afford it?
On a business level, you want to make sure that any overhead costs for your space stay at or below around 10 percent of your overall gross revenue. For most studios that means that you need to have a fairly high overall gross in order to justify more commercial rents/mortgages. Of course, there is a lot of flexibility to these numbers depending on our given circumstances, but in general a commercial space requires a higher gross revenue than a home business in order to justify the expense.
Will it help my business?
This is a tricky question. Unless you have a space in an incredibly high-traffic area a studio space will probably not bring in a ton of extra business. But it can allow you to photograph things that you may not have been able to before (some types of commercial or product photography). A studio can also insulate you from the elements and allow you to photograph any time and in any weather. This can help to even out your cash flow throughout the year and can significantly contribute to your peace-of-mind if you’re inclined to be worried about where and when your revenue is coming in.
One of the biggest benefits of a separate space is effectively showing your work for sale. In my opinion the best reason to open a commercial space is to improve sales, particularly for wall portraits, because the best way to sell wall portraits is to display them appropriately. Most studios cram images together and don’t place them appropriately as a client would in her home, so it becomes very difficult to help the client understand how the piece will live in her home. The biggest obstacle to the sale of wall-portraits is helping the client visualize exactly how large images should be displayed, and what size of wall portrait is appropriate for a given space. You can also use your space to show just how small prints actually are — that 16”x20” left alone on a large wall will quickly help the client decide for themselves that a 24”x36” (or larger!) is what she needs.
Will it make my life better?
You can photograph anywhere and do a great job for your clients. But if you find yourself spending a lot of time driving from session to session, or leaving early in order to set up equipment or props (or tearing them down) then having your own studio space might save you some time. There is a big difference between packing up your gear and setting it up all over the place and making clients come to you.
You also might enjoy some amount of separation between your life and your business. I know when I worked out of my home I was afraid to even cook dinner for fear that the smell would turn off a client. Eventually I got a studio space just to allow me to live my life and leave the client-meeting area always ready to go.
Will it make me feel better?
For some people, simply having a commercial space can give you a sense of accomplishment or success. When I first started my business, I truly believed that opening a commercial studio when help me justify my prices and signify that I had arrived in the market. I think it did help to an extent, but more than the brick and mortar or the studio lights I think the improvement to my confidence level probably made the biggest impact to my early success. There aren’t a lot of ways to spend money in directly improve your business, but if you are smart about how you use it a studio space can make a big impact to how you feel about running a business.
Photos courtesy Christy Johnson depicting her lovely Be True Image Design studio.
