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There are many ways of being successful in photography with a major part of it being the quality of your work. That being said, the ugly truth is that quality isn’t the only thing that guarantees success, otherwise it’d be a lot harder to make it out there. Still, the majority of photographers put all their efforts into either technical skills or equipment, leaving the business side of it virtually untouched.

In case you haven’t noticed, it’s not enough to simply start a business. Many photographers have grand visions of succeeding and see themselves sitting pretty with the big boys and never having to worry about a paycheck again. Thinking about your goals is one thing, but if all you can do is see the end, then you’re missing the big picture. Don’t think about how it’s going to be once you achieve your dreams – your time would be better spent thinking on how you’re going to get there.

Goals without plans are only wishes. If you truly want to succeed, the first thing you’ll have to do is come up with a solid plan. For now, forget about putting up a website, adding a new Facebook page and telling a couple of friends. Maybe these things would’ve worked a few years back when all you had to do was put up a good portfolio, spread the word with a few newspaper ads and sit back, but not anymore. All that’s changed.

New rule: Never expect your clients to come to you. Maybe that’ll happen one day, but for now let’s just pretend that’s never going to happen. What we need is switch our mindset from “wait” to “do.”

What’s a “Do” Mindset?

In the past, we knew we could wait for our clients to come to us. The only problem with that is . . . it doesn’t work. Instead of waiting for work, we will now have to get up and get it ourselves. We need to DO it.

Here’s the truth: We’re entitled to nothing. If we want something, we’re the ones that will have to figure out a way to get it. How will we know how hard we need to try? It’s not too difficult to figure out; the amount of reward is equal to the amount of risk. You want it all? Then to accomplish it, that’s exactly what it’ll take from you – your all. We all want something in this life. Whether we get it depends on how bad we want it and how hard we’re willing to work for it. This is how you’re going to bring in your clients: Know what you want. Know how to get it. Don’t give up.

What to DO?

1. Don’t rely on your work

Your work may be awesome. It may be top class. It may even make people stop what they’re doing and pay a little more attention. But here’s the thing: The quality of our work is subjective. This means no matter how good it is, it’s still going to be judged by a client who may or may not like your work (or no nothing about quality – it happens) and select according to their preferences and tastes. It’s going to take more than quality to convince them that you are the correct choice. This means taking quality and adding value.

Are you offering any extras? What else can you do besides provide a quality image? Yes, that should be enough, but remember you’re not the only one out there with quality images. You’ll need to do your homework and figure how what the client wants to hear and receive when they hire you. They might need convincing. There may be times when it’s a slam-dunk. And there will be times when there’s nothing you can do because the client’s already made up their mind. Nothing you can do but move on.

2. Don’t rely on clients finding you.

Your clients and customers are busy people. Just like you, they’ve got things to do and the only reason you showed up on their radar is because they need something from you. When they went looking for a photographer, they most likely just asked a few friends or looked online and happened to see your site. Other than that, they probably know precious little about you. Knowing this, you need to research your target market (you know what your’s is, right?) and find out what they’re searching for and where they’re looking. You can find all this out by working on your target exposure group and creating networks to bring you closer to your goals. After networking, what you’ll need to do is find a way to make direct contact with your clients. You need to be the one to start things and introduce yourself. Don’t look for open doors because you’re not going to find any, but what you can do is start knocking.

3. Don’t rely on referrals

If you can’t get something, have somebody else do it for you, right? Well, . . . no. While referrals and recommendations are awesome, you can’t rely on them because they’re not always going to be there when you need them. A lot of businesses think all they need is a great attitude and good customer service to create referrals. Not gonna happen. What happens is that you’re letting someone else do the talking for you, and that’s not always a smart thing to do. People don’t always have a good memory when it comes to making recommendations. They might even say the wrong thing and lose a potential score. Think of referrals as a bonus, not a sure thing.

4. Don’t forget to plan

You can be aggressive and hunt down every available customer within a 100-mile radius, but don’t count on enough of them showing up.

Part of changing your mindset means to stop focusing on the finish line and start thinking about the race instead.

Think of a sales pitch for every situation you’re likely to encounter and be ready to use them at a moment’s notice because that’s usually when opportunity shows up. Besides, having a solid business strategy will make you more confident, and this in itself scores major points with your client. Everybody wants to work with a winner.

It’s time to wake up and stop dreaming. Sure, the majority of days will seem like you’re not getting much of anything accomplished and putting your cameras on Craigslist doesn’t seem like such a bad idea. Get used to it. Think of your goals as going out on a date; Success is the hottie you’re after and Rejection is the ugly friend she’s brought along. It’s going to take some work to make things happen and things won’t always go as planned.

Never give up. People are always looking for a photographer and a “no” today, might be a “yes” tomorrow. You’re the only one that can make this work, and that’ll make your success even sweeter when it happens. Also, don’t dwell on trying to reach the top. Why? There isn’t any. Being successful is defined by being able to do what you want and not going broke while doing it. Being at the top doesn’t mean the race is finished, it only means you’ll have to work twice as hard to keep going. The good thing is that it’s all there waiting for you. The catch? All you have to do is reach out and take it. DO it.

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