Enlightened Tripod 16The “Enlightened Action Word” …. Pace: Single step in walking or running, Rate of progress, Measuring by pacing, Set the pace for. Wow! What a great word. We can play on a variety of themes here. From setting the pace in your locale or niche, to pacing yourself for the long haul. You set the pace for yourself, the key is to set it in such a way that you stretch yourself yet not burn out. The “Enlightened Quote” … Put yourself in a state of mind where you say to yourself, “Here is an opportunity for me to celebrate like never before, my own power, my own ability to get myself to do whatever is necessary.” Martin Luther King Jr. The “Enlightened Business Plan”… Planning Plenty has been said about planning but the best thing that I have read about planning was penned by Peter Drucker: “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate into hard work.” There are many areas that need to be planned but the most important are these. In his book Small Business Management, Michael Ames gives the following reasons for small business failure:
1. Lack of experience. 2. Insufficient capital. 3. Poor location. 4. Poor inventory management. 5. Over-investment in fixed assets. 6. Poor credit arrangements. 7. Personal use of business funds. 8. Unexpected growth. Gustav Berle adds two more in The Do It Yourself Business Book: 9. Competition 10. Low sales
Starting a small business is always risky, and the chance of success is slim. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, over 50% of small businesses fail in the first year and 95% fail within the first five years. What is the common thread? – Poor Planning Are you going to be in the top 5%? Heck no! You will be in the top 3% because you are willing to do the things that others either fail to do or choose not to do.
So guess what? The best way to succeed is to take the following steps: 1. If you have been in the business for a while – look to the past. If you are starting out, ask the best and most successful photographers you know and ask them. 2. List your goals. 3. Get specific. 4. Develop steps. 5. Estimate the money you need. 6. Estimate the people you will need. 7. Prioritize. 8. Write an action plan. 9. Start taking the steps to get it done. The “Enlightened Technical Corner”… Parallax Parallax is one of those obscure but annoying little things that rears its’ ugly little head up occasionally to cause challenges. This usually occurs with twin lens reflex cameras, viewfinders, and digital cameras at very close range. Parallax is caused by two lenses or viewpoints with overlapping visual fields. With humans, this gives us our depth perception. There is no parallax with Single Lens Reflex cameras because when you look through the viewfinder, you are viewing the subject through the picture-taking lens. With cameras, if you look through one lens and the camera records that image with another, what you end up recording an image that is different than you originally wanted. So what can you do? When it comes to reflex cameras there is not much you can do but make sure that you take a few images changing the composition to make sure that you have everything in. As for digital cameras utilize the LCD screen. By using the LCD screen you will see exactly what is hitting the sensors, what you see is what you get. “Enlightened Marketing”
Psychology of the Second Interest
What’s the best way to get people’s attention?
Give them something they want and need.
What is the best way to do this?
Psychology of the second interest. I’ll give you examples in just a minute. This technique of advertising and marketing is called “psychology of the second interest”. The psychology of the second interest is a nicely coined term for finding something that your “profiled” customer REALLY wants and giving it to them. Ideally, it is related to your product, enhances or dramatizes the perceived value of your product and isn’t expensive for you to offer as an introduction, give-away, or as a bonus. As promised here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing. 1. Introductory offer. One of the most successful promotions or introductory offers I have ever done, a family album plan. I had several displays around town in various businesses windows showing variety family portraits and a sign talking about our fabulous “Memories of a Lifetime.” The program consisted having three different styles of album that the client can choose from. As you know I am a big proponent of having three choices; luxury, middle price, and economy. I would provide the albums with a 10% profit. Then I would provide a complimentary creation fee for each and every session that I had with the client. I believe the more opportunities I had to create portraits I would have more opportunities to make money. Finally, as an extra incentive, I would provide my “Family Album Plan” clients 20% off of all portrait orders. Considering that they are coming back more often than regular clients and that I take into account the “life-time value” of my client, this small concession paid handsomely in dividends. 2. Give-away. Now this may sound horrible to your ears, but hear me out. A give-away can take many forms; one of my favourites was doing a presentation on how to use your digital camera, or taking better pictures with your camera. I would advertise an evening session and charge a token amount that would go to charity. Of course, I would have a banner with my studio name, samples of photography, brochures, a prize draw, and each participant would receive a complimentary creation fee for a portrait. This worked like a charm. I met many new clients and friends this way and we had a lot of fun. 3. Bonus. Now remember that most of these marketing ideas are meant to be different from your main product. One very successful promotion was when I advertised a complimentary weekend get-away for every wedding booked with me. I made a deal with a very popular resort and was able to negotiate a very favourable rate for off-season accommodation. Brides and grooms would be enticed to come out of sheer interest about the weekend get-away and would fall in love with the work and everybody was happy! These three avenues must give lots of spin-off ideas or different ideas. Everything works in advertising and marketing you just need to keep trying different combinations. The worst that can happen is that people hear about you.
“Enlightened Living”
Physiotherapy
Wow, where would I be without my physiotherapists? I probably wouldn’t be walking. After being very hard on my body all of my life it is now letting me know in no uncertain terms that it is not happy. Many of you know that I live a very active lifestyle and with my years of playing football, still playing hockey, riding my horse, and working on my farm, injuries are common place. One of the things that I have learned in the last few weeks is that scar tissue that has formed in my body for not looking after old and/or minor injuries come back to haunt you big time. This is where the physiotherapists come in. They literally keep me going. Physiotherapists are professionals who are concerned with human function and movement and maximizing potential. They use physical approaches to promote, maintain and restore physical, psychological and social well-being, taking account of variations in health status. The art is very science based and is committed to extending, applying, evaluating and reviewing the evidence that underpins and informs its’ practice and delivery. A good physiotherapist is worth their weight in gold. So after a long day taking pictures or physical activity and you are sore or hurt somewhere, do not wait, make an appointment with a physiotherapist so that the injury does not turn into a chronic and debilitating ordeal. Yours in Health, Happiness, and Success Your Friend Chuck Groot BFA, F/PPABC, MPA
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