Eliminate all pricing worries

Can you imagine not having to worry about pricing because you have a precise and efficient system?

This article explains the multiple advantages of establishing an infallible method of pricing considering all the real variable expenses.

Knowing how to compile all your expenses precisely is a guarantee of profitability. This is normal practice for all successful companies therefore it should be normal for photographers to use the same system.

After all, we want to cultivate our passion for photography and still successfully ensure a good life style for our families.

The system starts with the principal of knowing the variable expenses implicated in producing a service or product. When I talk about variable expenses, I mean color lab, sub-contractors (retouching), freelance (assistant, hairstylist, make-up artist etc.), albums, frames, etc, all items which will be used to complete the product. If you do your own printing I suggest to calculate in your print cost, the money you’d have to pay to a professional lab.

The reason is simple. If your volume increases over time, you may have to consider delegating this portion of the production to free your “precious time” in order to take more photographs, the activity that pays the most. If this is ever the case, you won’t have to change your pricing and if ever you stay the course, it will just give you more profits. Nobody ever complains about making more money!

Do not mistake your salaries, social charges, rent, publicity, office supplies, etc., which are the fixed expenses with the variable expenses listed above. These stay « fixed » they will always be present, whether you have a photo shoot or not. If you have already read the article about studio profitability, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

The gross profit margin generated from the subtraction of the variable expenses from the income should be situated between 75 and 80% according to this method of calculation. If your other expenses are within the industries average, you should be able to generate an interesting net profit.

The photographers that use the system efficiently are among the 10% that succeed.  The others are preoccupied by perceived competitors and basing their prices on those of other photographers without even knowing if that other person is generating a profit or not. When you realize that a great majority of photographers do not know how to set their prices and they suffer from an important lack of resources why would anyone want to copy their prices, even worse, make yours lower?

The direct consequence is that many abandon their passion to work somewhere else for more money.

The statistics speak for themselves: 95% of the studios opening today will be out of business within 3 to 5 years. Where do you want to be? Among the  5% that succeed or with the others??!!

It’s up to you.

To simplify the task, I combined Profit-Pro 113 and 105 form which will give you a quicker response.

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