5 Habits of Successful Studios

by Mark Weber, M.Photog.Cr, M.Artist, CPP

I’m a big believer in education, but sometimes people use it as an excuse as to why they are not as successful as they could be!  Here are the warning signs that you might not be using your education wisely.

• You have more notes than time to look through your notes, so you never do it.
• You have educational material you purchased and have never looked at . . . EVER!
• You get so overwhelmed with new ideas that nothing gets done.
• You feel guilty about what you haven’t accomplished as a result of attending all those classes and workshops, so you make excuses why nothing is done and repeat the process again and again.
• You go to events just for the social aspect rather than to really learn.

Okay, are you laughing yet? Are any of these you? Let’s face it, none of us are perfect and if we implemented even 1% of what we learn at conventions, workshops and seminars, we’d all have a much different looking profit margin! The question is, what can we do to break this habit? Let’s start with YOU!

1. Education
Implement what you learned. Pick three things that you will do as a result of attending a workshop. It could be just ONE thing, but pick no more than three and set a deadline to have them completed.

2. Have a Plan
We’ve heard this a million times. Successful studios not only have a plan, they keep tweaking that plan and making it better. The foundation of the Make Money Now workshops that Ann Monteith and I have taught is built around helping studios create a marketing plan. It takes time and effort, but aren’t you worth it? Studios with a marketing plan made up of believable and achievable goals outperform studios that are inconsistent with their marketing efforts.

3. Invest in Your Marketing
I’m a photographer and I love equipment and software as much as everyone else. But I have to say, marketing products are getting really, really creative and being creative helps you stay a step ahead of the competition. Set aside a budget and stick to that budget based on your goals.

4. Goals & Accountability
Create a marketing plan that’s broken down into weekly goals. Your marketing can be as hard to steer as the Titanic. Check your map frequently to allow for much-needed steering corrections.

Your marketing is no different. A ship without a rudder will never reach its destination. Breaking down your marketing goals into smaller, bite-size pieces with short-term measuring points allow you to make adjustments weekly rather than monthly. That way you have time to make adjustments while they are still manageable, which improves your odds for success.

Keep your goals in front of you. Many people have a big wall calendar where they can post their plan. Some people have an Excel file that tracks the previous year’s sessions and sales results with percentage increases added to the numbers for the year as goals for each week. Don’t forget to calculate what your reward will be if you attain these goals.

5. Take Action
Just like the old Nike ads say – Just Do It! Successful studios are the ones that simply take action on one or two ideas. They don’t even have to be BIG ideas , sometimes it’s the little things you do that make a big difference.

Bonus: Simplify
If it doesn’t get done, learn from it! If you are constantly overwhelmed about where to start, just pick one or two ideas with the most potential to improve your business. Keep a list of the ideas you haven’t used and review them weekly for future consideration. Remember, you won’t get anywhere unless you start somewhere.

Learn more about marketing from Ann Monteith http://www.marathonpress.com/product/G2MS/.