We’ve all been there. Busy, busy, busy holiday rush and then absolutely nothing. It’s freezing cold & nobody wants to shoot. Except for you crazies doing the snow shoots, which are gorgeous by the way! But it can be a tough adjustment going from full speed ahead to slamming on the breaks. The slow season for a senior photographer is a blessing and a curse. We can’t wait to get here but then we don't know what to do and maybe start to get a little antsy. Or maybe you’re one to just sit back and take it easy. And I’m not saying there shouldn’t be a little bit of that! But that can’t be all we do.

Like my kid’s football coach would tell my offensive lineman, games are won during the off season. This is when we prepare for our next busy season guys! There are a few things that we can do to get our photography businesses back in shape and ready to take on all those senior sessions coming our way! Of course, there are plenty more ideas (and maybe I’ll do a second episode with more), but these will get you started!

Here are 5 ways to grow your senior photography business during the slow season:

1. EVALUATE YOUR EXPENSES AND MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTIONS THE COST OF YOUR PRODUCTS

It’s time to dig into the credit card statements and Quickbooks. You’re going to need to do this for taxes anyway. As you are running your numbers, be sure to put some serious thought into the expenses you see there. Do you have money going out where you don’t see the return on your investment? Maybe it’s subscription services that you aren’t getting the value out of that you expected? Maybe it’s an educational membership that you forgot you were even in or you aren’t putting the time into that you thought you would. Hey I’ve done that! The best of intentions, right y’all? Maybe you can replace two tools or softwares with one. These are the hidden costs that can sneak up on you & add up quickly.

2. EVALUATE THE COST OF YOUR PRODUCTS

Unfortunately just like everything else in the world, the labs are having to raise their prices. I’ve gotten the dreaded emails from them just like you have. They’re no fun to receive, just like I’m sure they were no fun to write. These labs (and the owners) are so good to us. While it stings to see those numbers creep up there, we understand how it goes. They are a business just like ours & have to stay profitable to stay in business. So let’s continue to support them, but we have to make our own adjustments too.

Look at the cost of the products you are selling and the price you are offering them at as well. Be sure you have a solid profit margin for each of them. This should be 85% at a bare minimum. Here’s how to calculate that for each product:

Sales Price - Cost of the Product / Sales Price = Gross Profit Margin

Let’s say I have an album that I sell for $1000. My cost is $150.

$1000 - $150 / $1000 = 85%

If my album price was offered at less or my costs went up, I would need to raise the price of my album to make a good profit margin. You might be listening & thinking “I could never charge that for an album”. Well, you need to if you want to stay in business or bring home a paycheck. Remember all the other expenses we have to cover - rent, liability insurance, equipment upgrades, editing, software, templates, gas, wear & tear on your vehicle, website hosting, cloud storage, babysitting, oh yeah . . . and a salary ;)

I could talk about this for days. But just get started with really understanding the costs of running your business and the products you are offering.

3. FINISH ALL THE PROJECTS

This one used to get me every year! UNFINISHED PROJECTS! I have gotten way better over the years at avoiding having a mess on my hands though. Now when I work on a project, I see it all the way through. I set aside big blocks of time where all I do is work on this one project that has to be finished. There’s just this awesome feeling of accomplishment when I finally get to check it off my list.

Now, if you have some projects hanging out there though, take advantage of this slower time and tie up those loose ends. Set a timer, close down facebook, turn off your notifications and just get focused on finishing up those senior magazines, what to wear guides, analyzing your workflow, marketing pieces, your website, all the things. You will feel so much more prepared when the craziness of senior season starts back up if you get a few of these off your plate!

4. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS

This one probably has the most payoff. Build relationships with your past clients, current clients and vendors with the same target audience. Write thank you notes or “thinking about you” notes. Visit those boutiques and shops you’ve been meaning to visit. But be sure to actually make a purchase and support their business if you want them to support yours. Create some instastories about some great local businesses in your area with your same target market. Get into your instagram DM’s. Go deep instead of wide with your audience. And yes, I know this has become increasingly more difficult. But we don’t stop because something is difficult. Right? Social media platforms do love engagement like this, and people who have spoken with you are more apt to do business with you :)

5. BATCH SOME CONTENT

This one is going to take some time, some thinking and some effort. But I’m going to challenge you to set aside time to write 12 new blog posts for your target audience. You can release one each month and they are already done! No more scrambling trying to come up with fresh content during your busy season. How amazing would that feel?! If you’re really up for the challenge, you could also write 12 emails, one for each month, featuring your blog posts. And one step further - create social media posts using that same content. How about that for repurposing and getting the most bang for your buck? You’re welcome ;)

BONUS! TAKE THIS TIME TO REST!

You have earned it. You deserve it and so has your family! Curl up on the couch, watch some movies, play some games, spend time together. It will get crazy again before you know it. Ok guys, before we wrap this up, I want to make sure you know about a fun new resource for you all. We put together a little pdf with 100 styled shoot ideas for your model teams that you can go download if you want. It’s my little gift to you to thank you for being so awesome & supportive on this podcast journey of mine. You can grab it at www.seniorstudiosuccess.com/modelteamideas. Let me know if you are going to use any of them with your teams this year. Send me a DM over on Instagram. I wanna know!

As always, let’s continue the conversation over in the Senior Studio Success Facebook Group. I’m always up for a good business chat. Have a great week y’all!

100 Model Team Shoot Ideas For You!