Jason Aten is a photographer and the author of Starting Out Right: Building a Profitable and Sustainable Photography Business. In addition, he is the CEO of NinetyNine Beans, which provides Full-Service Accounting for Photographers. You can read more posts like this on his blog: www.startingoutright.net

Some of the most common questions asked by photographers are: how much should I charge? How do I set up packages? Should I do packages or a la Carte pricing? These are all great questions. They are important questions. Often, though, the problem is that this is the first question a photographer is asking – before they ask some other, very important questions.

The first question I encourage people to ask themselves is this: how much does it cost you to be in business? I know it's not necessarily as sexy a question – and it's a hard one to answer – but it's impossible to really start figuring out things like pricing and packages, without a good grasp on the answer.

Do you know how much it costs you to be in business? Do you have a system in place to track your expenses? Surprisingly, even though they are running a small business, many photographers don't have a good system in place. In my business, I TRACK EVERYTHING. I want to know where my money is coming from, how I spend it, and whether or not it helps – or hinders – the business.

Start by tracking your expenses. Start with the expenses you have, whether you photograph anything or not. These Fixed Expenses include things like Administrative Expenses (insurance, supplies, training and education, etc), Capital Expenses (new gear, large purchases that you depreciate, real estate, etc), Advertising Expenses (website, business cards, marketing materials, bridal shows, etc), Overhead Expenses (utilities and expenses related to a physical space like electricity, gas, etc), and Employee Expenses (wages and benefits for all non-sales related employees).

Next, track all of the expenses that go into the products and services you offer. In addition to what the lab charges you for an 8×10, this includes all of the expenses that go into SELLING and PRODUCING a product. These are your Cost of Sales Expenses, and include things like the wholesale cost from your lab, design charges, editing and processing expenses, shipping, sales related labor, retouching and travel.

Understanding these two types of expenses will give you a good idea of what it will cost you to be in business – which gives you a good idea of where to start when thinking about pricing for a profit. It seems like a lot of work, and it is, but its worth it.

Second, develop a system to help you keep track of revenue and expenses on an ongoing basis. Even if it's just a simple spreadsheet – that's better than nothing. There are some great tools available, including Quickbooks (and their online version). My personal favorite is Kashoo, which makes it super easy to input transactions, track expenses and generate really useful reports you can use to make decisions about your business. Many of the photographer-specific Customer Relationship Management tools (like ShootQ and others) have features that make it easy to keep track of your revenue and expenses.

Whatever system you choose, using it will only be as useful as the effort you put in. Make a commitment to understanding the financial health of your business by getting a grip on your numbers. Understanding what it takes to be profitable and sustainable means that you can make decisions that help your business grow – and add value to your life.

By the way, once you're using a system to track your expenses, it becomes easier to measure your performance. The Professional Photographers of America publishes benchmarks to help you measure the financial health of your business. Those benchmarks are designed to help every photographer take home 35% of their gross revenue as owners compensation and profit, and can help you evaluate where you may need to make changes in your expenses.

Finally, it's worth it to hire a good accountant that understands your needs. Someone who knows small businesses and can help you set up a plan – and stick to it. Accountants aren't just for saving money at tax time! A good accountant can make you money all year long by helping you know exactly where you stand. Having an accountant can mean having a trusted financial advisor on your team, helping you make the right financial decisions for your business.

Want to know more? We're hosting a free webinar this Wednesday designed to help photographers “GET A GRIP ON THE NUMBERS: Bookkeeping Basics for Photographers.” Simply visit www.ninetyninebeans.com/webinars to sign up for FREE.

Jason Aten is a Michigan based wedding photographer. After a career in marketing and sales management for a Fortune 100 company, Jason became relentlessly drawn to the ability to impact people’s lives through photography. So in 2001 he quit his job to start his own photography business. Jason applies his previous marketing and sales experience to his photography business and now takes the time to educate others with his “Starting Out Right” one-day intensives and resource guides. You can find more posts like this on the Starting Out Right blog.

There's a lot of talk about workshops lately. There's a lot of people that are frustrated by the perceived direction our industry is taking. There's a lot of strong feelings about different workshops, and whether they offer value to photographers and our industry.

With that in mind, I want to help share some expectations – to be sure you understand all the reasons you should consider attending a ONE DAY INTENSIVE.

But first, here are five reasons you shouldn't:

1. You want to become a better photographer. You won't. I'm not going to talk about understanding your camera, or composition, or lighting, or post processing. This isn't a workshop to help you be a better photographer, so if that's what you're looking for – don't bother coming.

In fact, no workshop will make you a better photographer. You might learn some good techniques, but in reality – the ONLY way to become a better photographer is to shoot more. Who cares about your first wedding – I got excited when I had to replace a shutter after 118,000 exposures.

2. You want to be rich. Sorry, can't help you there either. There's no secret to becoming rich. There's no fast-track or easy road. Some people get lucky… good for them, but I can't teach you that. No one can teach you. By the way, if you're thinking about starting your own small business to get rich, forget it. 95% of them fail.

3. You want to be like _______ (insert photographer here). Attending a workshop won't make you anymore like someone else – then visiting the pet store will make you more like a golden retriever. You won't leave the ODI more like me (and that's good for both of us… trust me). If you pay money to go to a workshop, hoping that some magic dust will rub off on you, you're fooling yourself and wasting your money. It doesn't work that way.

4. You want someone to tell you the short cuts. Guess what. The most successful people in ANY field – ANY industry – are the people who work the hardest, for the long haul. A workshop presenter can help give you tools, but then you have to do the hard work. There's no secret recipe, and anyone that tells you that there is – well, I think you know what to think about them.

5. You are PASSIONATE about photography. That's great. I love photography too. I also really love ice cream, but that doesn't mean I open an ice cream stand. If you're passionate about photography – by all means, keep taking pictures. It's a wonderful hobby :)

BONUS 6. You want to hang out with a SUPER successful rich, super-star photographer. Sorry, not me. I run a pretty small business focused on taking care of a small number of clients. My wife and I drive a 5 year old car, own a nice home, and spend a lot of money on diapers. Most days, I come home from my studio, and the first thing I do is change a stinky diaper, clean up crayon from the walls, and do the dishes. I'm just normal. My life is probably a lot like yours.

We're not rich. But I work very hard at treating my business like a business, and it exists to support my family. Our business does really well, and we have wonderful clients. I get to shoot some really wonderful weddings, and I love that I get paid well to do what I do. Our portrait business is thriving in a world where people tell you that you can't sell prints. But, let's be realistic – I run a studio in a town of 7,500 people. If you think that this workshop is going to be about how much money I spend on cars, or sunglasses, or new camera gear – you'll be disappointed.

By the way, you can get a LOT of the information I talk about by reading this FREE blog. So why would anyone come? Here are 3 reasons:

You're ready to build a photography business that is both profitable and sustainable.
It's easy to be to think that running a photography business is about taking beautiful photos and becoming a master of marketing. In reality, there's so much more. The average small business loses money for it's first 3 years, and then goes out of business in less than 5 years. Why? Because running a business is hard work, and it's about more than just photography. It's okay that you love photography, but if it's going to be a business, then it has to make money. The ONE DAY INTENSIVE will help give you the tools to build something that is both profitable AND sustainable.

You want to build a business around this photography thing you do that supports the life you want to live.
So many photographers (and small business owners in general), find themselves slaves to their business. They find themselves pouring their life into something, and many simply burn out. I believe that your business should support your life, instead of living simply to run your business. The ONE DAY INTENSIVE is for people who want to take care of their family by building something real.

You want to learn about best practices that you can use as you work HARD to do it right.
The One Day Intensive will teach you the business principles and best practices you need to know to grow a successful photography business. It's not about short cuts, magic tricks, or secret formulas. It's about knowing what it means to run a business. You might struggle with understanding how to control your expenses, set up your business, rationalize your pricing, managing your client experience, or sales. You're willing to invest your time by spending a day digging deep. This is no fluff. It's not a feel good workshop. It's not “fun.” But ask anyone who has attended – you're learn how to do it right.

Interested in learning more? Check out www.startingoutright.net/workshops Use code “tiffinbox” and you'll save $50.