FREE E-BOOKS
What's right and wrong today? Download Black Star's free e-book on photojournalism ethics.
Hiring a corporate photographer? Download Black Star's free e-book on assignment photography.
Black Star Sites
AssignmentPhoto.com
Twitter.com/BlackStar
BlackStar.com
Business of Photography
Eye on Image-Making: Financial Planning, Part 3
In my previous two columns on financial planning, I discussed three tools that should be part of any business plan — the break-even analysis, the profit/loss forecast and the cash-flow projection. Now it’s time to consider a fourth essential tool: the capital spending plan.
Previous Stories
- Don’t Let Self-Doubt Hold Back Your Photography Business
- Is Social Media a Waste of Time for Photographers?
- Don’t Be Scared of the F-Word When Exploring New Business Models
- Why I Chose an E-Mail Marketing Service to Boost My Photography Business
- How to Get Your Images into Galleries
- Keep Your Cool — and Use Your Smarts — When Dealing with Meddlesome Clients
- A Great Photo Shoot Starts with Your Network
- A Business Insurance Primer for Photographers, Part 2
- A Business Insurance Primer for Photographers, Part 1
- Want to Achieve Your Photography Goals for 2010? Start By Writing Them Down
- Overcoming PLH — Photographer Learned Helplessness
- Let Them Eat Cake — with Your Photos on Top
- “Good Enough” Isn’t Good Enough for True Pros
- Five Steps to “Programming” Your Twitter Stream with Targeted Content
- Why “No” Is One of Your Most Powerful Negotiating Tools
- Eye on Image-Making: Financial Planning, Part 2
- Take the High Road with Backstabbing Colleagues
- How to Host Your Own Exhibition
- Why to Market Yourself as a Specialist — Even If You’re a Generalist
- Zen and the Photography Client Experience
- Please, Don’t Call It a “Port”
- You Are a Brand — Start Acting Like One!
- Six Ways to Focus Your Twitter Strategy and Grow Your Photography Business
- Nine Inconvenient Business Facts for Aspiring Photographers
- Studying the Aftermath of a Lost Photography Assignment
- Online Photography Portfolios: Answering Your Questions
- Photography’s Old Boys Club Is Gone Forever — Now Success Is Up to You
- Eye on Image-Making: Financial Planning, Part 1
- NGOs Do Good — But Make Sure They Do Right By You, Too
- Direct Mail from Photographers Is Making a Comeback — at Least on My Desk
- The Trouble with Online Photography Portfolios
- Four Steps to Determine Your Rate as a Contract Photographer
- Seven Strategies to Ensure Your Blog Is Worth the Effort
- Eye on Image-Making: Creating a Marketing Strategy and Resume
- Eight Ways to Help Google “See” Your Images
- 10 Budget Photography Accessories You Can Buy at the Supermarket
- Three Rules for Earning Good Word of Mouth for Your Photography Business
- Hey You! Stop Posting Naked Photos Online
- The 15-Minute Business Card Makeover
- Eye on Image-Making: Writing a Mission Statement for Your Photography Business
- You Don’t Need a Billboard to Prove You’re a Pro
- My Twitter Strategy: Business in the Front, Party in the Back
- How to Make Exhibition-Quality Prints on a Budget
- Six Photography Credentials to Set Yourself Apart
- Five Reasons Photographers Should Sell Value, Not Price
- Five Tips for Selling Your Old Photography Gear on eBay
- Take These Shortcuts to Improve Your Photo Editing Workflow
- Is Your Photography Business Like a Restaurant Without Tables and Chairs?
- Should You Go Pro — or Keep Photography as a Hobby?
- Good Timing, Bad Timing and Your Photography Business
- Singles Bar Lessons for Your Photography Business
- Making a Difference Is Easier Than You Think
- How I Created a Second Income on the Speaking Circuit
- How to Stop Bloggers from Hotlinking to Your Images
- Six Steps to Becoming a Green Photographer
- What You Really Lose by Giving Away Your Copyright
- Five Tips for Dealing with Unreasonable Client Requests
- 10 Ways to Fight for Your Digital Rights as a Photographer
- Build a Tribe for Your Photography
- Expanding the Boundaries for Photo Editors
- For Freelance Photographers, There’s No Such Thing as After Hours
- Black Star Rising: Now Available on Your Kindle
- Pro Bono Photography, Karma and Me
- Six Tips for Switching from Newspapers to Weddings
- Starting My Own Photography Business: Early Lessons
- Photography Contests: License to Steal?
- Five Questions to Ask Before You Redesign Your Web Site
- What Your Tax Return Can Teach You About Your Photography Business
- It’s Not What You Say, It’s What People Hear
- The Best of Times, the Worst of Times — for the Photography Business
- Eye on Image-Making: Eight Tips for Aspiring Photographers
- Value Your Clients — and They Will Value You
- Want to Stop Online Photo Piracy? Create a Better User Experience
- Nine Essentials (Besides a Camera) You’ll Need as a Freelance Photographer
- A Gear Guide For Going Freelance
- The Ethics of Surcharges and Kickbacks
- Fake Chuck Westfall Gets Under Canon’s Skin
- Six Tips for Managing a Seasonal Photography Business
- Using Facebook to Grow Your Photography Business
- Five Steps I Took to Drive Photography Customers to My Web Site
- The Tyranny of the Thumbnail
- How I Changed My Web Site to Grow My Photography Business
- You’re Worth What You Think You Are
- Simplify Your Pricing to Build Your Photography Business
- Photographers on Twitter, Part 2: My Favorite Tweets
- Can Photographers Succeed Without Gatekeepers?
- Four Strategies for Recession-Proofing Your Photography Business
- Do You Know Your Customers’ Unspoken Needs?
- No Safe Havens for the Photo Industry in 2009
- Five Ways to Move Your Business Forward in 2009
- Building Your Network Through Volunteering
- When It Comes to SEO, a Picture Is NOT Worth a Thousand Words
- Photographers on Twitter: How They Use It
- Five Reasons to Photograph for Free
- Rule of Attraction: Marketing That Wins the Clients You Want
- From Staff Photographer to Freelancer: Making the Transition
- Want More Assignments? Make the Buyer’s Job Easier
- The Long-Term Value of Stickiness
- Avoiding Freelancer Freefall
- You’re a Professional — Dress That Way!
- Things to Do While Waiting for the Phone to Ring
- Building Your Career in 15 Minutes a Day
- What the Presidential Campaign Can Teach You About Your Photography Career
- The Photographer’s Assistant
- Do You Want Clients Who Pay You Now — or Pay You Later?
- Living for Now as a Freelance Photographer
- Online Reputation Management: A Case Study
- Are We All Amateur Photographers Today?
- What to Do When Your Search Engine Position Drops
- Six Tips to Help Your Photography Business Survive in a Struggling Economy
- Talent Only Takes You So Far; You Have to Go the Rest of the Way Yourself
- Six Tips for Growing Your Photography Business
- Let’s Start a “Save Photography” Movement; Who’s with Me?
- Technology Keeps Moving Forward; Are You Moving with It?
- To Be (Represented) or Not to Be
- Eye on Image-Making: Cousin Lou Comes to Visit
- Rush of Innovation in Photographic Technology Shows No Sign of Slowing Down
- Six Ways to Help a Laid-Off Photographer Get Started as a Freelancer
- Finding True Independence as a Freelance Photographer
- How I Created My First Coffee-Table Book
- Up Your Price with Limited-Edition Photography
- Getty, Flickr and the Land of Really, Really Bad Ideas
- Tips for Creating a Winning Portfolio
- Taking an Interest in People Is a Reward in Itself
- What Are Your Creative No-Fly Zones?
- How Professional Photographers Can Generate New Business with Flickr
- Followup: Where I Was Coming from When I Wrote the Same-Sex Weddings Post
- Online Tools to Stay Competitive in the Digital Age
- If You Don’t Know Your Cost of Doing Business, Chances Are It’s More Than You Think
- Will Photographing Same-Sex Ceremonies Hurt or Help Your Wedding Photography Business?
- Backing Up for a Disaster
- The Do-It-All Era of Digital Photography Has Its Advantages
- Want Professional Respect? Then Avoid These Three No-Nos
- Every Relationship Is an Opportunity for Growth
- Lifetouch: Little Photoshop of Horrors
- Are You a Joiner?
- Eye on Image-Making: Portfolios
- Are All Your Eggs in One Basket?
- 14 Blogging Tips for Your Photography Business
- A Nude Photo Scandal from the Other Side of the Lens
- 12 Ideas to Reduce Stress and Have More Fun on the Job
- Barter Your Way to Marketing Success
- Direct Mail Ideas That Just Might Not End Up in the Trash
- The Value of Being Paid in Advance
- Share Your Calendar with Your Clients to Get More Bookings
- Eye on Image-Making: Business Aspects, Part 3
- Are You as Good with People as You Are with a Camera?
- Photography Budget? What Photography Budget?
- Building a Client Profile Is the Key to Finding the Work You Want
- How I Escaped My Newspaper Job to Start My Own Business — and How You Can, Too
- Blogs Are the Future of Marketing for Photographers
- Yes You Can: Eight Ways to Make the Case for Change with Photography Buyers
- Eye on Image-Making: Business Aspects, Part 2
- How Much Do You Cost?
- Don’t Sell Pictures; Sell What Pictures Do
- Isn’t It Time You Made Something of Your Photography?
- Standardize for Success
- Learning to Communicate as an Art Director
- Showing Moms with Cameras How to Do It Right
- What Do You Do, Exactly?
- Eye on Image-Making: Business Aspects, Part I
- Five Ways to Build a Relationship with a Small Agency
- Give Your Customers What They Want — and More
- Get to the Decision-Maker — But Don’t Forget the Gatekeeper
- Your Sentence Is Your Message
- It’s the Age of Opportunity — and All Photographers Are Invited
- Hey, Know Any Good Photographers? How to Get on an Agency’s Radar Screen
- The Integrated Photographer
- When Should Pros Give Away Their Photos?
- Marketing Photography Like iPhones
- Learning to Say No
- In Search Results, Your Greatest Enemy Is Often Yourself
- How to Create a Superior Image Online (and We’re Not Talking About Photos)
- What Do Clients Discover When They Google Photographers?
- The 4-Hour Workweek for Photographers: An Interview with Tim Ferriss
- DigMyPics.com Goes Medieval on ScanCafe in Battle of Photo Scanning Services
- Are Your Business Practices Hurting Other Photographers?
- The Prodigal Client
- Playing Tag for Fun and Profit
- Should You Seek Agency Representation?
- Words of Wisdom from Megadeth
- Use Flickr Groups to Become a Mentor — and Build Your Brand
- Camera-Phone Photojournalism: Is Anybody Buying It?
- So You Want to Be a Black Star Photographer?
- Business Owners, Marketers Learn Limitations of Stock the Hard Way
- Pictage Marries Wedding Photographers with Web 2.0
- The Secret to Client Relationships? Deliver Good Work!
- Photoshop World Hits Boston
- Flickr Makes Photo Contests Easier
- Markup? Yes, Mark it Up!
- Photographers’ Blogs Should Focus on the Work — Not Whining
- Is Flickr Really the Best Way to Store Your Photos?
- Digg-Love Can Sell Photos
- Pro Photographers Moonlight as Software Developers for Lightroom 1.0
- Using Photography Contests to Boost a Career
- Good Widgets for Displaying Your Photos Online
- Create a Coffee-Table Book for Yourself or Your Clients
- And Then the Light Bulb Went Off
- A Dictionary That a Photographer Can Truly Love
- New Epson Storage Viewers Help Keep Track of Your Photos
- Stop or I’ll Shoot … Your Picture
- The New Breed of Virtual Photographer
- PikiPimp Your Pals for the Holidays
- Photoshop CS3 Beta: So Far, So Good
- The World’s First Gigapixel Digital Picture
- New Tool May Revolutionize Web Photo Search
Categories
Popular Posts
- Here’s Why to Add Your Name and Copyright Notice When Posting Photos Online
- Overcoming Photographer’s Block, Part 2: Five Recommendations
- Why Photographers Hate Creative Commons
- Photographers on Twitter: How They Use It
- VIDEO: Google Analytics for Photographers: Using Filters
- 21 Signs You’re a Real Photographer Now
- Ask the Photo Business Coach: Beate Chelette
- A Photo Credit Doesn’t Pay the Rent
- Don’t Fall for These Six Digital Photography Myths
- Where Do You Rank with Photography Snobs?
