Taking that huge leap and going pro!

All the best AliB hope everything goes well for you in your new venture! :clap:
 
AliB said:
Oh don't worry photon, I have my own accountant.

I'm setting up my own invoicing system until I can justify a copy of SAGE.

I'll be a sole trader but I'll keep things straight all right. I wonder if I can get away with selling myself all my gear and having it as a company asset? lol. I'll have a word with my accountant and let him sort it out. :)
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that comes under assets brought into the company and does go into your accounts..
 
Very best of luck Ali :)

I'm in a very similar position, but very much at the planning stage with market research etc.
 
AliB said:
Oh don't worry photon, I have my own accountant.

I'm setting up my own invoicing system until I can justify a copy of SAGE.

I'll be a sole trader but I'll keep things straight all right. I wonder if I can get away with selling myself all my gear and having it as a company asset? lol. I'll have a word with my accountant and let him sort it out. :)
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If you can't, then simply give it to a trustworthy friend, and "buy it back" :D

Gary.
 
I really hope it all goes well for you and good luck :thumbs:but more importantly work at it, put the effort in and you will be rewarded :)
 
Good luck mate :thumbs:..Ive only been into photography about 10 years now and it has become a passion...sadly i fear a bit too late in life to progress on to making a living out of it(not good enough either yet,so much to learn)...if only i had picked up a camera 30 years ago..Ah well..wheres me tissues:'(
 
Thanks for the best wishes.

I'm getting up tomorrow morning and getting out for dawn at a lovely pond near where we live. I need to get the camera in my hand even if I'm shooting rubbish!

I'm waiting for a softbox for my flash for the wedding I'm due to shoot. I've bought my fave model a wedding dress to model in and I'm going to get some practice in as soon as I can.

Thanks guys and gals, your support is rather touching. :)
 
good luck matey..

and i really mean that.

if i can help in any way what so ever please feel free to ask .. i am sure you will be fine but the offer stands..

be it a 2nd shooter or whatever...;)


md:thumbs:
 
Thanks a million MD!

Lordy I love you guys and I've only had one glass of wine!

xx
 
Well done Ali!

Often, the hardest step is to leave the the comfort zone of a secure job (even if you do hate it). But there's probably nothing quite like the feeling of excitement and liberation when you do so for something that you're passionate about.

Wishing you all the best. :)

Tim
 
Yeah, I'm feeling quite liberated tonight.

It's odd though, not checking emails even this late (I had one of those HTC things that I called a strawberry because it's like a blackberry, but cheaper) Not worried about tomorrows schedule never mind what I'm doing mid Jan. Not worried in the slightest about end of year. Not concerned one jot about that 10 million contract due in this month.

Yes, liberated yet nervous about the future and all that it may hold, but then, that's always been down to me and I've managed just fine up till now.

So tomorrow, camera in hand for a brisk walk, a few calls to make to sort out model and hairdresser and I'm off into a brave new world.
 
Well done - and good luck!
You have to get used to not knowing what's happening tomorrow, next week, next month. Hopefully something always will.
When I went freelance I kind of slid into it - doing freelance work on the side till it built up and I couldn't handle it and keep the day job. Never really regretted the move - I'd hate to work for someone else now - been on my own just over 37 years.
 
Ali it will be the best thing you do for yourself. Especially if you currently hate your job and its something your completely passionate about.
I decided in June after much consideration that I would take DiddyDave up on his offer, and devote more of my time to photography to make me money....
I left a secure full-time job as assistant manager, in a company I enjoyed working for, and was doing well in and took the leap. Luckily I had a group of staff who were fully supportive, even upto the directors of the company!!! Who still hasnt brought his kids in :lol:
But I got a 2-day a week Job to tide me over if I need it, saved up enough money to cover me 3months with no pay what-so-ever. And did it.
:) Every day is different. You tend to put in loads of hours and you never really get away from it. And everything is a marketing opportunity! :lol: Everyone I speak to knows I'm a photographer....and so they should! :D
You'll enjoy it, but remember to also take photographs for yourself!!! Cos its when you start losing the enjoyment that it'll all go pear-shaped! :)
 
Dell, that's wonderful advice, thank you so much. :)

I've got a cushion of at least five months if I need it and the possibility of a part time job if that is what I want in a few months.

Tomorrow is my day. I'm going out in the morning with my camera just to take pics of anything I feel like. I've not been able to really get creative this last few months and now I'm free from the stresses it's going to take a little while to settle and get used to it!

I know what you mean about marketing opportunities, I've been in sales for about 14 years now so that's one area I really won't need training in!

Be good to come over sometime and meet you two!

xx
 
Good luck, write a blog, I do, it great to put words down nowadays and would be a great insight into your scheme and how things progress.

Pete. :)
 
All the very best Ali, can't beat Self-Employment.

Another option to sage is TAS books, Tas are a division of Sage, but a fraction of the cost.

Rob.
 
I still haven't worked out if you're male or female, but good luck anyways. :D

My only advice is make sure you seperate home life from work life. I've previously fallen into the trap of waking up, starting work in front of the computer sat in my undies, getting dressed at 4pm in the afternoon, eating tea in front of the computer, falling asleep and crawling into bed at god knows what hour. Make sure you get up, go to work, and come home to switch off. Even if work is a spare bedroom, the car, whatever. :)
 
I'm a girlie! :D

To explain, the Ali is short for Alison.

I know what you mean about a job of work and still being in your PJ's at 4pm. I've been in sales for 14 years and we always had at least one day a week working at home. I've got used to that as a discipline, still set the alarm, still get dressed, still beakfast and work till dinner time. If I stick to that routine I should be OK. The other thing I've always done is to have a to do list. It gives me a target for the day.

Today's job is to research Wedding Fairs. Have a look at what is coming up in my area and I have a friend who does wedding car hire so I'm going to be picking their brains about the return on investment of doing them.

I also need to sort out images for my website. I've got my domain name and my partner is building my site over Christmas.

Then it's onto the subject of album design.

That should keep me out of trouble. Oh and paint the kitchen ceiling! :lol:
 
Good luck for these next few months I am sure that it wil go well enough that you won`t even consider going back to the usual office jobs etc.
 
AliB said:
I know what you mean about marketing opportunities, I've been in sales for about 14 years now so that's one area I really won't need training in!

xx
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Well that's good news because more photographers fail through lack of sales & marketing than through lack of skill! You should be fine!
 
Good luck Alison,
Hope you make a good go of it!

I got married this year and hired a photographer to shoot the event, the process I went through to find one was to attend wedding fairs.
Altho this was mostly through protest and the first was a baptism of fire, lots of bridezillas barging me out of the way...

However my point being I found having a selection of photographers in the one place and the physical process of looking through the photographers photo album and checking out their work and being able to chat to either the photographer or there rep quite good.
As a paying customer I found this a good way to shop for my photographer.

This coming from a man who does the majority of his shopping on line !

Hope this gives you food for thought, once again good luck!

Richard
 
I've been researching just that this morning Richard. It looks like they get some mixed reviews from the bridezillas. One complained that the biggest one in Manchester had too many togs and not nearly enough dresses. I suppose, like everything else, it depends what you are looking for.There are a few good looking prospects in Cheshire though and just the right time of year to be getting in there. :)

I'm going to be looking into Feb/March already. The business cards and show cards will be in Jan. I have Graphistudio samples on the way and in the first week in Jan I'll be ordering my own images in a sample set. I want to get some printed up BIG and also get some metalics and acrylics done. I'm waiting for two shoots I'm doing over Christmas so I can add those images to my portfolio.

So realistically it will be Feb before I have all the products that I will want to have before attacking a bridal fair. I use the word attacking from someone who has done many, many exhibitions. It will make a change selling my own products though!
 
Well done Alison and the very best of luck.. You seem to have done all the right things to begin with and that will set you up right for the future.

Andy
 
AliB said:
I've been researching just that this morning Richard. It looks like they get some mixed reviews from the bridezillas. One complained that the biggest one in Manchester had too many togs and not nearly enough dresses. I suppose, like everything else, it depends what you are looking for.There are a few good looking prospects in Cheshire though and just the right time of year to be getting in there. :)

I'm going to be looking into Feb/March already. The business cards and show cards will be in Jan. I have Graphistudio samples on the way and in the first week in Jan I'll be ordering my own images in a sample set. I want to get some printed up BIG and also get some metalics and acrylics done. I'm waiting for two shoots I'm doing over Christmas so I can add those images to my portfolio.

So realistically it will be Feb before I have all the products that I will want to have before attacking a bridal fair. I use the word attacking from someone who has done many, many exhibitions. It will make a change selling my own products though!
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As you say everyone is looking for something, I was looking for photographers. My wife was looking for dresses.
In my experience most women know which shop or dress designer they are interested in and as such will migrate to a fair where they are showing.
We were also looking for cakes and centre pieces, however it somewhat like a mini market with differing offers from different vendors.
It would be interesting to see how much custom can be generated through a wedding fair alone.
We eventually got our cake from a vendor who we had heard of through word of mouth........
So reputation and price have a key role too.

On the photography side we went the extra mile and bought the digital negatives which has saved everyone concerned a bit of cash.

I hope everything goes well.

Richard
 
contrastingLight said:
It would be interesting to see how much custom can be generated through a wedding fair alone.
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Thanks Richard. :)

I guess it would depend on the size of the fair, the numbers they pull through the doors and, to an extent, the location. Some of the ones at the big manor houses might be smaller events but one sale could prove hugely profitable.

It's one of the things I will be measuring though. ROI- return on investment.

From the research I've done so far the two most successful ways of doing business are word of mouth (which is why it often takes 2-3 years to get off the ground) and the referral from the venue. If a tog has shot there and done a good job then it goes some way to selling the concept to the happy couple. Websites also seem to be essential, even if it is just to check out what you produce for themselves.
 
Hi Ali

Just caught up with this thread!

Very, very best of luck. I'm sure you've done the right thing and it sounds as though you've done all the right things (savings, courses, etc) to be successful. You've only got one life and if you spend the next however many years doing a job that's just that - a job - you'll regret it. Follow your star, I say, and enjoy every single photo you take.:)

Jean
 
AliB said:
Websites also seem to be essential, even if it is just to check out what you produce for themselves.
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IMHO The most important thing for a wedding photographer is a good website, and maybe even more important than that is a blog.

A website to showcase your best work and provide information, a blog to show consistency - demonstrating your ability to produce the goods with all clients, in any weather / venue / situation gives people confidence in you.

Best of luck Ali.

Duncan
 
I'll show that to my partner tonight Duncan. He's building my website and I know more or less exactly what I want. I'm going for straightforward, simple and no blooming gimmicks (he's a sod for that!)

Interesting that you rate having a blog so highly. I'll have to put some thought into that one so thanks for raising it Duncan.
 
Best of luck ! Make sure you get the important search words on every page of your website.( Photography, wedding, Stockport.and any other you consider important)
 
Good luck, you are at the stage i hope to be in about 12 months. Don't forget to post some pics from the wedding:)
 
AliB said:
I'll be a sole trader but I'll keep things straight all right. I wonder if I can get away with selling myself all my gear and having it as a company asset? lol. I'll have a word with my accountant and let him sort it out. :)
Click to expand...

From a liability point of view there's no point as being a sole trader, you and the company are the same entity and your liability is unlimited with all personal assets potentially being at risk.

As for the business accounts, granted you will most likely be able to put through captial allowances to reduce the tax liability, however, the money you pay yourself from the business for the gear will be classed as a taxable income and therefore you could be taxed personally if it's spotted (but unlikely). Actually, come to think of it didn't you buy your gear privately from someone with a hand written receipt? ;)

Bear in mind that only HMR&C and probably the bank will see your accounts so making it look better through increasing the assets won't really have any effect in this respect.

Sole Trader accounts isn't really my thing but I'd think it all through and make sure you get sound advice from your accountant. Personally, I'd wait until you have a better idea of what your tax liability will be and then make some decisions.

Best of luck with the venture, I'm dying to get out of my profession and take up photography full-time but am far too comfortable :(
 
Diego Garcia said:
Good luck, write a blog
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Dave and I have just started writing a blog on our website, I do sometimes think of also doing a personalised photography blog for the "other" things I shoot. Mainly just for it being a documentation of what I've done and how I've progressed. I've had an online journal since I was 16, and look at the blog very much the same way. Something to look back on how much you've grown!

AliB said:
Dell, that's wonderful advice, thank you so much. :)
...
Be good to come over sometime and meet you two!
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Yeah Ali it would! :lol:
And Glad the advice in some aspects was worth it :) I work from home at the moment and when you are still in the same place several hours later it is annoying at times :lol:
My nan passed away in october, and not only was it hard, but we also had a wedding shoot to do the day before the funeral. The joys of being self employed....you have to do what brings the money in, even at times you dont really want to do.
That said, I've now decided to have the office in my nans old room at her house, so therefore it gets me out of the house, but gives grandad some company too. That is when we're not out and about or in the studio! :lol:

AliB said:
Today's job is to research Wedding Fairs.
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Some more advice, and rather cheeky If you ask me....what I found was that the wedding fayres in our area, we didnt stand. But to find out whether or not it was worth it, I went along as a potential bride. ;) What more shocked me, was I was very surprised to know that most of what I would call competition in the area, didnt stand the shows. Nor would I have booked any of them that did - Which put me in the mind of without doing one, I wouldnt know if it was worth it, but for us to do one well and stand out from the others, would we re-coup the costs. :shrug:
 
dellipher said:
Some more advice, and rather cheeky If you ask me....what I found was that the wedding fayres in our area, we didnt stand. But to find out whether or not it was worth it, I went along as a potential bride. ;) What more shocked me, was I was very surprised to know that most of what I would call competition in the area, didnt stand the shows. Nor would I have booked any of them that did - Which put me in the mind of without doing one, I wouldnt know if it was worth it, but for us to do one well and stand out from the others, would we re-coup the costs. :shrug:
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That's what I was thinking of doing! It would be well worth attending one to see what is out there before comitting to the cost of doing it. I'll still need all the samples etc but I'm going to find some local ones and investigate!

I have heard most of the Cheshire togs saying they don't do them but I think it's worth investigating the idea. It's got to be worth the investment in terms of time and fees or it's not worth doing.

As for competition, there's a lot of it here, I'm between Manchester and Cheshire and simple searches for both turns up some amazing stuff. Cheshire, more togs, higher prices. Manchester, less togs, lower prices. Looks like they are chasing the Cheshire market.

There are some truly smashing togs over here but I have to say there is also some really, really bad stuff.:gag:
 
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