If you want to learn how to create a business plan for a home-based photography pursuit, here are the ten basic parts of a business plan and how you can apply them to your photography business:
1. Executive Summary
The executive summary should be the first thing you see once you open your business plan. This part of the business plan briefly introduces the business, what it is all about, what its products and services are, and what it hopes to achieve. Writing an executive summary is usually done last even if it appears at the beginning.
For a home-based photography business, your executive summary will specifically define the scope of your business being that it is home-based. It should also point out whether you will be conducting the business as a sole proprietor and operator or a company.
2. Company Description
This part of your business plan should include details like business goals and target customers. Do you plan on overtaking the entire community and becoming the primary business that everyone calls for their photography needs? What is the scope you wish to encompass? Is it your neighborhood or the entire city?
The company description should also showcase how your home-based photography business is different from the rest and how its service can benefit your target customers. Will it provide a more private setting where individuals can feel more at ease when doing a photoshoot? Will you be catering to unique and intimate needs like baby shoots or boudoir?
3. Products and Services
It is understood that in a home-based photography business, your business plan’s products and services section would offer photography. But if you would like to learn how to create a business plan for this type of niche, you need to become more specific as there are lots of types of photography services offered by different businesses.
Will you offer plain studio photography? Do you cater to location shoots? Can you offer services to other businesses such as product photography? Will you be able to photograph pets and animals? On top of the types of photography, you can also explore whether you can branch out to other services such as offering photography lessons or photography equipment rental.
4. Organization and Management
If your home-based photography business will employ more than three people, you need to set clear-cut boundaries as to the scope and limitations of each person’s role. Creating an organizational chart gives you a visual representation of who reports to whom and who is responsible for what. Otherwise, if you will be managing and operating the business single-handedly, you would not be needing this.
5. Market Analysis
Now that you have determined the services you are going to provide, you can start zoning in on the population that you want to cater to. In this phase of your business plan, try to create a client profile which you could use as a basis to determine which niches of business your product can enter into.
For example, as an events photographer, your target customers are most likely going to be connected to party planners, event stylists, florists, and caterers. If you’re a food photographer, you’ll most likely be dealing with food business owners such as restaurants, cafes, and bars.
6. Competitor Analysis
This part of your business plan features how you can stay ahead of your game. Make an analysis of other photography businesses that are offering the same products and services as you and determine how you are better than them.
You can set yourself apart by adding something to your services that are not available to them. It can be something like an elevated experience and quality that you can offer after completing an advanced photography class which you can show off to potential clients.
7. Marketing and Sales Strategy
This portion is the very heart of why you should learn how to create a business plan for your home-based photography stint. This is your winning game plan–your roadmap to success. You need to highlight the ways on how you can succeed in your new business.
Will you be collaborating with other business owners? Networking with possible partners? Submitting updated portfolios to potential clients? Will you be hiring an agent? You should take account of all of these questions and more when coming up with your marketing strategy.
8. Marketing and Sales Implementation
All of that planning should be set into action. This section of your business plan should detail that action down to the tiniest bits. When you have your promotion and sales strategy down on paper, specify your targets and place a timeline.
9. Funding
Logically, without funding, there will be no business. That is why this part of your business plan should be as carefully laid out as possible. If you have already been practicing photography long before you thought of starting your home-based photography business, chances are you already have most of the basic gear you need. However, if you are to do this professionally, know that you will need at least two of each piece of gear: two cameras, two tripods, two flashes, and a full host of lenses.
Try to figure out how you plan to fund your business. Usually, business owners incur their biggest expense during the first year of their business. If you have enough money saved up in your account, you can use it as your working capital. However, not everyone is as prepared as that. In such cases, you will definitely need to find some help. The usual scenario would be lending from friends and family or a bank.
You should also specify how and when you would be able to pay back your loan. You can do it by timed increments such as monthly, quarterly, semestral, or yearly. You can also specify any contracts you and your borrower has come into when it comes to your loan.
10. Financial Plan and Projections
This step is crucial in mastering your photography business. You might want to sit down with an accountant for this bit in your business plan. If you want to know how to write a business plan that you can actually use and not just stow away at the highest tier of your bedroom shelf, you need it to work for you. This section makes it more than useful by providing you with insights on your financial history and the expectations you set for yourself and your business after all of the market and competitor analysis.
To make it official and professional, make it a point to invest in hiring a licensed accountant who can help you sort things out easily. He or she will be able to give you more in depth information and analysis on your history and more accurate data for projection.
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