A preview of a new book I’m working on titled “MONEY NOTES”:

Preface: WHY MONEY?

Dear friend,

This is a book I wish I would have had if I started photography and entrepreneurship all over again. I was always mystified by questions like:

• How do I make money from photography?
• Do I want to make money from photography?
• If I sell my pictures, am I “selling out”?
• If I pursue my passion (photography) as my career, will it sully my enthusiasm for photography?
• How much should I charge for my photographic services?
• How do I market, brand, and advertise myself and my services?
• What is my end goal in photography?
• How much money do I ultimately need in life?

This book is an attempt to help you find your personal path in photography, life, and entrepreneurship. Treat it as a personal handbook for yourself, that will help illuminate the path for you— as a guide (not as a manual of definitive answers, but once again, just a guide).

Let’s begin,
ERIC KIM

1. What is your ultimate goal in photography?

To start, ask yourself:

What is my ultimate goal in photography?

Be brutally honest with yourself. What do you really want? For example, do you want:

• Fame
• Glory
• Money
• Recognition
• Power
• Influence
• Money
• Prestige
• Honor

Of these things, which do you desire, and which do you not desire?

There is no morally “right” or “wrong” answer here. You just need to clarify your true purpose in photography and your life goals.

Ask yourself this question, and write it down.

2. What do you need money for?

In practical terms, we need money to pay for our housing, food, water, coffee, and WiFi. But beyond that— why do you desire money, or more money? How much money is “enough”?

In photography, we want money to buy new equipment (cameras, lenses, computers, storage) or educational supplies (books, handbooks, manuals) or to use money as a way to inspire our creativity (travel, photography classes or workshops), or ways to share and publish our work (website, printing books or prints, framing).

The common mistake I see photographers think is this:

“If I only had more money to buy that new camera or lens, then I could really fulfill my creative potential.” This line of thinking is as foolish as a chef saying, “If I only had that one new knife or pot, I could finally cook a truly revolutionary or innovative meal.”

As humans, photographers, and visual artists— we need tools to make our art. Yet, we need to know that our tools don’t hold us back. We hold ourselves back.

To truly develop, mature, and advance as a photographer— you must create more pictures. You must find new inspiration and motivation in fields outside of photography. You must study poetry, history, dance, music, theater, sculpture, drawing, painting, science, technology, and engineering. The more diverse and multi-faceted you can make yourself, the more you will creatively flourish.

So friend, for what reason do you really need money?

3. How to make money from your photography

To make money from your photography is simple, yet difficult.

• Simple in terms of the fact that you must charge and collect money for your services.
• Difficult in terms of the fact that it is really hard to have people give you money for your services.

To make money from photography, you need to offer your client VALUE.

I define value as: “Utility and joy given to the client.”

Utility: How is your photographic service going to be useful to your client? What desires will it fulfill for them?

For example, if you’re making a product picture for them, will your picture help them sell more products?

If you’re shooting a wedding for a client, will your pictures bring them joy and memories, that will be valuable to them?

4. On Value

“Value” is highly subjective, depending on your client.

The best way to build value— see the world from the eyes of your client. Placate and cater to their desires, wishes, hopes, and dreams.

5. How to advertise and market yourself

Advertising and marketing yourself is critical. You can have the best product or services— but without the right communication channels, you will fail.

The best advertising is word-of-mouth. But that takes a long time to build up.

To kickstart building your brand, the best way is to create your own website.

I personally recommend bluehost.com and installing wordpress.org. You can design your website to look like a portfolio, you can setup a blog, and put on your contact information, pricing information, and a biography on you.

Social media is mostly a distraction. If you build your platform on social media, you are becoming a share-cropper— one step away from an indentured servant or slave. You don’t want to build your platform on quicksand, or soil that you don’t own.

The simple rule of thumb: You must pay money for the platform or website or service you use.

6. How to price your services

As a general rule, Charge 25% more for your services than you think you should.

The problem is that most of us beginner entrepreneurs undervalue ourselves, our labor, our skills, and our abilities. In order to make a profitable, sustainable, and strong business, you must CHARGE MORE.

It takes a great deal of confidence to charge money for your services. We have been stigmatized and indoctrinated by society that if you charge money for your artistic talents, you are somehow “selling out.” That is incorrect.

Whoever might criticize you for “selling out” are simply failed artists, who haven’t figured out a way to properly monetize their passion.

7. A 3-tiered pricing system

As a general guideline, try to start off with three tiers of pricing.

Have a low priced option, a mid priced option, and an expensive option.

Most people will buy the mid priced option.

Put a higher price point to the expensive and low priced option (once again, 25% more than you think you should). Price your services in a way that you want your client to feel that they’re getting good value for their money. In psychology, they call this “anchoring”— when we buy things on discount, or for less money than the initial price shown, we feel happier.

8. Early-Bird Discount

If you teach workshops or courses, offer an early bird discount. Charge a higher normal price, and offer a discount for a few weeks up to a month before your workshop. This will encourage people to signup earlier, and also will make your clients feel they’re getting a better value.

9. Ignore your “competition”

You have no competitors. Ignore who you might perceive to be your “competition”. You’re in a category of all your own.

If you compare yourself to your competition, you will fail. Why? You’re going to forget what makes you unique, and you’re going to be distracted.

You want to focus on YOUR personal strengths. Only weaklings compare their strengths to others.

Judge yourself according to your own ruler.

10. Emphasize the benefits

When selling your photographic services, emphasize the benefits and the value you will give your client.

Don’t describe what you do. Describe how you’re going to help your client.
What goals of theirs will you fulfill? And what makes you the best candidate for the job?

11. Write in your natural voice

Write how you talk. Avoid stuffy, fake, and inauthentic “marketing” language. We can all smell that BS from a mile away.

You want to attract clients who would like you “in real life.” Thus, describe who you are, what you do, why you’re so good at it, and the benefits you will give your client— just like you are talking.

Practice reading your marketing language outloud. And ask yourself, “If someone else gave me this pitch, would I find it genuine, intriguing, and enticing?”

Follow your own gut.

12. How to build a following

It is very hard to build a following, and it will take you a long time. You might succeed. You might fail. But the more brutally honest, authentic, and the harder you hustle— the higher your chances of success are.

For example, you don’t need a massive following. For me, I only need around 20 students a year in my workshop to make a living. For you, you might only need 1-2 (well-paying) clients to make your living in your photographic passion and art.

Therefore, don’t get stuck in the sucker-trap of getting more followers for the sake of more followers. All you need is a few die-hard fans, who will pay you good money to purchase your photographic services, attend your workshops, or book you for consulting or client services.

Generally, my suggestion to building a following is consistent, steady, and persistent. Imagine a great redwood tree. It steadily adds inches to its height over weeks, months, and years. Eventually, it towers as high as skyscrapers, blocking out the sun.

A river also slowly chips away at the shores of a cliff, over millennia and eons. The slow, powerful, yet persistent force is much more effective than short-lived dynamite.

That means, realize that if you want a financially strong and viable business, it might take you anywhere from 2-7 years. It took me at least 7 years before I felt really financially strong, and confident in my skills and abilities.

Slow and steady, and be relentless.

13. How to profit

Profit= Income-Expenses

To increase profits, either increase your income, lower your expenses, or do both.

For me, I try to do BOTH— both increase income, and lower my expenses.

The sicker mistake: a lot of us increase our income and increase our expenses. This won’t make us profitable.

Generally, cutting expenses is easier than adding income. It is hard to get people to give you money. It is 100% in your control (of course, up to a certain point) how much you decide to spend on stuff.

With camera equipment and gear, be truly honest with yourself before you “invest” in new gear:

Will this new equipment that costs me $XXX dollars … really going to provide me with an increase of $XXX dollars?

Generally not.

In drag car racing, it is easier to strip your body of superfluous weight than add horsepower to your engine. Easier to cut off the roof or take off the front bumper or hood, then to squeeze a few extra horsepower from your engine.

So ways you can save money in your business:

• Don’t rent an office
• Keep your travel expenses low (fly economy, stay at cheap hotel or Airbnb, don’t eat expensive meals)
• Rent equipment for photo shoots, instead of buying it
• Live in a cheaper apartment, or move to a cheaper neighborhood

In terms of increasing income to your business:

• Increase your fees
• Do more paid work
• Only focus on your most income-generating activities, and ruthlessly cut out time-wasting stuff (superfluous emails, meetings that waste time, “networking”, social media, etc).

Also never forget— your time is your life. And the life you trade for your money is precious.

Your life is MORE valuable than your money. You can always earn another $1,000 in your lifetime. You can never “add” another year to your (already maximum) lifespan.

PHOTOGRAPHY ENTREPRENEURSHIP 101 >