 hristopher
Yates tried at least half a dozen software programs in an effort
to get a better handle on managing the business end of his photography
studio in Winter Park, Fla., before he finally found one that
lived up to the hype on the packaging.
“I’ve
tried programs on everything from pricing to mailing lists to
running your own business,” said Yates, who specializes in
family portraits, children and weddings. “Then I finally
found one that entails everything from pricing your products to
tracking your orders.”
Many
photographers ask Yates about this software, called SuccessWare,
since his studio was a beta test site for the product before it
was released to the general public in 1997.
“I
tell them it’s worth the price,” he said, “no matter
what it costs these days.”
At
a recent state convention, Yates bumped into a woman who asked
him about the benefits of using SuccessWare. Later that day, the
same woman, apparently not satisfied that Yates had only good
things to say about the software, asked him to tell her what was
negative about it. “I told her the negative thing about SuccessWa re
was that it wasn’t available 15 years ago when I started
my business. If it had been, I’d be a much richer person
today.”
One
of many benefits Yates said the SuccessWare package has offered
is assistance in determining the actual cost of his own products.
“This
program helps you make sure you’re selling your products
at the right price,” he said, “as well as incorporates
all the accounting things you need to run a business. It has helped
us fine tune our business and make sure we’re making a profit.
Sometimes photographers are more interested in taking a beautiful
picture than the business side of things. SuccessWare helps us
look at our sales averages and see how we’re doing.
“We
can, for example, compare the number of family portraits done
on location in the month of June in 1998 with the number done
in June of 1999. It might tell us we are doing three less sessions
this year than last year—but making a lot more money—because
our pricing is right and we’re making more per sale.”
Yates
said another advantage to the SuccessWare system is that it will
show him what his financial situation is at any time during the
month.
“We
used to have to wait until we heard from our accountant to know
how we were doing,” he said. “Now, when we need to make
adjustments, we can see it right away without having to wait to
make important decisions.
SuccessWare
has given us a clearer understanding of how the business end works.
“I’d
like to just be creative and be out there taking pretty pictures
all the time, but the business side is important too. There are
so many aspects to SuccessWare that strengthen your business sense
that I’ve often wondered if this system, with just a few
modifications, might be successful for a lot of other businesses.
Christopher
Yates Photography uses all three SuccessWare software applications,
which include Success Planning, Success Pricing and Success Tracking.
Yates
said Success Planning has helped him create a five-year plan for
his business, set goals for his personal and business life, and
create a marketing plan and marketing calendar.
The
Success Pricing program has allowed him to determine what the
products he offers actually cost and the price he needs to set
to make a profit. “This,” he said, “is where photographers
can get really surprised when they see the difference between
what the product is costing them to produce and what they’re
actually selling it for. When one lady photographer discovered
she was losing $100 per wedding, her first reaction was to think
she needed to do more weddings! A lot of photographers think that
way,” he laughed. “They think all they need to do is
work harder, but SuccessWare teaches you that what you need to
do is work smarter.”
Although
Yates would be hard pressed to do without any one of the three
SuccessWare programs, he calls Success Tracking the life blood
of his studio. “We use this program on a daily basis,”
he said. “When that phone rings, we are able to track all
of our inquiries, how they heard about us, who took the phone
call, and even whether or not they were able to book a design
session or an appointment. This generates a report that tells
us what percentage of people are booking with whom, lets us know
who’s calling and which of our sales people is making the
most sales.
“Once
we have the client, Success Tracking also enables us to track
every stage of their order. Whenever a client calls to check on
an order, we can access complete information on the status of
that order and tell them precisely where it stands.”
This article appeared in the December 1999
issue of Photo Imaging Entrepreneur magazine. |
The number one management question I am asked by portrait and wedding photographers today is: “What kind of software do I need to manage my business?” Until the development of SuccessWare, I'd have to tell them to do as I had done for a decade: use an assortment of existing off-the-shelf software applications (spreadsheet, data base, and bill-paying packages) to patch together a system that provides the essential business data required for making correct management decisions.