What led you to start your business?

I have had a camera since I was 6 years old and always loved the medium of film. In 1994 I sold my first photograph (a scenic landscape) and 10 years later I had left the corporate world to write professionally, occasionally adding photography services for my clients. Within a year, photography accounted for more than 90 percent of the business, so I made the decision to concentrate solely on providing exceptional images for my clients.

Tell me something about your business that people might not know.

I actually started my pro career shooting commercial and editorial photography for companies across the United States and have shot for John Hancock, Countrywide and I was even commissioned to shoot the cover of the monthly magazine for the American Marketing Association. After two years of almost constant travel, I decided to create a brand that would keep me in town offering portrait and wedding coverage and Crescendo Photography took off.

What are the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome as a business owner?

Ha! Finally realizing that not everyone is my customer. It has taken me some time to accept that my business model is not geared toward everyone and that I need to focus my efforts on marketing toward my target demographic and not worry about the rest.

What drives your passion in this business?

I love seeing the reactions of my clients when they receive their portraits, wall canvases or albums. I love knowing that I was a witness to a piece of my client’s personal history and that those images will be cherished year after year, generation after generation. The other motivator for me is the effect of increasing someone’s confidence and self-image when they see how great they look in the photographs we made.

What advice would you give somebody starting their own business?

I have a lot of advice to give, but the Big Three for me are:

• Be properly funded.

• Even if your business started as a hobby, you must take appropriate measures to charge for it.

• You may be great at your chosen profession, but it is your business acumen that will make or break you.

Stuart’s FYI

When Marnie mentions taking appropriate measures to charge for services that once served as a hobby, she puts her finger right on the difference between a business owner and a hobbyist or craftsman.  The business owner must have a business plan, financial projections, and a system to measure performance and profitability. Without profits and charging enough to earn them, a business can quickly turn back into an expensive hobby!

written by By Stuart Preston, MyBusiness Advisors