Setting Business Finance Goals Is As Easy As 1 - 2 - 3!
A key aspect to any type of growth is setting and achieving goals, and your photography business should be no different. There are good things that come to people who plan, especially when you surround yourself with good information and helpful tools.
One tool that has been extremely helpful for Modern Market has been the photography pricing calculator that tells me exactly how much to charge per session. It is based upon a triangulated formula that takes monthly expenses, income goals, and ideal number of sessions into account to deliver an exact price you should charge per session to make your ends meet.
A hurdle I encountered as I was initially organizing my finances was determining monthly income goals. Here are three simple tips you can use to create strong, realistic financial goals for your photography business.
Start with the big picture.
Let yourself dream the big dreams! Don’t hold back on this step. What type of life do you want to live? Where do you want to go? Consider looking as far out as five years. I challenge you to make goals for both your photography business and your personal life. There is sheer beauty in dreaming. A lot can happen in five years, so don’t be afraid to dream the biggest of dreams. Do you want to grow your business tenfold? State it! Do it!
Note any current expenses.
Whether the expenses are related to business or living, it’s important to ensure they are noted exactly. You always want to make sure more money is saved than spent to prevent debt. Another important factor when thinking about expenses is your time. Time is money, right? Check out this cool program that’ll tell you just how much money your time is worth.
Break the big goals into small goals.
Think about what it’ll take to reach your five year goal. What benchmarks must be achieved by year one, year two, etc.? Then, break it down even further to find a monthly goal. Keep inflation in mind when working toward long term goals. Alongside having the monthly financial goals, it’s always great to create mini action goals that give you tangible steps to take toward each goal. That way you’re not facing a far-fetched number on a piece of paper without any actionable items to make it a reality.
Don’t forget to keep these goals in a place you’ll remember. Like I previously said, a lot can happen in five years, and that includes losing track of your goals. It’s important that you’re always reviewing goals and rewarding yourself whenever goals are completed. Plus, you can always create new goals along the way. It’s a fluid process, and if you can stay on top of it each and every month, your business and life will thrive.
These three steps are a surefire way to ensure you’re setting great long term and short term financial goals without neglecting any expenses. Once you have your expenses identified, income planned, and an ideal number of photography sessions stated, you’ll be ready to use the Pricing Calculator, one of my favorite photography materials, to find out just how much you should charge per session to make your business fruitful.