Confront your costing

Confronting your costing is a time-consuming task for any professional, so Carla grabbed the bull by the horns and got well and truly stuck in

 Writing my business plan has taken up a few long evenings this month – but it’s obviously a very important part of developing a new business and is crucial to helping me plan and implement my vision. It will also help to have a very professional business plan when I go and see my new business bank manager, to give them a clear picture of where I’m going, and to let them know I really mean business!
When I started my first photography business I found Business Link very useful but this time around I think I’ve learnt what works the hard way. I hope to build on this experience…and not make the same mistakes again!
The first thing I’ve had to tackle when writing my plan is the costing. Exactly how much will it cost me to go to a client’s home, photograph their baby and develop the images? I need to cost my time and the travel costs as well as the more obvious print costs, and office expenses such as phone calls and other admin costs…
There will also be marketing costs. I have produced an advert to use in the local press (well, my long suffering husband has – he’s a designer!) and want to advertise fortnightly for a few months – something I have never done with my other business. Life Photography has worked well and has been busy purely through word of mouth and free promotions with retailers etc.