My TOP 10 business lessons learned during lockdown
Starting photography and my business from scratch over a year and a half ago, I first thought I would be a photographer who would work on events and with commercial businesses. However, the Covid lockdown put an end to that and since March 2020 until now, I’ve re-thought and changed my focus. Right now I’m concentrating on the more artistic side of photography and the sale of prints and digital images from my own website. It’s very early days. This type of work requires me to be a lot more creative that I had first anticipated but I find I’m relishing the challenge. My marketing approach in 2021 will continue as I’ve done for the past few months and involves publishing my photos on social media and my blog so that I’m known as a photographer who will take on client work as well as one who sells prints and digital images online.
Building a business as a photographer was already a challenge before Covid and now it has encouraged me to look at new ways of working. Very few photographers can afford to have only one income stream, so flexibility is key. With an extremely low income at this time, since new businesses aren’t eligible for help, budget concerns are key. This has encouraged me to self-promote on social media and to learn and take on all tasks it’s possible to do myself.
Motivation is also key. Without clients to respond to I have to ensure I keep my motivation high. I have a call twice a week with a friend who’s also starting a business (Mandarin tuition) and we talk through our current sticking points and support each other through setbacks and successes. This has been critical during lockdown. I’ve also built a network of photographer and self employed friends. I go out walking and/or to take photos every day. This has been key for my mental and physical health. It has encouraged me to start local projects which in turn build local contacts. All these actions have kept me feeling hopeful for the future. I feel that those new small business owners whose earnings have been devastated by the virus will bounce back better if they’ve continued to work on projects and promotion during the whole of this period. They’re the ones who will be more ready and able to take on client work when it’s available.
My top 10 lessons learned in 2020
1) Be ready to change focus
2) Work out what you’re happy to do to make money and what you’re not
3) Don’t expect overnight results, work towards the future
4) Think about building more than one future income stream
5) If you’re money poor and time rich, use the time to learn new skills
6) There’s a huge amount of useful information online for free
7) Work out what you need to do to maintain self motivation
8) Build a network of people who are smarter than you
9) In lockdown, find local projects to work on
10) Keep going!
My image today is from the last time I was in the South of France, perfect for a wintry day.
Palm trees line La Croisette in Cannes, South of France, as seen from the beach
Print of palm trees in Cannes, South of France in an office setting