Business Coaching for Freelance Photographers

About one year ago, when I started my business and marketing strategy journey to be the best freelance photographer in Melbourne, it had been suggested that I hire a business coach as soon as I could.

Why Hire A Business Coach?

With this mindset, I drug my feet for quite a while before finally looking to hiring a mentor. Frankly, it looked like an unnecessary investment for a freelance photographer, and sort of a luxury for large company owners; I didn’t have any clue how a mentor could help me in my organization. I shortly discovered all of my powerful small business owner buddies had a trainer, in actuality, the bigger the organization, the more you really require a person like a business coach in your team.

I have been meeting with my business coach twice a month for the past several months now and have discovered that having a trainer to be quite valuable for me and my small business. My business coach is an improv comedian and utilizes the fundamentals of improv in his training, which is fantastic for me since I have a tendency to clam up when being put on the spot or just give up when I am not certain what I need to do next.

Having a coach on the sidelines of my company rooting for me and providing me brutally frank opinions is among the greatest things I have done for my own photography company. Below are five reasons why you should hire a business coach as soon as you can if you would like to escape a recession or grow your company at all.

1. Accountability

As a sole proprietor, I am the only one who is working in the company. I really don’t have a vice president or board of supervisors with which to discuss thoughts, goals, setbacks, and successes. Should I say to myself that I will take certain actions for my own company and I do not do it, nobody would ever find out but me and it never gets done because I am not accountable to anybody. Having a business coach as a third party supply you with an action step and the understanding that they will follow up with you personally by a certain date may be a powerful incentive to take the actions you understand you need to have to succeed.

2. You Don’t Know What You Do Not Know

As photographers, we believe we know pretty much everything there is to know about photography, right? Ok, truth be told, I have a lot to understand about the industry and so do you. The fact is, as much as we think we know about photography and its business, there are plenty of things we do not know yet, and we do not really know we do not know it. Confused yet? A mentor can help you have a look at behaviors, ideas and activities in your life which have been preventing you from success as you are simply blind to the fact that they exist. This may blow your brain, potentially make you become a bit depressed and inevitably have some incredible discoveries when these blind spots have been illuminated. Photography is not just about taking beautiful photos.

3. A Voice Of Reason

At a meeting with my coach last month I had been telling him about the way I had not moved ahead with a particular advertising plan I had been intending because my thought was really going to cost a good deal of cash that I just didn’t have in this time. He suggested I simply take the pricey promotional gift off and contact my potential clients without it because the gift was not necessary. Done! Moving ahead. On to the next thing.

Occasionally we get so hung up on what we can not do that we don’t take any actions. As business owners we could have what sounds like a fantastic idea and ends up wasting a great deal of money and time. A coach can be a voice of reason once we have new thoughts or difficulties with present plans.

4. Networking Opportunities

When many business coaching services are available to anybody from anywhere, I picked a neighborhood coach because I intended to connect in person. My regional small business community is very small and it is all about who you know. I am constructing my system and so is my own coach. We can help each other out by speaking business to another.

5. A Push Out Your Comfort Zone

More than anything, a coach can help you step out of your comfort zone and take huge actions you would not have dared to take by yourself. If you can not even say what your goals are since they look too unreachable, you certainly need a coach. I had been in that location a couple of months ago. Writing down a sum of money I would like to make for my loved ones and my company is still somewhat daunting since it just looks so impossible, but my coach is there to remind me why I am doing this work.

So, Do You Want A Coach?

Only you can decide whether a mentor will be helpful to your photography company, however, I highly suggest that you look to it. Not certain where to find a person? Ask fellow small business owners if they employ a business coach and if they could recommend them to you. Search online. Proceed to some media classes. You do not need to choose the first one you find, either. Locate a fantastic match for you and go for it!

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