Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hello Guru`s of Start Up Nation,

Consider that wedding photography studios may view your service as competing with their photography services.  If this is the case, you may want to consider "partnering" with other types of wedding service providers. 

My main concern here is the idea of prints and modern graphic technology. For example, I can take a plain photograph and doctor it through something like Photoshop so that it appears to be a painting. Depending on the production end, it could even have a pseudo texture like an actual oil painting.

Given today`s economy, and the decreasing interest in quality, I`d think this idea might work BUT!....you would want to specifically target to high-end wealthy families.

Instead of partnering with photography studios, why not just go out and sell your portrait-painting concept directly? I`m supposing you`re thinking that you can build a more steady, sustainable revenue stream by using the sales process from the photography companies, then making the copy in oils. I dunno...seems like you`re purposefully getting involved with a middleman where you don`t need to do that.

We have a community member, "CampSteve" who`s an artist offering interesting posters of people`s homes. He`s put together a Web site, and is out soliciting clients directly. Sure, it takes more work and more time, but the end result is that you build your own name, and also you don`t have to split the price.

Then there`s MiteyMite`s thought that you`d be viewed as competition, regardless of your underlying intent. It just seems overly complicated, which to me is a red flag. An elegant idea usually is very simple, streamlined, and self-contained for the most part.

Craig L and Themerrybird

Actually, I think you`re maybe using some flawed logic when you say, "I`ll never know until I try." That`s the main point of developing a business plan. It`s a way to set up a sort of virtual business, wherein you can examine the interaction of things.

You might ask, "What if I do this?" Then write down your analysis of the consequences and how those will form and influence other events.

For example, "What if I were to paint a family portrait for the people down the street?" The first question would be how did you come by this commission. So the next thing that would go before the above question would be, "How do I convince the people down the street that they need a family portrait?"

I think you can see here the emergence of how you got side-tracked by the photography studio. "Well, since a lot of people already go to get family photos done, why not start there, where they`ve been pre-sold."

Alright, so let`s change that assumption: What if you were to send a nicely done discreet postcard to all families in your area with annual incomes over $200,000? Offer them the opportunity to have a family portrait in oils, to provide a lasting family heirloom. (You`d naturally be taking photographs of them anyway to have your working image.)

With a direct mail offer you`d be doing what the photography studios do already, and you know that works. So in a way, you WOULD know before you try it. If the direct mail would cost too much, or doesn`t seem like what you want to do, then, there again, you`d know before you try. See?

In fact, thinking about it, you could actually be the primary source of business for photography studios. If you`re not skilled in photography---to get those initial sittings prior to painting---you could recommend the family to a particular studio and get a commission for any business you sent their way. :-)

 Hey Craig Landes,  damn your good.