I’ve been working with the creators of StartUpNation since 2001 when I was hired to shoot Rich Sloan doing yoga on the conference room table in the Birmingham Michigan office of the up and coming StartUpNation.  I was recently offered the opportunity to blog about photography if I thought I could contribute to entrepreneurs and start ups. I think I can so I’ll give it a shot.  I’ll be talking about all things photography, from how to do a shoot in the office, to what’s the best stock agency for what your needs are, to rights and usage contracts.  I’ll be answering questions about any thing relating to the business of photography and photography in your business. If I don’t know the answers I’ll look to the vast knowledge base of my peers and will share what I learn with you, so post your questions and comments about you’re photographic quandaries here, and I’ll help you along the image driven super highway of successful businesses.

I should tell you a bit about me.
I began my career as a photographer early in life.  My brother had a darkroom in a closet at our house when I was a sixth grader.  It didn’t take long for my teachers at school to see an opportunity to recruit the next news paper and yearbook photographer.  That’s when I learned that you can have fun and provide a needed service at the same time.  I could get credits for graduation if I work on the year book and news paper staff!  Life was good.  Then one day I was handed a press pass to cover the cheerleaders for a story for the news paper, that was all the motivation I ever needed to pursue my career.  When I was a senior in High School I was introduced to an advertising photographer in my home town of Detroit named Ameen Howrani.  He let me watch him work one day, he was shooting a news crew for the local ABC affiliate.  It was very glamorous, they had food there!  I was face to face with the local anchor man!  That’s when I decided that advertising was where it’s at.  Fast forward 25 years.  I have photographed some really great people, some incredibly beautiful places, and some of the most interesting stuff you’ll ever see.  I picked up a few professional sports teams along the way as well.  Namely the Detroit Red Wings, Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, and currently Tampa Bay Ray’s as well as the NHL, NFL, MLB and other editorial venues related to sports. I’ve had unprecedented access to closed door behind the scenes events in the NFL, NHL, and MLB to name just a few. I was given the opportunity to shoot a book for the Detroit Red Wings called “48 Hours with the Detroit Red Wings”. Its a chronological documentation of what happens in forty eight hours in the world of the Red Wings Hockey team.  I was able to travel with the team to photograph players, coaches, and staff. We took two days to shoot the book so we could show the travel aspect of how the team lives on the road (and above the clouds).  During that shoot I was given access to coaches meetings that had never been photographed before.  One of the best experiences I had with the Red  Wings was Flying on the team jet to Washington DC to the White House to meet President George W Bush.   I was given an assignment by the Detroit Tigers Baseball team to shoot an eighteen page photo essay of Tiger Stadium during the final home stand ever to be played there.  The parting shot was Al Kaline in his nineteen sixty eight world series uniform (it still fit), pondering his days playing in that historic stadium.  The cover shot was of the stadium from the corner of Michigan and Trumble on a Friday night with fireworks lighting the sky.  I was able to get images never before captured, such as the neon Tiger Stadium sign from the roof of the press elevator.  I’m currently team photographer for the Tampa Bay Ray’s Baseball team, and have a nice client list of local and national companies and agencies as well.  I live in the St Petersburg area of Florida where I’ve lived for the past six years.  Before that I lived mostly in the suburbs of Detroit with a few years in New York city.  Please feel free to see some of the photographs I mention here at www.kovich.com

At this time of year, interest in finding a franchise is at fever pitch. People seem to come out of the self-reflective New Year and holiday period charged up and on a path to finally get into business. With so many people out of work and not having previous entrepreneurial experience, a good number are seriously considering becoming a franchisee, using a proven formula type of business.

A new article at our site by a true authority on finding a franchise, Richard Simtob of Franchises For Sale, has just been uploaded. If you’re interested in choosing a franchise and want to know the process to getting that franchise from “interesting” to “open for business,” definitely walk through the steps in Simtob’s article.

The steps outlined include:

1. Find a Franchise Concept that Fits
2. Submit Request for Consideration/Application
3. The Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)
4. Training and Support Overview
5. Franchise Disclosure Review
6. Franchise Due Diligence
7. Celebration or Discovery Day

They’re all detailed and fleshed out in the article. 

No excuses, folks! Start It Up!!!!

Franchising, like starting any small business, requires a financial investment and risk. I like to use the old adage … if it were easy, everyone would do it. With a large small business lender struggling, franchisors are getting more creative with their ability to help franchisees and others use a proven business model to own their own business. A good example of that is Marco’s Pizza.

Marco’s has decided to take the issue of financing into their own hands. According to a press release, to help current and potential franchisees overcome the credit crunch, Marco’s Pizza has created several innovative financing tools.

To help with store down payments, Marco’s introduced a private equity fund that can invest $50,000 to $100,000 per store. The company is also developing a $50,000,000 private equity fund that would finance up to $250,000 of a new store’s costs, depending upon the franchisee’s investment. Those eligible for both programs must either have proven experience in the franchised food service industry or be current Marco’s Pizza franchisees.

“Marco’s Pizza’s year-to-date growth is outstanding given the tight credit environment,” said Marco’s CEO Jack Butorac. The company achieved more than ten percent chain growth in the first half of 2009. “These financing tools were recently introduced to help increase Marco’s growth rate through franchisee candidates and expanding franchisees facing credit challenges.”

“The due diligence of our credit providers is impressive and, I believe, a major validation of Marco’s business,” CFO Ken Switzer added.

Marco’s also offers franchisees the opportunity to lease complete stores through its captive leasing company. The program can provide up to $200,000 in financing for a new store. Marco’s is also developing a new leasing program that can provide up to $125,000 of equipment-only financing per store.

Many other franchisors assist in financing. Some home-based franchise opportunities will help finance the franchise fee and others will provide short term loans to help you get your business off the ground. As the credit markets continue to evolve and as people continue starting new businesses, be sure you thoroughly investigate financing options to give yourself the lowest interest rate and the best opportunity for success!

Links

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/20/AR2009072000962.html?nav=rss_business

http://www.pmq.com/news/news.php?id=13166

Hillshire Farm ham and turkey + reusable Gladware

= Green, Money Saving, The-Big-Corporation-Proves-It-Can-Still-Listen-To-Customers

What partnerships could you consider in your business?

Example: B&B could supply guests with brunch vouchers to neighborhood eatery

• Inn keepers are off of cooking duty
• Eatery gets paid in full up front
• Guests can have what they want, when they want for a fixed price included in overall bill

1. Why will people pay you? (money, votes, donations)
2. What does it cost you to sell your item…margins?
3. What protects you from competition, price-feature battles?
4. How will you turn an agnostic audience into loyal customers?

Early on when transactions had no costs, doing anything at a huge scale was very cheap. In order to be successful (a subjective term), you didn’t have to be very big at all. Some efforts don’t look at revenue as the only sign of success, and it’s probably safe to assume they have no real business model.

Identifying tribes and determining the success of working with them is not a new idea; the concept of tribe mentality or acting in a way that benefits the tribe has been around since cavemen. But, the concept of bringing people together, of building tribes, makes the internet is the best friend of people focusing on the third component, differentiating yourself from the competition. Once a network is in place, it is extremely difficult for someone else to disrupt it. I’ll add to this that the network must be active, relevant and provide value. 

The internet, it’s “isms” and even some of our online behaviors are permeating our culture. It is affecting business models offline as well. Local t-shirt and records stores, traditional advertising firms, and political campaign have different business model than they did ten years ago—can you imagine Dukakis, Stockton, Bush Snr, or Dan Quayle, figuring out what tweeting means?

Viral marketing and the growth of cash-free marketing means that people can spread an idea farther and faster than ever before. It also makes it far cheaper for a competitor to enter the market.

Here are three examples of companies leveraging online to create mini movements:

What mini movement is driving your business?

Carrie Fisher has an impressive background as a writer, two of her books having been made into films. After something akin to electric shock therapy, she risks losing much of her memory and past in order to move forward with the rest of her life. To many, this would be a death sentence as our history, that which binds us into routine and dictates much of our decision making, is the thing we find the most comfort in.

Fisher is an example of someone who refuses to be put in a box, who is still out there learning lessons, sharing her findings and being funny — whatever you may think of her or her talent, you just have to appreciate those qualities in a person.

She has a book: $29.00- 13.38

She has a 1-man show: $59.00-49.00

And those lovely cinnamon buns on the cover, priceless.

I was disappointed to see that there wasn’t some Hollywood intern trapped in a hamster wheel blogging for her while she’s on the road, to capture all the love and well wishes, etc. but I suspect she will get to that eventually. All Boomers have to embrace the web at some point.

To Carrie’s new life, she’s summoned her chutzpah and making some coin on skills she still has, memories she might lose and of course, looking to what the future might bring.

Altogether, a rather inspirational message.

One industry that has been booming the past five to seven years is the home care and senior care sector and companies like Home Instead Senior Care, Senior Helpers, Visiting Angels, etc have been able to capitalize in aging America. Below is an interview with Peter Ross, CEO of Senior Helpers. Peter also offers a few ideas and strategies for growing a business. Enjoy!

Peter Ross, CEO and co-founder of Senior Helpers, checks the economic numbers every day. His company is the fastest growing franchiser of in-home Senior Care and business leaders are watching his firms, and his performance. Few companies doubled in size during the recession and Ross knows continuing that growth rate won’t be easy. But as he looks over the most recent government reports, he believes he’s seeing a few, faint signs the nation’s weak and nearly flat lined economy does indeed have a pulse and may be slowly starting to recover. The Commerce Department reported orders for manufactured goods rose 1.8 percent in February, reversing six straight months of decline and surprising analysts. The Dow Industrials rose above 8000 for the first time in two months. Reports of construction spending and pending home sales were better than expected.

But Ross isn’t ready to say the 17 month long recession, the longest since World War Two, is over. Companies continue to lay off workers at a record pace and the tally of workers claiming unemployment benefits set a record for the 10th straight week. Still, he credits his “recession adverse strategy” with keeping Senior Helpers growing, even during the dark months at the end of 2008. And he plans to stay ahead of the curve, leading the nation’s recovery.

“We know our markets, our services, out goals and we embrace and empower the franchises to get us there,” says Ross. “We are business people and we are in the business of in-home care which means you have to perform everyday.”

And Senior Helpers is performing. The company has 260 offices in 37 states. Senior Helpers reported a 50 percent growth in clients and franchises in 2008. Sales for the year hit $27M. Sales projections for 2009 are $57M. The company continues opening new offices and adding staff to existing franchises. It’s estimated 600 new caregivers will be hired this year. Ross lays out his strategy like this.

· Bold planning and investing to drive the brand. Franchise owners recently pooled their money to launch a nationwide media buy. Other marketing efforts are in the works. There is no better time to think outside the box.

· Strategic vision. This is a time to take calculated risks and take advantage of opportunities before prices increase.

· Be flexible. Senior Helpers provides a framework but then gives franchise owners flexibility in running and promoting their individual business.

· Listen for new ideas as well as concerns because the company is better as a whole.

Ross’s growth strategy is driven by the convergence of two trends: an aging population and a recession driven labor pool. Senior Helpers caregivers provide a wide range of non-medical services, from cooking meals to helping seniors with bathing and dressing, running errands to companionship. It’s all designed to help seniors stay independent.

“As large numbers of Americans get older and reach the point where they can’t safely live on their own, family members want alternatives to nursing homes,” says Ross. “The need to care for a loved one supersedes most uses for discretionary income.”

In addition, people needing work during the recession make it easier for franchise owners to hire qualified caregivers to meet the growing demand for service. Ross cites two examples of why his plan is working.

Dave Goodwin opened a Senior Helpers franchise in Yardley, Pennsylvania, just outside of Philadelphia, about one year ago. He recently hired a retired nurse to be a caregiver. “People are looking for extra money during these tough times and to find someone with that kind of experience is invaluable,” says Goodwin.

Halfway across the country, Shawn and Angie Gilson of Iowa City, Iowa were looking to start their own business when Shawn’s mother fell and broke her elbow. “After hearing so many similar stories, I knew this could be a valuable service and we opened in June,” says Gilson. “People want to help their loved ones.”

“In some ways our growth is amazing, considering we’ve only been around a few years,” Ross admits. But he’s quick to add, “It shows our business plan is sound, our franchise owners and employees are the best, and in-home care is a strong growth industry.” Ross is already reviewing his “recession adverse” strategy and renaming it “recession recovery,” just to be ready.

www.seniorhelpers.com

www.HealthNewsDigest.com

This story, pulled from msnbc.com, provides some interesting insight and real life stories about people from who were laid off from long-time jobs and decided to look at franchising as a business opportunity:

Jim Symington, who was laid off in September, doesn’t mind risking his 401(k) for a shot at franchise ownership. After working for someone else for 30 years, most recently as a director of information technology for a manufacturing company, he was ready to control his own destiny.

“I was angry. I was starting to think it was gold watch time I had been there so long,” he said. “My first thought was never again am I going to be in this situation, be at the mercy of someone else’s greed or needs.”

He decided to go to a franchise broker in Atlanta and get some direction on what franchise would be best for him. (Franchise brokers get paid a commission by the franchise operators, so keep that in mind when they’re making recommendations.)
After researching a host of franchise concepts, Symington chose Mr. Handyman, a home maintenance and repair firm, on encouragement from the broker.

“Oddly enough, I found a fit I wouldn’t have dreamed of,” he said. “I used to have a team of IT guys, and I would send them out on projects to fix things. But now instead of taking laptops, they’d be taking hammers.”

Symington paid a $68,000 franchising fee and upfront costs, and the franchisor required at least six months of working capital, a total of $40,000, to start the business. In return, he got a wealth of marketing materials, online resources from the franchisor and a 90,000-home territory.

Read more about Jim and others here

About 400 franchise systems offer some sort of discount to veterans and over 1,300 men and women now own their own businesses through the Vetfran program. You can find a comprehensive list of the companies participating in VetFran on the IFA website and using the website, you can also request information directly from the franchisor.

Jeff Elgin of FranChoice on franchising