When did you make the big jump?

<p>I am 28 years old, have been doing photography for ten years but have been in the "biz," for 4 years now. This year has been my biggest by far- bringing in 3 times the revenue I did last year. My question is- when is the best time to make the jump from full time corporate employee (that has nothing to do with photography) to having my photography biz be my one and only full time job. I couldn't be more disatisfied with the current job I am in. And I can't even explain how frustrating it is wanting to work on my photos and my business but having to spend 40 hours in a place I despise that keeps getting worse by the day. The idea to eventually move to having this business be my only job has been my goal since the day I started it. I have done the math and have found that I can live (similar to my lifestlye now) and including insurance costs (which would be new) and monthly business expenses and can live on that until October 2010. I realize at any point making this leap is a risk, but when do you know when the risk is the right thing to take? I imagine if I'm making (heres some personal info) close to $25k a year in photography now with MINIMAL time invested in actually marketing, getting out there, etc, I would think that if I had 40 extra hours a week I could double that and get myself to what my corporate job pays annually now. But is that unrealistic? Thoughts?</p>

<p>Dear Elizabeth: </p>

<p>First of all, congratulations in getting your business to the point it is now. I've been a full-time professional photographer for 5 years and it has been a great ride -- fun, exciting, rewarding, frustrating. After having been in business for myself this long, I know I could NEVER return to the corporate world.</p>

<p>It sounds like you have a good amount saved for living expenses between now (your start-up date) and profitability. As a general rule, the PPA advises grossing somewhere around $50K or more before "jumping off" and running your business full-time. The benchmark profit margin for a home-based portrait photography studio is 35-40%, so consider those numbers when deciding how much you need to bring in. If you're grossing $25K now, you're likely be netting (then paying personal income tax on) something like $9000-11,000.</p>

<p>Most people don't consider the costs when starting up a photography business and only see gross dollars. I would advise you to take an honest and detailed inventory of all the costs it will require you to run a profitable business (I have a Start Up Calculator and a Profit / Loss Statement I use with all of my mentees and I'd be happy to share it with you if you e-mail me directly).</p>

<p>I don't want to dissuade you from following your passion and going for it (I know where you are in terms of feeling frustrated in the corporate world and yearning to break free), but please keep in mind that running a business brings with it a whole different set of frustrations and challenges. Leaving the corporate world and working for yourself is not a panacea.</p>

<p>To share a bit of personal information myself, I average $1500 - $2500 per sale in my children's portraiture. At this level, I'm able to be profitable and I bring home enough for myself and my family so that I don't have to overwork myself. I do an average of 8 shoots a month (fewer in the winter and more in the fall). When I was making $300-$1000 per shoot, I was doing too much volume to have a life or do anything else with my time. I would say if you have a following of repeat clients and you are averaging enough to bring home a healthy profit for yourself, then take your current job and shove it!</p>

<p>I hope this has been helpful and not discouraging. I work with a lot of photographers who are either at the point you are at or who have already taken the plunge and it disheartens me to see them go into the field blind, without any sense of the real numbers, and without a plan. I hope you'll be different.</p>

<p>Very best of luck to you! Go for it! :)</p>

<p>Karen Lippowiths</p>

<p>Congrats on making that jump. I remain strictly amateur, but I commend all who can go pro.</p>

 

<p>Life is far too short to let prudence stand in the way of your dreams. </p>

<p>Worst case: You have to go out and find another corporate job.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

<p>Thank you so much for the great responses and words of encouragement. Thanks Lawerence, sometimes it's nice to put things in perspective! I think I've found a way to make the jump without losing all stability. There is a local photographer in the area who's been in the business forever and would like to take me on to work for him for a year or two so I'm going to give it a try while still maintaining the day job and if it works out then I will do that full time and then do my own business full time after that- with more knowledge and experience!</p>

<p>We went full time after 2 years in the business. We decided to go for it because we couldn't stand the day jobs. Plenty of motivation there to succeed. Better to fail trying then to not go for it. :)</p>