3. Building Blocks & Your Entourage
Welcome to Part 3 of 7 in the Business Planning for Photographers series! The main purpose for this section is to get you to think of who is in your “Entourage”, i.e. Who will be helping you succeed in your Photography business. This post will cover some suggestions and resources for you to create your Entourage.

I. The Business Side of Things
A successful company should have people that represent the core elements of business in their “Entourage”. At a minimum, you should have an Accountant (CPA), and a lawyer to help you with taxes and legal concerns. Others that would fit into this category include: a Graphic & Web Designer, a local Chamber of Commerce representative, an Event Planner, and someone to help you with your Sales & Marketing efforts (cough, cough… haha).

II. The Photography Side of Things
You should also develop a tight network of other photographers that you trust. They can share with you some ideas that they are doing in their market, and you can adapt those ideas to your business. This is a two-way street though – So you also have to be willing to share and help out the photographers you selected to be in your network.

III. The Vendor Side of Things
You should develop close relationships with the vendors you use. This ranges from the people you rent or purchase your camera equipment from, to the people that manufacture the albums you use, to other vendors you come across at events – i.e. Florists, Cinematographers, and Catering Companies.

The idea is that you should try to surround yourself with people that can help your with your business, and provide guidance when it is needed. So break out a piece of paper, or open that MacBook Pro and start creating a list of people that you can include in your “Entourage”. Up next in this series is the Sales & Marketing section!

Filed under: Business Planning, business plan, Marketing, photographers, Photography