Work a Side Job to Fund your Gear Purchases

• Running a photography business is a great joy and a fun journey. But as with any business, it takes a while before skill is learned, sales are made and money is finally brought home. Working an extra job or two while building your business is the perfect way to get some cash to buy new gear. Babysitting for friends, cleaning houses, driving Uber, delivering pizzas, or selling things around the house are all ways to bring some extra funds into the situation.

You don’t Need the Newest and Best Things

• Making what you have work is not only cheaper, but more practical. No one cares if you have the newest laptop or newest model of camera. Public libraries now have photoshop and Lightroom on public computers. I’ve seen amazing work made with entry level cameras. You can turn an old purse into a camera bag instead of spending hundreds of dollars on the newest designer bag. Get creative and save some money!

Save Birthday and Christmas Money and all Cash

• Instead of taking on debt, tell friends and family of your dreams so they can support you with cash for your birthday and Christmas. You can also use a cash based saving system, that means any cash you receive goes straight into a jar saving up for your next purchase. When your eye is on a new lens or bag, its easier to put that $5 bill away for that purchase rather than accidentally spending it on a hamburger and fries.

Rent Gear

• Renting gear is a brillant solution when starting out. You can rent from local businesses like Pictureline.com in SLC or online like borrowlenses.com. This is the way you can get amazing results from high level gear without the price tags. You can book all your sessions in the same weekend and rent your dream camera for three days at a time!

Separate Business Bank Account

• The first shoot I ever made money on, the mom handed me $20. Not only did I not expect it, but thought about that money totally wrong. I thought I had made $20! But what I didn’t realize was MY BUSINESS had really made $20. For a long time I never had any separation in my finances because I never realized how important it was to separate accounts. Budget what you bring home from a session into salary, retained earnings, equipment, education and tax categories. This account should be separate from your family finances, so when its time to buy a new lens, you take money from your business, rather than having arguments with your spouse about what money to use!

Get out of personal debt

• Its no secret that one of the leading causes of divorce is money problems. Personal debt can cause stress on a family relationship and lead to lack of communication and extremely limit what you and your family can achieve with money. If you desire to get ahold of your money, visit the Dave Ramsey website. He is the leading voice on getting out of debt quickly by changing your habits and changing your family tree! Once you are out of personal debt, you can budget a portion of money to invest into your business.