Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] You. This summer I set up a few rerun episodes of the podcast, five to be precise. And then I made one more as a backup just in case something were to come up. I have this one episode ready to go, and now something's come up. Hopefully that inspires you to have a backup plan too. This episode is about daring to charge more for your work. I know you're worth it and hopefully you'll believe that too. It if the prices you charge to get booked results in you not being able to make a living, something has to change because there's no point in you getting fully booked and then basically working yourself into poverty.
[00:00:41] You're listening to sustainable photography, a podcast all about business tips, inspiration and confidence building. I'm Ingvild Kolnes, the host of this podcast, and after over a decade as a photographer, I now help talented photographers run sustainable businesses. And for full transparency, you should know that I'm a mentor with paid offers, and I will probably mention some of those in this episode.
[00:01:08] If you're not getting booked, your prices aren't the problem. Your prices are what they are. If you work them out based on your number status, you might have to look at what you're offering, like how you're presenting your offer, how your branding is coming across. You might have to reach a completely different audience than what you're used to, and maybe you need to do marketing in a different way. You can go to ingwilcollness.com or to Instagram, I'm at ingridcullness and send me a message if you want. I have a few different offers and I might have just the thing you need to sort out your problem. Go to ingvillecohness.com slash shop to find the thing you need to get your business to the next level. You'll find a mix of courses, freebies and resources that will help you towards the business you want. Right now, my favorite offer is my power hour, which is a two hour session that dives into one of three different issues. One, having a website that works for you. Because I know a lot of photographers have a website, but it's not really doing that well. You're missing out on a lot based on how your website is structured and on the information that you have on there. The second option is all about profitability because we want to make sure that your prices have been worked out based on your numbers and that you're making money and not barely breaking even or even spending money being a photographer. The third option is all about getting booked. We want to find out what's going on and why you're getting inquiries but not booking them. So if any of these sounds like something you need, just get in touch and let's talk about it. Another thing we need to talk about is burnout. Because burnout for photographers is so common. I can't even count the number of photographers I've known that have had to take a break or even quit because they were overdoing it.
[00:03:01] I know the feeling of being away for a wedding for a whole weekend only to come home, reply to emails, edit, and then travel again. You need time for yourself, you need time for your family, you need time to build your business, and you need time for all the work that you do. If you're telling me that you don't have time to learn new things, you don't have time to update your prices, you don't have time to do anything other than editing. Something has to change because you can't live like that, and you're not supposed to. You're not supposed to work 24/7 you can work as much or as little as you want to, and you need to get clear on what your work capacity is, and then you need to stick to that. You need to say no. The more you can say no, the better your life and your business can become.
[00:03:50] You also need to stop feeling guilty. Make sure that you set a long enough deadline for delivering photos and products so that you have time for your kids to get sick and for you to get sick. And in case of delays in shipping and to go on holiday, don't set your delivery deadlines based on the best case scenario. You're allowed to have a life. Not just allowed, you need to have a life.
[00:04:14] And when it comes to things like taxes and expenses, it's unavoidable. So there's no point getting annoyed about it. Instead, set up systems so you don't have to worry about it. I've had a sad income for a year and a half now, and you can too. I'll be honest and say that I don't make a fortune. I now say no to about 95% of my photography inquiries, and I've gone all in with something that comes with a lot of expenses and a ton of my time, like this podcast, which I'm not making any money on. And I still have the same salary because I have a system. So if you're curious about this, you can message me. I teach it to the students in my program, and you can also hear about it in episode seven of this podcast. I've had my Instagram feed flooded with Black Friday offers and many session offers lately. And if you're one of the ones that I feel called to do some of these kinds of sessions, I want to challenge you to figure out why.
[00:05:17] Is it to make more money? Is it to get new clients? Is it for the promotion? Is it because everyone else does it and you do it too, without thinking more about it? And then I want you to think, what message is this sending to your previous or to your existing clients?
[00:05:35] Does it align with your brand and the kind of business that you want to have? Or are you just watering down your offers?
[00:05:43] I want you to think about why you do these kinds of things before you do it. Because if it is to make money, you want to make sure that your prices and your packages are structured in a way that makes upselling possible.
[00:05:58] If it's to get new clients, I want you to consider if offering a low offer really is going to get you the kind of clients that you want. And the same, really, if it's for visibility, is it the right clients that are going to want to work with you going forward? Or are you attracting someone who's just looking for a good deal? So these are just questions for you to become more aware of your strategy and what you truly want. If doing Black Friday offers and discounts really make sense for you, then good for you. You're on the right track doing what you want to. So I'm just asking these questions for you to become aware, not to judge you in any way. Because remember, you're allowed to charge. You're allowed to charge what you need to cover your expenses. You're allowed to charge what you need to make a good living. You're actually allowed to charge however much you want.
[00:06:54] Making money isn't a bad thing. It's a good thing. Having money gives you options. And I want you to be smart with your money. I want you to have savings and cover current and future expenses with your prices. And if you find yourself getting annoyed with how much you have to pay in taxes, or how expensive new contracts are, or that you can't afford to pay, or that you can't afford to invest in education for your business, you're not charging enough.
[00:07:22] That's not, in my opinion, that's a fact, because I'm not here to tell you that you need to charge more. You can charge however much you want to, even so little that you're basically living in poverty.
[00:07:36] But I'm here to ask you why you'd want to I'm here to inspire you to take up space, to charge what you need and to help you realize that you can do whatever you set your mind to and that you have the power to do a lot of good in the world instead of holding yourself back.
[00:07:54] And if you're listening to this and your prices are good, you work them out and you know that they're profitable based on how much you want to work, and you're finding yourself getting caught up in the photographers around you who's charging too little. I completely get it. I know that if there's too many out there who don't know what they're doing, they're going to ruin the market and you'll be out of a job. But that's not going to happen today. So your job is to focus on yourself and what someone else does in their business. That's really none of your business.
[00:08:29] It does help if you can see things from their perspective.
[00:08:33] Remember that they don't really know what they're doing. So why don't you instead try to include them and to educate them, to help them to figure out what they need to run their business instead of being annoyed and leaving them out? Because I'm pretty sure that's going to make it worse. And I think that that feeling of anger and annoyance towards photographers who's undercharging comes from the same place as those who undercharge. It's a feeling of scarcity, of there's not enough clients, I need to charge less or there's not enough clients. These new photographers who don't know what they're doing, they're ruining it all. But there should actually be room for those who charge a lot and for those who charge a little. Right now, at least here in Norway, the main problem is that most seem to be stuck in the middle level or below. Like we've kind of reached the limit and there's not enough photographers who cater to those who are prepared to pay more. Anyway, I think the answer is education, and that's why I started this podcast to begin with. I don't think that there are many photographers who deliberately undercut the market by charging so little that they go bankrupt.
[00:09:46] I'm all for you doing things your way and for reaching the kinds of clients that you want, regardless of what level that might be at. But no matter what you choose, please do so from a place of knowing what you're doing instead of being scared. Thanks for listening to sustainable photography. Head over to instagram at ingwilkolness to tell me what you want future episodes to be all about. Check out the show notes over ingvild Kolnes.com slash podcast. You can learn more about the sustainable photography program and sign up for the waitlist there. To get more of this content. Make sure you subscribe to the podcast and leave a review. Your support makes all the difference. Talk soon.
