First ad!

First ad!, originally uploaded by jessparker.

This month's 'Melbourne's Child' is out and it features the first White Spark Photography ad. Very exciting. It's in a good location too, being on the Party Directory pages (and as the only photography listing on the opposite page).  I hope that parent's will save this issue or the party directory for when the time comes to plan their child's birthday. 

My first caller was treated to a bad case of muttering and "Um..."s so there's a lot to work on there!  I'm well aware that I'm not very good on the phone and so I'm going to need to work on some scripts and potential Q&As so that I can hopefully come across a little better.  This I share as I know many creatives will have the same issues and can maybe gain some strength from another creative bumbling her way through ;)

Meanwhile I'm trying to get into networking and that's been an interesting experience.  I went to a local council networking evening last night for the first time and left feeling a little traumatised after doing a terrible self-promo and then being berated by a woman for being far too narrow in my marketing (ie.children's parties).  But I did meet a couple of interesting people including someone with a friend that does videos of children who I'm hoping might be interested in doing some work with me.

I still feel like a kid pretending to be an adult at these functions but I know that this stuff just takes time to relax into; practice makes perfect.  Onwards and upwards.

I've still got and hundred and one things to do, including some things I find very difficult like Business Activity Statements.  My father may be an accountant but he certainly didn't pass on any skills to me in that area.  Off I go to crunch numbers and rifle through a box full of receipts (cringe).

My life revolves around this revolving chair

, originally uploaded by jessparker.

This month has been full on.  I've almost mastered the art of working fulltime(ish) from home, self discipline has certainly improved.  The deadline has created a shift for me, going from "Oh yeah, one thing at a time, and I'll get there eventually" to "Oh right, this and this and this need to be done, and I can do THIS and this today."  I still seem to be treading water a little, there's so much to be done, and not that much time to do it in!  The month of May is fast approaching and the Melbourne's Child could well be out early.  So really I have to get most things done by Wednesday next week and that's under a week away!  Yikes.  At least the website issues are almost sorted, and as soon as I've had my copy edited I can go live which I'm hoping will be by the weekend (that might be a tad unrealistic!).

I finally finished a business plan yesterday, a ONE PAGE business plan that is!  That was a recommendation made by a friend and I thought that suited me just fine.  I can aim at doing an in-depth business plan, but it certainly wasn't going to happen this month and I really don't have the need for it.  I'm not applying for any loans or asking anyone to invest so my business plan is just for me, and I'm really happy with the one pager.  It enabled me to define my goals, policies, marketing and financial plans clearly on paper and hence in my own mind.

I've started a new blog called White Spark Photography so that I can separate my own personal ideas and feelings from the public front of the business.  I'll use the business blog to post recent photos and great party ideas and whatever else I decide is great blogging material.

There's so many ideas and things to do and what to dos running around in my head I thought writing this entry might help with some clarification of the mental processes.  The most important thing is to get my website  up to scratch, here's a sneak peek of how it's looking at present:

I'm quite happy with it, although it's slow and I think I'll eventually get it designed professionally or at least go to a different provider.  I've used WIX again and it has allowed me to make a site that looks how I want it to  look and for really minimal cost.  I'll see how it's received, what the reaction to it is.  Currently all  the wording on it is using 'we' and 'us' which I thought was a good thing as it indicated that there's more than one photographer (which is my intention further down the track) but when discussing with a friend what I liked in regards to websites/blogs of photographers I realised that I like being able to pick up on their personality.  Maybe I'll leave the wording as it is, after all it is clear that it I own and operate the business right from the front page.

The business has taken on a life of it's own already.  I've never been keen on the thought of building this into more than just me but I've written it into the business goals that I will have a trained, strong back-up team of photographers by 2012.  I guess that's just common sense, of course I need to have back-up for when I'm sick or out-of-town, but the thought of having employees still frightens me.

So the plan is that I'll get this website up, package prices set, business cards and flyers printed and commence marketing.  I want to get balloons printed with my logo and make up some small promo packs like party bags.  I'm thinking of about 500 at this stage, which will probably be a significant amount of money (every time I think about this kind of thing I just think of Morffew Photos and their TV advertising campaign which must've cost tens of thousands... maybe one day ;)).  I'm going to canvas all the local child care centres, libraries, businesses and wherever else I think they might let me leave some flyers or business cards or give out party packs.

Well I best get moving!  Lots to do. Wish me luck or send up some prayers for me.

First ad

Last night Mike (my boyfriend/graphic designer) and I finished and sent away my very first ad to be published!!!  It'll appear in Melbourne's Child in May.  It looks great! I'm really happy with it. I'm so blessed to have such a wonderful, patient boyfriend who puts up with my fussiness and frustration. I really want everyone to see the ad but I think I'll just wait until the end of the month when I can do the grand reveal of everything at once... or will I??  I've got lots to do to get it all ready but it's great to have that deadline.  I work best to deadlines.

Survey!

This is something I sent out this week to all my contacts:

Hello, 

I'm a professional photographer in Melbourne, setting up my own business to take documentary / un-posed photos at children's parties. In my experience, photographing kids when they are relaxed and having fun gets far better results than formal portrait or studio photography.  I can really capture the joy and reward the effort a parent has made in creating a special occasion for their child. As a young businesswoman, I would really appreciate your help in completing a 5 minute market research survey so that I can ensure my service and pricing will fully meet parents' needs.

If you're a parent and can spare a moment, please complete my survey about children's parties and photography. The survey is completely confidential and your answers will be anonymous. Data collected will only be used by me to finalise my business plan and hopefully build a successful business!  If you're in Melbourne and interested in having your child's party photographed, please email me at whitesparkphoto@gmail.com I'm always happy to provide examples of my previous work, references and answer any questions you might have. 

Please forward this email to other parents you know who might like to take part. The survey close date is 23 April 2010. 

Survey link : http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JJNPF3Z

Thank you so much for your time,

Jess Parker
White Spark Photography

whitesparkphoto@gmail.com

Progress

So much to write about!  The last couple of weeks have been mad.  I've been busy earning money that will help pay for the launch of White Spark Photography PARTY, going to networking opportunities, keeping up with my iphone 365 project, eating Easter eggs and hot cross buns... it's mad mad mad ;)  The good news today is that I have finalised my logo!

Many thanks to my wonderful designer/boyfriend Michael Christian for being so patient with me.

What do you think?

Next on the list to finalise is an ad in Melbourne's Child magazine for  the May issue which is the PARTY issue so most important.

I'm still gettin my head around social networking but the facebook page is set up, the Twitter account (whitesparkfoto) is on the go... now to fully utilise them... hmmmm.

18/365

18/365, originally uploaded by jessparker.

This little girl is the reason for my marketing strategy. She's also my model for my logo. She's THE party girl.