Thank you for your interest in our youth sports program
If you are looking for a profitable weekend business, the youth sports photography field is an excellent choice for many. This opportunity can provide significant extra income to anyone, and we are happy to work with photographers and non-photographers alike!
One of the first things we will do when you contact us is to make sure that this opportunity fits your situation and helps you achieve your personal goals. I have looked at countless "business opportunities," and many of those made money selling franchises, initial inventory, or some kind of "start-up package." You will find nothing like that here. In fact, we will be the ones making the initial investment in sales material and marketing support to help you get started.
I have been in the youth sports photography business for over 20 years, and besides starting my own successful company, I have helped dozens of individuals and companies start up as well. I have a tremendous amount of insight in to this business, not only from an economic standpoint but from a "personal" perspective as well. This business is not for everyone, and it is really important to that you understand how this business can fit in to your career and your personal life. One of the most important misunderstandings about this business is that it is primarily about photography-it is not!
I get a lot of inquiries from photographers who believe that they have excellent photography skills and assume that this is the key to success in this business. The truth is that photography knowledge is helpful, but in this field it is much more important to be an organized "people person" than a great photographer. One of the first things I tell anyone who is interested in this business is to FORGET ABOUT THE PHOTOGRAPHY until you get an account because we can train you to do an excellent job on that aspect of the business, we can show you how to avoid the common mistakes, and we can teach you how to run the shoots. Here are two key concepts that emphasize this point:
CONCEPT #1: Great photography is only part of what matters! Stated another way, don't assume great photography will keep a client happy! The most common reasons photographers lose accounts in order of importance are as follows:
- Showing up late to the shoot.
- Being "rude" to the kids or not working well with the kids.
- Being disorganized and running behind schedule at a shoot (making the teams late for their game)
- Delivering the photos late.
- Mixed up orders
- The company is hard to reach or unresponsive to phone calls
- Another company gives the league a "better deal"
- Another company had a better selection of items
- Bad photography
Most companies that start out in this business take decent photos, but they fail in one or all of the other important areas. So, if you re pursuing this because you love photography or think you are a terrific photographer, please remember that there is MUCH more to it. Also, most shoots require 2-5 photographers, so your own personal photography skills matter a lot less than your ability to manage people and stay organized. In fact, here is a shocking but true fact about the youth sports photography business: Many of the largest and most successful companies are run by people who have no technical knowledge at all!
CONCEPT #2: This is "Keep it Simple Stupid" photography and you must follow our system if you want to work with our company. We will show you how to do a great job and we will show you how to eliminate most of the variables that cause photography problems. We have complete photography manuals and "how to" guides. In fact, 99% of the problems with photography that we see occur because a photographer did not take our advice or follow our guidelines.
So, the bottom line is that good pictures are important and you can't succeed without taking good pictures, but THIS IS NOT A "PHOTOGRAPHY" BUSINESS as much as THIS IS A PEOPLE BUSINESS that involves simple photography. Apart from understanding this, please look at the other pages on this website, especially the requirements page, and then give me a call if you are interested.
CONCEPT #3: This is a real business and will TAKE TIME to develop. I get a lot of inquiries and the first question that is asked is "How soon can I make money?" or "How much can I make?" or "How much can you guarantee me?" So, generally, I read this to mean "I am desperate for money and I need cash now!!!!!" While I do not mind talking about potential income, I simply can't work with anyone who is not in this for the long run. We invest money in every distributor we work with and we will not invest money in someone that is desperate. Would you? You must have a source of income to begin this business, not because you will be sending money to us but because you need money to eat! Lead time on getting accounts is several months and for those that stick with our program, substantial income takes a couple of years.
Rich Shinnick
President
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