Movin' on Up

I have had a lot of recent questions about my studio, how I opened it, why I opened and and how I know it was the right time to move on up. It was a huge undertaking for me and extremely rewarding but also very taxing during the construction phases.

A recent comment from Christy (below in Susan's feature) asked:

How did you take the step to do it on your own out of your home? (I can only dream of a store front right now.) Did you have to take out the business loan? How much business did you have the first year? Did you have a second job that you could count on?

Well I can answer the following questions pretty easily:

Did you have to take out the business loan? yes.

How much business did you have the first year? thankfully, enough.

Did you have a second job that you could count on? nope, no second job, no second income. nada. just me, myself, and I (Isn't that an old rap song?).

This question:

How did you take the step to do it on your own out of your home?

is a bit trickier.

The main thing with moving on up is making sure that you are losing money by NOT having a space. I can certainly say without a doubt that having a studio has made my business more profitable. From being able to employ more people, to having a nicer presentation, to having a sales room. But I also know of situations where people have failed as a result of opening a studio and not having the support to finance it.

Some tips for when it's a good idea to start movin' on out:

- when you cannot accept business that would be really profitable because you don't have the capacity to accept it. the cost of what it would take to open a studio is less than what you could potentially make.
- when your average sale is low as a direct result of not having a place to sell!
- when you cannot grow your business in the direction you would like because you don't have room to expand
- when you say, "forget about finances - sweet jesus cracker, just get my personal and my business life OUT from under the same roof"*

* strategy avenue does not endorse this approach, but can understand those who feel this way!

A lot of the above points are SWAGs (scientific wild-*ss guesses) but something to ponder on when considering opening a studio.

Also, even though my build out was expensive I didn't go buck wild. There is a good combination of Ikea, expensive boutique finds, reasonable antique store finds, west elm and room & board. I also took the build out in stages - for example just a few months ago I finished the exterior work I wanted to do in order to make the financial hit of it spread out over time. Remember that just like with anything else, your ROI needs to be assessed in order to make the investment of a studio space worthwhile.

Edited to Add answers to comments:

- this is not an addition, this is a boutique storefront on a city street. There are retail shops on either side of the studio.
- the most recent photos of my studio can be found in March's Professional Photographer magazine. If you do not get that magazine, there will be another feature coming out in August's Rangefinder.

Comments

[Vanessa]

You don't know how happy it made me to read this post tonight! As a part-time photographer (although it feels like full-time) working out of my home, I was truly inspired and now I'm more excited about the not-so-far-off future! Thanks, Laura!
Cheers,
Vanessa

[Bat]

I agree, the getting out of home thing really focused me on working, the whole psychology of actually "going to work".

[Cameron Clark]

looks awesome... did you say it was an addition?

[Karin]

Do you have more pictures of the studio? (sales room etc)

[sticky]

WOW! What a great post and amazingly useful and giving blog. Thank you for the inspiration.

[Justine Ungaro]

Laura, I really love this blog. It is so full of interesting tidbits and great advice! Thank you! :)

[Tiffiney]

Laura, I saw you in TX at the Imaging conference. Thanks so much for what you gave there, and what you're giving on the blog. Very helpful for me. I have a store front but am learning slowly the work of management. Thanks for the insights!