Strategy Avenue

Strategy Avenue Consulting Feb. now available

I have had such a great time with the fantastic people who hired me for consulting services this month, that I have decided to extend this offering into Feb.  I honestly am not sure how many months I will be offering consulting services, but for the time being it will be available month-to-month as long as I have time and it fits into my schedule easily.

For February I have changed this up a bit.  The consulting package is:

- two 60-minute consulting calls* with one week apart
- one Path to a Business Plan Strategy Avenue set if you do not have one already
- fee is $500 which must be paid before the first phone call

- not available within 100 miles of Laura Novak Photography
- please send me price lists, marketing pieces, and what you want to get out of the session before our first call

* please note you call me at the studio so I don't have to keep track of everyone's time zone!

I am very much looking forward to learning more about all of the amazing people out there!  The first four people to contact me in Feb. at info at strategyavenue.com will get the four slots available.

Laura

1to1 consulting from Strategy Avenue

In the past year I have gotten a lot of requests to assist people with individual consulting services and have often turned down the offer, wondering what I would charge, how to fit it into my schedule and how it would function.  I really do enjoy assisting other photographers but am a pretty planful person and like to do things well, so I really didn't want to get on the phone with someone and 'wing it.'  

After some thought I have decided, as a trial run, to offer the following Strategy Avenue individual consulting services during the months of Jan-March.  Here is the deal:

- The package will consist of three phone or ichat/isight meetings three weeks in a row.  After each meeting you will have homework (don't worry it will be fun!) to complete for the next week.

- The first conversation will talk about goals/vision, the second one will talk about marketing and the third will talk about costs. The Strategy Avenue path to a business plan is not required but helpful to have.  If you have specific problems you are struggling usually they will emerge to the surface from a bigger overall problem related to these topics.

- The cost for all three individual consulting sessions is $500 paid up front the day of the first 'meeting'

- Session availability excludes those living within 50 miles of Wilmington, DE

- Your progress will be showcased on this blog as a short 'case study' so that other people can learn from what you did.  If you want me to use fake names in the case study, I have no problem doing so or you can use your real website.  Either way is cool.

I have intentionally priced these on the lower side of things (in my photography business I charge about three times as much an hour for my time) but I wanted to make the pricing accessible to a photographer who needs help.  With that said, I am only taking on three people a month so the first three to contact me at info at strategyavenue.com will be eligible for January. 

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Laura

UPDATE: I JUST FILLED OUR THREE PEOPLE FOR THE JANUARY SPOTS.  PLEASE EMAIL TO BE ON THE WAITLIST FOR FEB.  THANKS!

Image X Workshop

Attention all photographers! This fall I am going to be teaching at a very cool workshop called Image X: a one of a kind photo workshop experience with a group of the world’s leading wedding and portrait photographers set in the historic city of New Orleans. The workshop is a great new concept where a group of photographers get together over a period of two days to offer one-day classes.

So you can choose from myself and anyone from the following list:

Boutwell Studio
Jessica Claire
John Michael Cooper
Gene Higa
Joe Photo
Victor Sizemore
Cherie Steinberg
Jeff & Julia Woods
Lena Hyde
Tamara Lackey
Audrey Woulard

to learn from over a period of two days. There will be very cool events going on in between the classes so you can meet different people and instructors.

The dates are Oct 6th – 8th 2008 and for more details and to sign up, visit the Image X workshop site!

 

gone fishin'

Now that the wedding is finally here, John and I will be 'out of the office' for the first two weeks of February. Please note that all Strategy Avenue products will continue to be fulfilled and shipped daily while we are gone.

For more information on the March workshop in Wilmington, please click here:

Any individual requests for information will be responded to when we get back. Thank you so much!

now shipping!

The past few weeks have been a very exiting one here at Strategy Avenue headquarters. Along with all the excitement of a wonderful Holiday sales season at Laura Novak Photography, I have been working day and night with the elves at divideography to complete our Path to a Business Plan DVD set.

It's ready to ship and looks fantastic! I'm so excited about the quality of the content, the visual delivery of the material and the business plan workbook that comes with the set.

When I first started my photography business, I felt that every business plan template I came across just didn't make sense for a photography business, since it's so different than any other kind of operation. This workbook takes photographers through a series of exercises in creating goals, a marketing plan and a pricing strategy they can actually use.

And as promised... all previous purchasers of Strategy Avenue will be getting a free upgrade from whatever they have bought before. For example, if you purchased the entire set before - you will be getting an upgrade of the entire set. If you purchased Targeted Marketing before you will be getting an upgrade of just that disk shipped to you before the New Year - just in time for a fresh start with your business.

Happy Holidays!

SA Book Club: Spotting a Trend

With Laura away photographing a wedding in Philadelphia, I find myself hanging out on the couch next to a our snoring dog named Art (he isn't really living up to his nickname of "Artie, the one dog party")

Actually, the quiet time has given me an opportunity to catch up on some reading-both web based and a recent book.

The book that I have been reading is called Microtrends and is writen by PR guru Mark Penn. For you political junkies, Penn is the man credited with coming up with the term "Soccer Moms" as a voting demographic for the Clinton camp back in '96. The book details subsets of our society and how they are impacting our economy. Everything from "Extreme Commuters" to "Caffeine Crazies" are discussed in this entertaining book. The lesson as business can take from this book is to keep an eye out for trends or "chunks" of people with the same buying behavior. By identfying that group, you can better market your services or develop new products to sell to the group.

The other article that I was just reading is from the NY Times and is about Tim Ferriss. You may recall Laura's post way back when about Tim and his new book The 4 Hour Work Week. Article is worth skimming through when you get a chance. If you have found any good books or articles, let me know.

Art is up. Time to go.

My Favorite Photographer Is Blu

In case you missed it today, Laura was featured on BluDomain's Happy Hour event on their blog.

For just over an hour, Laura responded to questions and offered advice to blog visitors wanting to know her take on certain situations.

If you get a chance, visit the the BluDomain Blog and check out Laura's posts. I personally think the picture is pretty good too....

A Funny Thing Happened in The Office This Week

It is quite an experience to received Professional Photographer magazine at work (we place an ad in the back of the magazine for incorporation services) and see your fiancée’s name on the front cover. What a fun thing to happen in cubicle land! Certainly beats the excitement of getting the new coffee machine!

When I got over the feelings of pride and the fun of boasting to co-workers, I sat down and read the article about Laura.

My favorite quotes from the article Clear Vision were:

"People think of business as all hard skills, but that's not true. You have to be creative in managing people and in marketing. Business is a very creative process, and I enjoy that about it."

"I could expand, hire three more people and keep them very busy," she says. But she's questioning the cost benefit of allowing expansion without figuring how it would relate to her vision. "

"Sometimes, it is good to have competition"

"Peope often try to compete by doing the same thing other people are doing. But if you offer something different, then it is easier to compete. A client might go with someone else, and if they do, great. That's the art of target marketing. If you try to be everything to everyone, you end up being not a whole lot to anyone."

To learn more about target marketing and managing employees, check the courses offered at Strategy Avenue.

The full article is posted to Laura's blog, which can be found HERE.

On the Road

"On the road again
Just can't wait to get on the road again
The life I love is makin' music with my friends
And I can't wait to get on the road again
On the road again
Goin' places that I've never been
Seein' things that I may never see again,
And I can't wait to get on the road again."

We will be checking out the branding on US Highway 95 over the next couple days. All purchases from Strategy Avenue will be shipped upon our return after the holiday. Happy 4th of July!

Even though we will be out of the office, we will still keep our eye out for some branding champions. Actually, think of the Highway system signs-great branding and easily recognizable. State licence plates are also great branding for the State or Commonwealth-tag lines included:

Update : Strategy Avenue CDs

Thank you to all of those who have purchased Strategy Avenue CDs in the last few weeks.  We are so excited for you to embark on a new direction with your business and sincerely hope that this new information will allow you pursue your greatest passion, while making a living at it.

A couple of tips for watching the Strategy Avenue CDs:

- Each CD takes 45 minutes to an hour of time.  Before you begin, I highly recommend printing out all the worksheets and place them in front of you for easy access.

- You will get the most out of each CD if you set aside uninterrupted time: turn off your cell phones, shut your office door, grab a snack, shuffle around your messy desk a little, and put up your feet so you can focus.  Think of it as an exercise class - you wouldn't walk out in the middle of hip hop step aerobics and just hope for a smaller butt!  You have to follow through and you will get the most out of it.

- Each CD is whittled down to the most pertinent information to your business for maximum impact so you may want to watch it several times over the course of the year and see what you learn each time!

Also a big thank you to those of you who have purchased the CDs - with each Strategy Avenue CD John and I can invite someone else to our wedding so think of it as contributing to a little love into the world.  We'll be sure to send you a wedding photo!

Warmly

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