Okay, look, I'm not really one for giving advice. Well, I kind of am, but I don't like being told what to do or how to do things. Honestly, I'm no expert on many topics. I tend to muddle through and sometimes manage to get one thing right at a time, at least one thing that makes sense to me. So, follow along with our story of tripping over our own feet and learning something along the way.
Lyn and I started selling our photographs in late January 2025. And when I say selling well, we created a store on an e-commerce platform with high hopes. Well, everyone had told us our photos were great, amazing, beautiful, and they would buy one in a second. One month later, we awoke to the reality. All those people who said our photos were amazing and would buy one in a second had not bought one, and neither had anyone else.
We had followed everything on the internet and on YouTube to the letter. But three months in and still no sales. Many visits, and I mean a lot. A few started the process of purchasing one, but did not follow through with it. So, where were we going wrong? We have selected the best photos. Purchased frame mock-ups to present the pictures in frames and on the wall. I dug out all my old paperwork from my twenty-five years as a printer. Spent weeks upgrading my knowledge of the new papers out there. Writing clear and detailed information about those papers that I believe would be helpful to buyers.
Learning about SEOs (Search Engine Optimisation) to drive traffic to our store. Spending money on online marketing. Spending hours understanding the platform so we could get the most out of it. Purchasing new camera equipment, such as a lens, to give higher-quality images. Spending hours editing images, loading them up, and you know what we got? Nothing. Not one sale, not even a hint of a sale.
Sorrento Backbeach, Victoria (Photo Taken by Wayne & Lyn)
So, why wasn't this working? At this point, I recall something someone once said to me. If something isn't working, and you have continually hit your head against the same brick wall (meaning doing the same thing over and over again), Take a step back, walk away for a while, and get a fresh perspective. And the perspective was a cold reality. We are but one needle in a stack of thousands of other needles inside the most enormous haystack ever. This means there are so many photographers doing what we are attempting, and they had a head start on us. This revelation was a chilly wake-up call. Oh, but it didn't stop there.
Everyone I watched stated that doing digital downloads can be a source of passive income. Firstly, I have found that in photography, there is no passive income. As far as we have discovered, every aspect of photography, no matter what form you do, will involve hard, long work. Whether that involves driving to a photo shoot, taking the photos and then spending hours editing them. And dont forget you, yes, you, doing all your own marketing for your business. Yeah, still working on the marketing part.
Now, I know people will disagree with us, but this is what we have found. But once you come to that realisation that you have to put in the hours of work and that you are but one needle in thousands, it does help you to see the hard road ahead.
Mooring Chain off a Nineteenth-Century Pier (Photo Taken by Wayne & Lyn)
Look, we've identified a few key points that we're currently implementing
.
Being honest and realistic with yourself at all times.
Once I realised this, that it's the very foundation that everything sits on. There is no one else to tell you things, so you have to be that person. Now, being honest and realistic isn't telling yourself you are a crap photographer and that your photos are no good. No, it's realising you have more to learn and you may need more practice. Doing this stops you from doing the same thing over and over again. I had to stop thinking that everything was going to work out.
Putting 110% in.
Putting in 110% means being honest and realistic with yourself. I always believed I was investing well over 110% of my effort into the business. I thought that couldn't be the reason for its struggles, given all the hard work I was putting in. However, when I started to calculate the actual amount of work I was doing, I realised I was only putting in about 65% of my time and effort.
You can't expect to run a successful business with just 65% effort. Even reaching a good or great business requires dedication at 110%. With only 65%, you're simply not going to make it. I had to face the fact that I wasn't contributing enough to get the business off the ground.
This realisation forced me to make some serious decisions. I understood that just putting in more hours wouldn't be the solution; I needed to make my time more productive.
Splitting your work area and your leisure area away from each other.
Splitting my work area from my leisure area was one of the biggest realisations I came to. I encountered a common problem many people face: we live in a time when mobility is easy. We have laptops that allow us to work anywhere. We can sit on the lounge and do whatever we want, or enjoy a beautiful summer evening in the backyard, sipping tea, eating biscuits, watching the sunset, and getting work done.
However, I found that my brain associated the lounge with leisure time. It was a place where I could sit, talk to Lyn, have a cup of tea, watch television, or scroll on my phone—all activities I engaged in during my leisure time. I had inadvertently brought my work into this leisure space, doing everything related to my photography business on the lounge. As a result, I ended up sipping tea, eating biscuits, chatting with Lyn, scrolling on my phone, or watching TV, but not actually working on the photography business we were trying to start.
I realised that since my brain viewed the lounge as a place for leisure, I struggled to engage in work there. I needed to physically separate the two areas to retrain my mind. I had a designated workspace just a few feet away, but it was easier to sit on the lounge and work. This wasn't effective, so I needed to commit to taking my photography business back to the designated work area.
To help my brain understand that I was working when I was seated in that space, I decided that if I felt the urge to take a break and scroll through my phone or watch videos, I would set a specific time limit. For example, if it were 1:00 PM, I'd tell myself that at 1:30 PM, I would take a break and relax on the lounge for a while.
Over time, this practice retrained my brain to distinguish between work and leisure. Just as we do at a conventional job, where our brains recognise our workspace as an area for work, I needed to reclaim that separation at home. I believe many others struggle with this as well, but for me, breaking the two areas apart changed everything. Once I did this, my productivity significantly improved. It took time to retrain my mind, but the effort greatly increased the amount of work I was able to accomplish.
Sorting out your workload for the week.
This topic is significant for me: organising my workload for the week. When you work for someone else, your tasks are typically set. For example, if you're a forklift driver, you know you'll need to unload ten trucks daily. The next day, you might be loading ten trucks instead. So, let's say you unload trucks on Monday and Tuesday, then spend Wednesday moving items around in the warehouse. Thursday and Friday are dedicated to loading trucks. This structure gives you a clear understanding of your weekly workload and helps you gauge how quickly you can complete tasks.
In contrast, when you're self-employed, like in a photography business, your workload encompasses everything. You handle photography, editing, marketing, website management, and social media—you're doing it all. This raises the question: how do you manage your workload for the week?
For photographers, it's often crucial to allocate a specific day for shooting. For instance, you might spend Sunday taking photos. From Monday to Friday, you focus on editing those photos and managing social media. Let's break it down. On Monday, you might decide to post a photo on Instagram. Once you've done that, you'll quickly review the photos taken over the weekend, but that process can consume an entire day, especially if you have thousands of photos to sift through.
Then, Tuesday rolls around, and you realise you still need to finish editing the photos from the previous day, which takes up yet another day. Meanwhile, writing blogs is also on your to-do list, yet you find yourself stuck and uninspired. As a result, the bulk of your week slips by without completing those tasks.
A suggestion would be to take a step back and outline bullet points for your blog. This can help clarify your ideas even while you're feeling uninspired. Unfortunately, if you keep switching tasks, your blog writing may suffer throughout the week, leading to missed deadlines.
Engaging with your audience is also an important aspect of this workload. If you're active on social media, you'll receive a lot of comments and messages that deserve responses. Interacting with your audience takes time, but it's essential since they are taking the time to engage with you.
To create a more effective weekly plan, consider designating specific times for tasks. For instance, allocate both Saturday and Sunday for photography, then on Monday and Tuesday, transfer those photos to your computer or cloud storage, and organise them accordingly. This structured approach will not only help manage your workload but also ensure you're making progress on all fronts.
Wednesday is your designated blog day, so it's time to focus on creating content. Your goal is to publish a blog once a week, and this is the time to work on it. If you're not feeling inspired, jot down some bullet points or ideas and brainstorm for a bit. It can be helpful to have a few other blog topics in mind that you're more enthusiastic about. Just because you're working on one blog doesn't mean you have to post it right away.
Before you start publishing blogs, ensure you have a few backup posts ready—ideally 5 to 10—that you can use when inspiration is lacking. This way, you'll have a buffer and won't feel pressured to come up with something last minute.
On Thursdays, consider creating a video, as many people enjoy that format. Again, having backup videos can be beneficial. If inspiration doesn't strike on Thursday, you still have content ready to go.
Fridays can be reserved for preparing your equipment for the weekend. Make sure you're checking everything and getting organised. It's important to find a balance and keep your creativity flowing.
One key lesson I've learned is to avoid letting your workload spiral out of control. There were times when I spent hours editing photos, and everything else fell by the wayside. Before I knew it, I hadn't published a blog or a video, and I felt rushed to get something out. That approach isn't sustainable.
So, create a manageable workload and stick to it as much as possible. As an independent business owner, you need to embrace some degree of flexibility, but try to maintain a structured framework for your tasks. If you find sudden inspiration on a Wednesday and feel compelled to work on a blog, feel free to shift your schedule. Complete your regular Wednesday tasks on Thursday instead, and get back to your normal routine the following week. It's all about keeping things fluid yet organised.
Sunset at the Backbeach (Photo Taken by Wayne & Lyn)
Work Life Balance.
Finding a work-life balance is crucial, especially in fields like your own business. If you don't manage to balance your work and personal life, you risk burning out and, ultimately, you might come to resent the very thing that brings you the lifestyle and creative freedom you desire.
When you have a job, it's essential to establish clear boundaries: work during the day and leave work-related issues behind when the day is over. As someone advised me many years ago, leave your home troubles at the door of your workplace. They will still be there when you return. The same applies to work-related stress—don't bring it home with you, leave it at the front door. Those issues aren't going anywhere; you can address them tomorrow.
If you're working a five-day week in photography, remember that you don't have to adhere strictly to an 8:00 to 5:00 schedule. You can be flexible. If you can complete your work in fewer hours, that's great! You can organise your day to fit your needs—work in the early morning, take a break, and then resume later if that works better for you.
If you're out taking photos and being creative, you don't have to go every day. It's essential to find a life balance, especially if you have family commitments. Make sure you devote time to your family and friends as well. It's a delicate balancing act. While you need to manage your business obligations, you must also prioritise downtime. Don't forget to take care of yourself in the process.
Comments ()