business final project

s Plan Executive Summary

Introduction

Working as a partnership in this business endeavor splits the low investment cost of

starting a photography service and business. As partners, we can share the load of initial funding

needed to begin. The startup costs of said business are very low. As amateur photography

hobbyists, we have the most expensive equipment already: high end DSLR cameras. As

described in the plan, this is all we need to startup.

The Company

Adirondack Photography Unlimited located in Plattsburgh, NY is a photography service

with many sources of income. Our mission is to become a prominent feature in Plattsburgh as a

high quality, community friendly business that will stand out as a leader due to high quality

service.

The Product

Our products will be “the highest quality photography service for the lowest price in

town.” The products are many: Contract, event, studio, wedding, yearbook, senior, and stock

photography, as well as other opportunities as they arise. The advantage of digital photography is

that the business does not need to always provide physical photographs; they would be handed

out on a specialized album on a CD where the end consumer can print the photographs in the size

and format they desire.

Market Potential

The marketing potential involves many potential low-cost sources: the newspaper, radio

advertisements, yellow pages, a company website, Internet advertisements on photography

hobbiest websites, word of mouth from customers, etc. With good marketing, a studio can be

small and poorly located, or eliminated altogether in the beginning of the business startup.

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Berton Pollock

Business Plan Proposal

Adirondack PhotographyDr. Fadi Helwanji

Spring 2014

Business Proposal: Create a multifaceted robust photography presence and business to

provide the community with a wide range of photography services.

The Contemporary Business Environment:

The goal of the Adirondack Photography will be to provide many local photography

services to the community, create an online portfolio of stock photographs and images for sale to

individuals, businesses, organizations, and others worldwide.

Adirondack Photography is a partnership between both owners split 50/50 so neither

individual owns more of the business than the other.

The ideal local customers are consumers who need photography service, such as, but not

limited to family photography, business photography, graduate photography for local schools,

colleges, and universities, and yearbook photography for local schools, colleges, and universities,

The global aspect of Adirondack Photography with come in the form of an Internet

database of stock photography than can be bought in multiple resolutions and ways via an online

photograph and image database run by the business’ website.

Social responsibility will be demonstrated be having clear and concise pricing and

product for local photography services. Stock photography will have clear and concise pricing

for stock photography depending on the resolution of the photograph or image and terms of

service as to how the image can be used.

The Business of Managing:

Both partners share an equal amount of management within the business. Internal factors

rest solely on the relationship partnership, management and security of expensive photography

equipment, and overseeing and managing the stock photographer’s submissions and pay.

External factors to take into consideration are as follows: A SWOT analysis of the

business would show that our strength would be multiple venues for income. Photograph

sessions, family photos, weddings, stock images, Getty images, and local businesses that need

photography such as WPTZ and the Press-republican. Another strength is that the partners do not

need to quit their daytime jobs in the initial phases of the business.

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Berton Pollock

Business Plan Proposal

Adirondack PhotographyDr. Fadi Helwanji

Spring 2014

Our weakness will be a slow start to the business and our low profile. There will be no

studio for the first month and a half of the business startup. There also are established

photographers in Plattsburgh that Adirondack Photography would have to compete against.

Competition will lead to opportunity, with a strength of a slow start, overhead costs will

also be low, allowing us to make low-cost, and perhaps no profit bids to the local schools and

university to gain attention to the services Adirondack Photography offers.

Threats to Adirondack Photography also land in the slow start of the business. The studio

opens after six weeks have passed, leaving only eighteen weeks to start turning a profit to keep

the business afloat for the general concept that a business has to survive for six months or risk

going out of business and failing altogether.

People and organizations:

Adirondack Photography will only start with two employees – both partners. However,

there will be a number of photographers who are not on the official payroll, but are paid a

percentage they submit a photograph to the database and it sells. With this model, we could

conceptually have unlimited photographers populating the database to attempt to have the

photograph or image sell. Adirondack Photography will share in the profit of a sold photograph,

with the business keeping 30% of the profit, and 70% going to the photographer. There is a

sample breakdown of pricing later in this business plan.

Adirondack Photography will also need a lawyer, an accountant, and a marketing

specialist, all of which are on-call instead of full time employees.

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The lawyer will assist in reviewing business policies and law for selling photographs in

special situations, such as when an image contains a picture of someone who did not sign a

model release form or other laws such as fair use laws and creative commons laws.

The accountant will assist in initial setup of costs for photograph prices, startup costs for

the business, taxes at the end of the year, and other duties as the need arises.

The marketing specialist will assist in the initial marketing phase of the business and

provide ongoing suggestions for additional opportunities.

Principles of Marketing:

Adirondack Photography’s marketing specialist will manage the initial marketing phase

of the business. Our product is fairly simple – photographs, however there are many different

services and devices to deliver the photographs to the consumer as laid out in the Gantt chart at

the end of this proposal.

Initial marketing concepts are newspaper and radio advertisements, banner

advertisements on photography websites, fliers mailed to local businesses such as WPTZ and the

Press-Republican, participation and submission of works to art galleries, and fliers posted on

bulletin boards in both Clinton Community College and Plattsburgh State University. As the

business grows, television and billboard advertisements will be considered. Submissions to

WPTZ and the Press-Republican are free, as they have a great need for breaking news

photographs, and art galleries that need content to showcase. These low-cost venues of

marketing will benefit Adirondack Photography greatly.

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The website for Adirondack Photography will showcase the photography that is for sale,

as well as the other services provided. Using Ad Words and software programs will bring

Adirondack Photography to the first page of Google and Bing searches, greatly increasing public

knowledge of the business. We don’t need to submit real photographs or real paper media. It is

all done via the Internet. As we are able to take new photographs and add them to our site, our

income potential increases, as does the quality of the website. Our main place of distribution will

be done via the Internet at first, and in digital format provided to studio sessions and submissions

to schools. It will be the consumer’s responsibility to print out the photographs in any format

they want instead of the old fashioned way of purchasing a package deal where they receive the

product in multiple formats that they may not need or want. This pakes the place of the business

virtual, and in a studio as the business grows.

Furthermore, the business could contract to also sell its stock photography through

largely successful 3rd party agencies such as Getty images or the associated press.

Such interactions with local businesses with low cost graduation photography,

contracting with WPTZ and the Press-Republican, and such will demonstrate our social

responsibility – to provide high quality photographs when and where they are needed. Our global

impact will be very small to non-existent at first, but when a large base of stock photography is

established, anyone anywhere in the world can purchase from it.

This all may seem overwhelming for a fledgling business, but in truth it is not. All online

business transactions can be automated in the form of sales, and submissions to Getty images and

other agencies are a simple form on the Internet after a contract has been established. Photograph

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Free stock photograph courtesy of iStock photography


sessions do not need a studio or a brick and mortar store to do. Sessions could be held anywhere

with use of proper lighting and simple backdrops.

Family photograph sessions only require a few specialized “umbrella” lights and a

backdrop. This could be done in a photography studio, or in the comfort of the customer’s own

home. Wedding photographs would take place at the locations of the events. Senior photographs

would take place at the school/college/university that contracted out the service. Yearbook

photographs would also take place at the school/college/university that contracted out the service

as well. Other photography service locations would be negotiated depending on the needs of the

customer.

On the job training could

be in the form of job shadowing

one of the owners, depending on

the experience level of the

photographer if they live locally

enough to meet with the business

owners in person. This would be

a great opportunity to generate interest for the business while

raising the skill level of photographers affiliated with the business. Other training could be in the

form of simple suggestions as to how to take better photographs, better or different lenses, filters,

software applications such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightbox.

Our Internet photography submitters could be further motivated by bonus incentives,

such as when they hit a milestone of 100 photographs submitted to the web site, or having one or

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more of their photographs displayed on the front page, depending on quality. Our local

contractual photographers could be motivated by the opportunity to learn more about different

aspects of photography, such as different lenses. Job shadowing would also be an incentive for

motivation.

Our photographers will be lead example, kept happy with incentives, and motivated by

quantity of photographs equaling higher potential pay. Other incentives would be contests and

giveaways of camera accessories after the business has established an income to support such an

incentive.

Pricing would be along the lines as follows:

Stock Photography:

Small: 800x600 image | 10.7” x 8” @ 300dpi | ~ 500Kb | $10

Medium: 1024x768 | 13.65” x 10.24” @ 300dpi | ~1.5MB | $15

Large: 2700x1800 | 8.5” x 11.0” @ 300dpi | ~3.5MB | $20

XLarge: 4200x2800 | 14.0” x 9.3” @ 300dpi | ~8MB | $25

Other sizes can be negotiable

Large wedding photography service (4 hours): $1200

Includes twenty 8.5” by 11” photographs

A specialized high resolution CD with over 200 photographs for customers to select and print choice photographs

Additional photographs of the rehearsal, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and others can be negotiated for cost.

Full backups of the photographs in case of lost, damaged, or otherwise irretrievable conditions

Full rights to the photographs transferred to the customer

Small wedding photography service (3 hours): $900

Includes six 8.5” by 11” photographs

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A specialized high resolution CD with over 100 photographs for customers to select and print choice photographs

Additional photographs of the rehearsal, bachelor/bachelorette parties, and others can be negotiated for cost.



Family portrait session: $300

Optional on the spot printing service at an additional varying cost

A specialized high resolution CD with twenty photographs for customers to select and print choice photographs



100% satisfaction guarantee. If the customer is not satisfied, the session will be re-shot at no cost to the customer

Senior Photographs: $150

A specialized high resolution CD with ten photographs for customers to select and print choice photographs


Additional photographs at locations chosen by the consumer at varying cost


Small yearbook contract photographs: ~$4000

A specialized high resolution CD or DVD with up to 200 student photographs for the school to select and manipulate for their yearbook




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Large yearbook contract photographs: ~$8000

A specialized high resolution CD or DVD with up to 500 student photographs for the school to select and manipulate for their yearbook




Promotions for stock photography would rely on the Internet for marketing, as stated

above. Wedding promotions would be more spread out, including fliers, the company website,

advertisements on wedding planning and related websites, fliers, word of mouth, and other

opportunities as they arise. Family portrait session promotions would be very similar to wedding

promotions with fliers, the company website, advertisements on, fliers, word of mouth, and other

opportunities as they arise. Senior photograph promotions would be contract based, bidding to

schools. If a contract is accepted, marketing would take place on campus, in the

school/college/university newspaper, fliers posted on billboards and walls on the campus and

other opportunities presented by the customer. Yearbook marketing would also be very similar to

senior photograph promotions.

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The needs and costs of the business are as follows as a balance sheet:

Assets

Current assets:Liabilities and Shareholders' Equity

Cash $5,000 Current liabilities:Total current

assets $5,000 Accounts Payable $1,000 Total current liabilities: $1,000

Fixed Assets:Cameras $3,000 Long-Term liabilities:

Lenses $1,000 Bank Loan $5,000 Printing

Equipment $1,000 Rent$12,00

0

Backdrops $300 Total long-term liabilities$17,00

0 Lighting

Equipment $500

Other $500 Total liabilities$36,00

0 Total fixed

assets $6,300

Total assets$11,30

0

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As sample income statement is as follows:

Sales Revenue

Cost of Goods Sold:

Beginning Inventory: $5000

Purchases: $1500

Cost of goods for sale: Varies

TOTAL: $6500+

Gross Margin

Advertising: $500

Insurance: $500

Payments: Varies

TOTAL: $1000+

General Expenses:

Utilities: $750

Postage: $250

Taxes: Varies

TOTAL: $1000+

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Executive Summary:

Adirondack Photography operates with various sources of income where photographs are

maintained and stored in a database, or archived on a disc for the end consumer. Goals are as

follows: Start-up by use of a website and virtual employees, populate a database of photographs,

open a studio, take contracts for photography events such as school functions, and such.

Success will be measured in the form of time it takes to begin turning a profit, and how

sustainable the profit is as the business grows.

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Works Cited

Helwanji, Fadi. Lecture. Clasroom Lecture. Clinton Community College, Plattsburgh NY. Spring

21014 semester.

Pollock, Berton. Renaissance Festival. 2014. Photograph. Flickr.com, Sterling, NY. Web. 27 Feb

2014. http://www.flickr.com/photos/bpollock/9638050378/

“Happy experienced doctor in front, diverse group of patients - Stock Image“IStockphoto N.p, n.d. Web. 22 Apr

"Two Teenagers with Diploma in High School Graduation." IStockphoto. N.p., n.d. Fri. 18 Apr.

2014.

“Manual Worker – Stock Image” IStockphoto. N.p, n.d. Fri. 18 Apr. 2014

“African Family Portrait” IStockphoto. N.p n.d. Wed. 18 Fri. 2014

“Happy Teen With A Book” IStockphoto N.p. n.d. Wed. 18 Fri. 2014

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business final project

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