What to do this off season?

I have learned so much from this sub-forum and I have saved myself potential headaches so I thought I would turn to the minds here.

Where I live gets very cold in the winter and bookings are slim and none so during this time I want to better myself in regards to photography and the business side of things. Last off season I spent as much time as I could working with Photoshop to the point I feel comfortable doing basic things. This past year has been quite busy and I've spent more time doing photography than my normal job so I want to brush up on the business side of things.

What do you do or what would you do if you had a slow time of year to work on things? Thanks all.

Not working is the short answer. I have a few weeks planned downtime mid season which is late January / early February. I've also got late June, July and August scheduled to be downtime too (photography is my sole income source). To be honest I need that time to recharge and do other things. I don't have any interest in picking up a camera unless I'm shooting a wedding or travelling. I have a couple of marketing projects planned but they won't take more than a day or so each and I may just keep them on the back burner for some point in the future. I'm fairly well established now though and more than half my work comes from word of mouth.

If I were you I'd outline some key objectives on where you want to take things the coming year. There is no reason why you can't for example have all your marketing plan for the next 12 months mapped out and ready to go. When it is all ready in advance it is one less thing to have to think about when times are busy.

Likewise I'd look closely at your processes, becoming more efficient and streamlining in every area you possibly can. Template all your emails, standardise your workflow etc. Over the years my streamlining has saved me a good 2-3 months a year. That is more time to take paid jobs or have off away from the business.

memoriesoftomorrow wrote in post #17276422
Not working is the short answer. I have a few weeks planned downtime mid season which is late January / early February. I've also got late June, July and August scheduled to be downtime too (photography is my sole income source). To be honest I need that time to recharge and do other things. I have any interest in picking up a camera unless I'm shooting a wedding or travelling. I have a couple of marketing projects planned but they won't take more than a day or so each and I may just keep them on the back burner for some point in the future. I'm fairly well established now though and more than half my work comes from word of mouth.

If I were you I'd outline some key objectives on where you want to take things the coming year. There is no reason why you can't for example have all your marketing plan for the next 12 months mapped out and ready to go. When it is already in advance it is one less thing to have to think about when times are busy.

Likewise I'd look closely at your processes, becoming more efficient and streamlining in every area you possibly can. Template all your emails, standardise your workflow etc. Over the years my streamlining has saved me a good 2-3 months a year. That is more time to take paid jobs or have off away from the business.

Thanks for responding.

Good idea about the marketing. I guess I need to sit down and figure out what I am hoping to do this next season and where I want it to take me.

Streamlining is a great idea too and one I have already started implementing. As I am not busy, the shoots I do get, I try different things to see if that makes things faster or slower and go from there.

+1 on marketing

I am dealing with a few marketing clients right now and their business is already closed for the season. I advise all of them to use the downtime to focus on their marketing and get new customers for when the season reopens next year.

I also bulk organise my pre-wedding client meetings at the start of each half of the season. Given that I know what dates I'm booked and where I'll be I schedule the meetings to minimise my time away from home.

I plan my post processing/editing workflow out for the season (or half season). Breaking each job into its component parts (culling, editing, creative edits, slideshow, album design etc) and scheduling them all into my calendar. That way I know when I can have time off and whether or not I have capacity to fit in any extra jobs. Basically it is project management treating each client as a mini project.

After I've done this I also determine the dates/times I'll be available for prospective client meetings.

For myself with any business strategy/marketing planning I'm doing I'm always not looking at the coming season during my downtime. I'm looking at the season after that... i.e. working 1 year plus ahead.

When I am slow I always try to get out and work on my personal work. Sometimes out of town for a while just to be in a new environment. It's rare I have more than a week free.

Food Photography...

I shoot a little more personal work. And I take some time off. For me photography is my only job and as much as I love it I sometimes need some time away.

Here are a few ideas:

1. Approach local winter sports teams about team and action photos
   
2. Approach local businesses about product or premises photos
   
3. Check local event calendars and offer to do photos of their event
   

Cuba for 3 weeks then Kauai for a month. Lots of personal photography that I will convert into sales when I get home...but the emphasis on the photography is personal.