Full time photographers and the Coronavirus

You applied for the Paycheck Protection Program through your bank or credit union?

This should be your first step. Freelance contractors will be covered. The list of requirements is very short with the most important one being this...
· Individuals who operate as a sole proprietor, independent contractor or who is self-employed and regularly operates an ongoing business.

https://home.treasury.​gov …lication-3-30-2020-v3.pdf

Here's more information on some of the things available...
https://www.merkley.se​nate.gov …ce%20Info%20and​%20FAQ.pdf

I urge you to apply for everything you are eligible for. Funds are there to help you get through this. Do not wait for individual checks as they will be small and random and we may not receive anything until May. If you didn't give the Gov your banking information on last years taxes to accept automatic transfers you may be waiting even longer for a paper check as they will be issued LAST.

I have owned my own business for most of my adult life. I am 53 now. In November I started pushing food photography and I was getting good traction and building clients fairly easily. Now that is all daed and gone. I don't qualify for any relief funding. I am lucky my wife works in health insurance and for now has a steady income.

As far as my food photography business goes it seems gone and I am not optimistic about restaurants rushing to get pictures when they reopen.. The restaurants I shot for are all panicked and most don't see anyway out with out closing. Food photography is looked at as a luxury for most, not the marketing necessity it really is. I am sure those that have pictures and a good online presence are doing better in the take-out business than the others. Take out food won't save any of the restaurants. It is a way to keep a little cash flowing but for most it is a way to remain relevant in the market to their consumers.

To try and keep my business relevant I have offered to host on line menus for for the restaurants that don't have a way to post theirs and I post pro-restaurant articles and take out information on my social media sites. I was thinking of offering to take architectural photos of the front of the restaurants at golden hour on spec. I would take the pic and after they reopen, if they like the pic they can pay for the rights to use it. I don't know how many if any will take me up on the offer but I am hoping the email I send will be received well and they will remember my trying to help if they remain open and have some money again. My fear is they are so stressed any communication will seem like I am trying to profit off of them as they go bankrupt.

Any one have any good promotional ideas???

Why do you not qualify? Did you fill out an application?

“The SBA is currently unable to accept new applications for the Paycheck Protection Program based on available appropriations funding,” US Small Business Admin. says

Did you try applying through your bank? Mine just finally opened up yesterday.

Yes, no one really knows what's going on yet. Kind of the same thing with my camera gear insurance and car insurance. The national company I am insured with says I am getting a corona discount yet I just received my bill form my insurance broker and it did not reflect the discount and they knew noting about the letter from the insurance company.

I client of mine is also on the radio and he interviewed a bank about the SB alone and forgiveness that is lined above.

https://www.iheart.com …s-banks-joe-bean-61120939

K Soze wrote in post #19046281
To try and keep my business relevant I have offered to host on line menus for for the restaurants that don't have a way to post theirs and I post pro-restaurant articles and take out information on my social media sites. I was thinking of offering to take architectural photos of the front of the restaurants at golden hour on spec. I would take the pic and after they reopen, if they like the pic they can pay for the rights to use it. I don't know how many if any will take me up on the offer but I am hoping the email I send will be received well and they will remember my trying to help if they remain open and have some money again. My fear is they are so stressed any communication will seem like I am trying to profit off of them as they go bankrupt.

Any one have any good promotional ideas???

I think the offer you just posted is a great idea, stay in touch with your clients, reschedule as much as you can and push come to shove barter for a while.

Once your clients get back on their feet, you will not be forgotten for the way you tried to help them out.

By the way the PPP will be refunded probably by the end of the week, and you can also apply for a pre-forgiven loan of up to $10K to carry you over, it's a not a grant so it has no real strings attached and it is aside of the PPP funding and being pre-forgiven you are not required to pay it back, but and I cannot get a clear answer out of the SBA about this it may be considered taxable income.

Wayne

Luckily for me I had a full time job "on the side", so the unemplyment is taking care of my bills. However, I shoot mostly sports for a newspaper (HS, college, & pro) & that extra $$ is all gone. I need to book a hotel for the HOF game in August & I have to make sure it can be canceled w/o charges because who the hell knows for sure where we'll be in a few months!

I also make a good amount of $$ every summer shooting charity golf events, so far 3 out of the 4 I had scheduled have already been canceled & I'm sure the 4th will follow. Postponements are possible but golf courses have dates booked years in advance & it may be tough to reschedule.

I have a "force majeure" clause in my contracts & could technically keep all deposits. I'm not going to do that because I think all it will do in the end is loose me future gigs.

I have a feeling there will be a lot of changes to contracts in the future due to this unforeseen event, & not just in photography.

MBR wrote in post #19051114
I think the offer you just posted is a great idea, stay in touch with your clients, reschedule as much as you can and push come to shove barter for a while.

Once your clients get back on their feet, you will not be forgotten for the way you tried to help them out.

I can only hope.

I applaud the fact that you understand the position that restaurants are in, and trying to find ways to increase the value of their businesses. So many other types of photography businesses have been equally impacted - event photography, for example.

I think that one of the keys to your continued long-term success will be to continue to keep in touch with all these businesses, reach out to other businesses you haven't worked with yet (even though they cannot afford you now), and keep your name in front of as many potential future customers that you can. It could be a year from now, two years, or even more before these restaurants once again have a budget for photo shoots, but their business and marketing WILL come back! If your name is the one they remember, you're the one they'll call for their photography needs in the future.

In the short term, you may need to do what I'm trying to do - diversify and get into other types of photography that will (hopefully) have a quicker return.

Good luck!

Unfortunately, or fortunately, all we are in a situation! I think it’s wonderful that so many have utilized this “pandemic” to look inside and reimagine themselves.

I received my PPP and EIDG funds last Tuesday. I have a small machine shop. I've paid back lease and utilities and have my guys coming back to work on limited, staggered shifts tomorrow.