Photographer Job.. what would you do?

3 year non compete sounds ridiculous. Try to negotiate it down if poss.

Hows about instead of competing with the shop thats offered you the job, you actually use it to your advantage and see if he would help you start a shop in 2 years in your new location? That way you both potentially profit out of it (you get start up capital and he gets a diverging business).

That to me sounds the best option - he gets payback for helping to train you and you get the support you will need as a new business.

heathermarie wrote in post #5614065
Well by that article, this non compete is far too broad and would not hold up in court , but yes I did take the job, still nervous about the non compete, haven't signed it yet, but I did get them to agree to a higher pay, so that's cool

Don't sell yourself short.

Once you start on that road it is very hard to go back.

Even though the non-compete my not hold up in court I'd say that I would tell them there is no way you are signing it anyways.

Here is what I would say: "The offer sounds good and I'm looking to get 25% commission for every sale I make on top of the hourly pay".

He will say "No way"

You say "I guess we can work something out if I give you back the 25% and you strike out the non-compete".

I'm in tech support too, and I hate it too. I'm looking for a way out.

If you can afford, bottom line, to take the pay cut, then do it. Your sanity is more valuable than the $6 you're going to gain, doing a job you hate. What's more, is the job you're doing now secure? At least if you leave and take the pay cut, you'll be getting valuable experience within the industry, and valuable practice at the craft that you obviously love doing. Have you thought about maybe taking a second, part time job to make up the difference?

If I was you, and I could afford to live on $6 less an hour, I'd go in a heartbeat.

I would negotiate on that non-compete as well. It sounds like its a blanket agreement where you can't work at all for three years in a 50 miles radius. Not cool and slightly unfair.

On the other side of the coin, I have assistants that work with me on a regular basis sign a 2 year non-compete agreement. But it's not a blanket agreement which would make it difficult for them to make a living.

They could work competing directly against me with whatever clients they find on their own, even if its next door to my studio. But they can not work for any of my clients for 2 years after they stop working for me. I'm not going to spend the time training my assistants, then have them put up a shingle of their own, and then steal my clients that I have worked hard for, and ones they now have inside knowledge about.

Having them on the inside in your business is a distinct advantage to them if they were going to compete against you. They would understand your deliverables, policies, pricing strategies, negotiation terms, how you sell your clients, and so on. If you knew all this about your competition, wouldn't that a great advantage for your position? It's bad enough that they have all that inside information when I am directly competing against them on an estimate for new clients, but having them use that information to steal my existing clients would really suck.

Without a non-compete agreement, if I did hire an assistant or second photographer on occasion, it will be strictly to pack and unpack gear, run for coffee, and other menial tasks. I wouldn't be teaching then anything related to photography, techniques, business, contracts, pricing, operations, etc. Since there is no agreement, they could use anything they learn to their advantage.

For my assistants with a signed non-compete agreement, I am willing to give them more info on the business knowing that I won't be competing directly against them with my client for at least 2 years. After than, its fair game and business as usual. And on new clients, they would have the upper advantage since they know how I operate, but I wouldn't know much about their business.

If they don't like the non-compete, and are happy to just get me coffee and carry my equipment for me, then we'd get along just fine

Non-compete agreements are fair, as long as they are written in a fair manner.

If you're planning on moving 25 miles away in 2 years, then that's far enough away to where you won't be screwing him/her over. My assistant has made comments about opening her own studio, and I say the more the merrier! She knows I plan on expanding the studio to other towns in this area, and she's more than welcome to manage one when the time comes. So if she wants to play hard ball a few years down the road, I'm all for it! There are enough weddings to go around, and it takes a while to build a client base for portraits. She knows she's better off working for me than trying to compete. So you may want to offer a franchise deal with the photographer you decide to work with. You give her a commission for working under her studio's name and reputation, and the rest of the profit is yours.

AdrianeCale wrote in post #5663788
If you're planning on moving 25 miles away in 2 years, then that's far enough away to where you won't be screwing him/her over. My assistant has made comments about opening her own studio, and I say the more the merrier! She knows I plan on expanding the studio to other towns in this area, and she's more than welcome to manage one when the time comes. So if she wants to play hard ball a few years down the road, I'm all for it! There are enough weddings to go around, and it takes a while to build a client base for portraits. She knows she's better off working for me than trying to compete. So you may want to offer a franchise deal with the photographer you decide to work with. You give her a commission for working under her studio's name and reputation, and the rest of the profit is yours.

Thats similar to what i suggested - makes the transition to your own business a lot less painful if your current boss puts up the capital and gives you support in return for a cut of the profits. Also having a known name to trade under would probably help initially.

Sorry Neil, didn't notice your post... I kinda tend to read the first page of posts then go off on my rant...

The NC is a more than a little harsh. And I am pretty sure it is not enforceable without some serious cash to an attorney - for both parties. In the San Jose area there are so many shooters at all levels this would never fly more than 6" from the table. Many semiconductor companies try this crap and the employees laugh and sign it anyway. There is no way to enforce it unless everyone that ever worked for them signed too.

I'd say don't sign it or come up with your own version that covers both equally. A contract is supposed to be fair to both parties.

So, did you take it?

I did actually, today was my second day. Its hard work, but it will pay off Thanks everyone.

Man, and I was about to offer you a job shooting for Getty.

Oh well!

(congrats! )

heathermarie wrote in post #5668645
I did actually, today was my second day. Its hard work, but it will pay off Thanks everyone.

GOOD LUCK and LEARN all you can...