Framing for photo, video success
Editor’s Note: The Signal reached out to local entrepreneurs to share their stories, challenges and triumphs with the rest of the business community. For more on entrepreneurs and local resources, check out this month’s Business Journal at SignalSCV.com.
This week, we asked Brian and Lindsay Schlick, co-owners of SchlickArt Photography and Video Productions, about their company’s goals, and what helped make them successful at working toward their oneyear, three-year and fiveyear goals that they established for their business.
Year 1
We started as two specialists who wanted to try their hands at running a business, so our first goal was just to find clients — and see if a photography business was even possible.
That year was an experiment, really. One of the best things we did to accomplish our goal was hold a strategic planning weekend, where we would write down our one-year, five-year and 10-year goals on a giant post-it note. (We still do that annually.)
That allowed us to start off on the right foot, and after that, we focused on honing our craft, establishing a niche and discovering our signature style.
We also kept costs as low as possible, spending money mostly on marketing, so we could take things slowly until we really knew what we had.
Year 3
Around year three, we first had the feeling that this was actually working. We had laid the foundation of our business, and by getting to know our clients’ needs and expectations, we were really starting to understand our brand and voice.
Our headshots had taken off, and business was relatively steady. It was time to refine our systems and increase our revenue.
We quickly realized, however, there wasn’t enough time in the day to serve more clients, so we began outsourcing jobs, such as photo retouching and bookkeeping.
That allowed us to really concentrate on profit and growth.
Year 5
After year three, we started growing at 20 percent or more annually, a pace we’ve been able to maintain because of our firm foundation.
We could feel the momentum building, and by year five, we knew it was time to get serious about a longtime goal of ours: launching a video division.
During our strategic planning meeting, we set revenue goals, wrote policies and procedures, and got our marketing materials together. That year, we launched video and expanded our business — and we even met our goal of buying a house a few years early.”