What we choose to buy, especially when first starting out, can have a huge effect on how our businesses grow. And yet, very often, this potential for growth is the last thing on our minds… The buying process usually starts and ends with the comparison of ourselves with other photographers, which leads to our thinking, “If only I had a new _____ like him/her, I would be just as good as them!”
For example: We see Photographer A begin shooting with a $2,500 lens that we covet immediately. We go out and buy that lens. But therein lies the problem… If we’d been thinking of INVESTMENT this whole time, we might’ve realized that we could have put the same $2,500 into advertising, thereby increasing our bookings by $20,000 that same year. Instead, we now have a new lens that only marginally improves our product.
So what are we to do when faced with this type of purchase situation? The best answer we’ve found – because, yes, we’ve fallen victim to this mindset in the past – is to constantly ask ourselves one question before each and every purchase we make… “Is this the best current investment?” If the answer to that question is yes, and we continue to make the best investments for our business, then the other things – like $2,500 lenses – will eventually be ours as well as we become more profitable and successful all around.
How do you decide what your purchases will be? Any other tips to share?
by Dylan
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