Quote:
Originally Posted by sk66
I think the point was that running a business, any business, is basically the same. Not that they are all identical, EVERY business is different. Even two similar photography businesses will be different in the details...
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Exactly. Business is business. While every business is different, the basic principles of running a business are pretty much the same across the board.
Also, I luv ya Jim! But I have to disagree a bit. In reality, there aren't businesses of necessity and luxury. If you can make money doing it, it's a necessity...because someone thinks enough of your product or service to part with their money to get it. Even grocers have to be on top of their game. We all need food. Food is a necessary product. You would think it would be an easy market. It's not. Quite the opposite. Because it is a necessity, competition is fierce. And if there isn't competition now, there will be if you slack. Someone will see an opportunity to knock you off. Sometimes the necessary products are the toughest to succeed at because the market is already saturated and everyone assumes it's a sure win to start this type of business. Another reason that market research is so important and making undocumented assumptions about a particular market are like a bullet in the head to the new business owner.
Plumbing/HVAC are technically necessary services. But like the legion of ametuer photographers, I do my own plumbing and HVAC work at home. There are tools, products, and technologies that make it very easy to do it yourself now days. You can't change the channel on your TV without coming across a DIY show that shows you how to do just about anything. And besides, I enjoy it. A plumber or HVAC tech is not a necessity to me. Does that mean that it is a business to avoid getting into because it's so easy to do it yourself today? Hardly. There are those that simply don't know how, don't want to learn, don't want to get messy, or don't have the time so they call the pros. The exact same can be said for photography.
In these "necessity" markets, there are still businesses who fail every year while there are those that have been around forever. It comes back to how you run your business and stay on top of it...how well you know your market, how you plan, how organized you are, how you take advantage of your niches, how open you are to a changing market, etc.