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Photography Business Success Course Introduction Lesson 6...

What’s the #1 secret to success in this (and any) business?... well, there are many mysteries in the universe, but this isn’t one of them!...

What’s the true secret to getting what you want out of life — when you want it? Why do some people have the “golden touch?” How is it that so many people just grind out their lives in day-to-day drudgery, while a few seem to breeze through, effortlessly, living the “good life?”

There is a secret — something every super-successful person knows — but it’s no mystery....

In the e-book The Secret Of Making $2,970.00 In One Weekend Photographing People And Pets, and in this introductory course, you learned how Pam and I are able to work when we want to, out of our home, making money in short, concentrated “bursts.”

And you learned how Pam’s style of photography, combined with my automatic marketing techniques, allow us to charge high fees.

You also learned that it wasn’t always that way.

As you know, we went nearly broke trying to perfect “our way” of doing business. And I’m not embarrassed to tell you — we screwed up a lot along the way.

But we went forward when we were scared (and didn’t know if what we were doing would work or not). And we stuck to our dreams, despite the fact that just about everyone around us said we were nuts and, “You can’t do it that way.”

You may be in the same “boat” now. Scared to take the plunge ...not knowing whether you will be successful or not ...faced with everyone telling you, “you can’t do that” (just remember, misery loves company — subconsciously they want you to work at something you less-than-love doing — just like they are!).

Well, like they say, the best “revenge” is living well, and these days, photographically, Pam and I take a lot of time off. When we do work, we block out some time and do a lot of sessions at once, which, of course, brings in a substantial amount of cash all at once, too!

And the really nice thing is, at this point, most of Pam’s sessions get instantly booked up with past clients, referrals, and people on her waiting list. Our marketing, business, and client-building systems have worked like a “charm” and we are now able to enjoy the rewards.

And remember, we’re still running all of our businesses out of our home, and except for actual physical session work, we can run our business from anywhere that has an Internet connection.

So, to the people who say this “can’t be done,” well, we’re doing it! We love our work, and we love large chunks of time off, too.

Yes, you can have both!

You may not realize how close you are to doing this yourself — if you apply the real “secret”...

I’ve always been fascinated by what makes some people successful, and others — not.

And it’s been an interesting “study” since Pam and I started the Not Your Normal School of Photography way back in 1997.

Like you, many others have been exposed to the information in this mini course. And since then, I’ve seen two things happen...

One group is using the information to start and build their dream business

~ and ~

The other group has done little or nothing with the information and is no better off than before they took the mini course.

What’s interesting, is that on the surface, there’s really no difference between these groups of people. Both have an equal amount of talent. And both have the same amount of desire to make a decent living “working” at something they love doing anyway.

So why is one group so much more successful than the other?

It boils down to one thing — the one secret every successful person knows about and will swear by — TAKING IMMEDIATE ACTION!!!

Let’s face it...

“Thinking about it” doesn’t work
"Wishing” doesn’t work
Waiting until you’re “ready” or until everything is “perfect” doesn’t work (just a little tip here, you’ll never be 100% “ready,” and nothing is 100% perfect [Sorry]).

The only thing that really works is to get out there, dig in, and start doing something — acting on your dreams now, in the fastest way possible.

Unfortunately, the only alternative to taking immediate action is spending the rest of your life watching other people pass you by — always waiting until “later” to start your life — and putting off doing the things that will give you the most fulfillment.

The choice, of course, is yours, and yours alone.

Sometimes it feels like you’re “doing something” when you’re not...

Scattered action — doing “research,” “getting ready,” improving skills that are already good enough, buying more equipment — it feels like action, looks like action, but it’s really not getting you anywhere, because you're not doing anything with enough focus and commitment to get you started now.

We can all take a lesson from Pam...

In the beginning, Pam wasn’t exactly sure what she wanted to do, but she knew she liked taking pictures, so she turned “pro” within months of getting her first camera. And she booked her first session before she even had a lighting system!

That’s action. She decided to do something — found out what she needed to know — got what she needed to get (I showed up with her lighting system the day before her first paying session) — and she just started doing it. Not perfectly at first, but she made the mental commitment to do work for pay and the rest followed.

If you want to be a successful pro photographer making large chunks of money in short periods of time make the mental commitment now — and I do mean this very millisecond — then start taking the actions required to make it a reality... the most important of which is acquiring the right knowledge base you’ll need to get started quickly and be competitive!

Rest assured, anyone can buy and learn to use equipment, but making money in today’s competitive world and economic conditions — having people flock to you, ready to pay you high session fees — requires more than that.

Doing it at will, out of your home or studio, is an even better trick. For that, you need a good plan, and some “inside” information that includes all the nitty gritty dirt and details that no one wants to tell you, if they even know about it to begin with.

The problem with “normal” books, schools, and correspondence courses

Everyone knows that “education” is important, but not all “education” is created equal. Too much education, or the wrong kind, can even hold you back.

For example, if you want to drive to the grocery store, all you need to know is how to drive. Going to automotive engineering school would be ridiculous and time consuming.

But that’s the approach most photo schools and correspondence courses take. Their “curriculums” can actually bog you down with too much stuff you don’t need to know to get going. Broad-based knowledge does not produce success.

But here’s what will... specific knowledge and being good, preferably the best, at one specific type of business.

And that’s why you can jump right to the top with little or no experience if you are able to zero-in on the exact set of information and skills you need.

And that’s why people with even extensive broad-based knowledge, or knowledge that is “skewed” too much in one direction fail in business.

Here’s what I mean by that...

You have to have a balance. You have to know enough about your market and have enough skill to “give ’em what they want.” On top of that, you need to have enough marketing savvy to make it all work as a business.

Most photographers flounder because they only acquire technical skill (and only at a generalist’s level). They don’t get really good at any one thing. Plus, they don’t explore what the market really wants and they don’t know anything about marketing.

Is it any wonder that someone with the right set of photographic and marketing skills can walk right over this crowd with the greatest of ease?

Now, here’s the one thing that turned our business — and our life — around! This may sound a little self-serving (and in some ways, it is), but if you understand this, you are well on your way to success at whatever you do...

You see, I’ve always been a bit of a “do-it-yourselfer” kind of guy. I always knew I could figure everything out!!!

And maybe I could, if I had unlimited time to do it.

But as it turns out, taking that approach — having that attitude — is like trying to build a car from scratch, starting with the proverbial “reinventing the wheel.”

Dumb.

And it was especially dumb when Pam’s business was failing. In those “dark” years, despite being a capable and talented photographer, Pam was on the fast track to becoming a waitress... all because we had a dream of working out of our home (but only when we wanted to!) and didn’t exactly know how to make it work.

And while I was determined to market the business without having to do any “selling,” I wasn’t quite able to “pull it off” at the time.

Things started looking pretty bleak, too. Like everyone was right, we “couldn’t do it that way.”

I knew something had to be done. And finally, I got to the point where I realized I needed some help!!! — a short cut to where we wanted to be, otherwise, disaster was closing in fast — time was running out.

So I started reading book after book on marketing. There were some good ones in the bunch, but mostly they were too general and none of them had anything to do with marketing photography — at least not the way we wanted to do it.

But I kept on plugging away. One thing led to another, and I happened to find a “home study marketing course” that, despite being for an entirely different field, I was sure it would help me. The author just seemed like he’d been “through the fire” and knew what he was talking about. But it cost $511.80.

At the time, that was a lot of money for me. So I tried to forget about it. But I couldn’t. Somehow I knew the answers I needed were in that course.

I gotta tell you, my voice was shaking on the phone when I finally ordered it (we didn't have online ordering in those days!). But I did order it — my desire to succeed had outstripped my fear of wasting a few bucks.

And a funny thing happened — what I learned enabled me to make back all of the money I spent on the course — plus earn a profit!

In essence, that course cost me nothing, it actually made me money. And now those ideas are part of my personal knowledge base that no one can take away from me.

Knowledge — good knowledge — is one of the few things in life that pays lifetime benefits.

This experience caused me to realize something else, too — it’s much easier, and cheaper, to buy the information you need when you’re able to find it, rather than try to figure out everything for yourself. Sure, you always end up adapting things to your own circumstance, but if you want to get to “ten,” it’s a lot easier to start out on “nine” than on “zero.”

For many years, my budget for information — books, seminars, courses — was over $10,000 a year. And I still spend a fair amount on keeping up with my continuing marketing and business education, although I have slowed down a bit. You know, the basics of business never really change, it is just a matter of keeping up with the latest technologies and staying “energized.”

And how about you? I assume that if you have gotten this far, you’re pretty serious about getting started, or getting on the right track if you are already up and running in some way. I also assume you like our “philosophy,” our way of doing things, and the information we have given you so far. If that's the case, or if you are just curious about what else we have to offer, I invite you to check out the full Photography Business Success Course which is a fairly massive course on the business of photography.

No, Pam and I can't magically make you a superstar photographer overnight. But we can give you a sizable head start. We can help you from making huge mistakes, and we can literally shave years off your learning curve, if you’re willing to “step up to the plate,” grab your dreams, and run with them!

Pam and I hope you have enjoyed and benefited from the book “The Secret Of Making $2,970.00 In One Weekend Photographing People And Pets” and this Introductory Course. If you’re ready to take the next step forward, you can learn about and enroll in the full Not Your Normal Photography® Business Success Courses here. Pam and I look forward to continuing our dialog with you about people, pets, photography, business, and life on a much more detailed and higher level! Join us!

Photographically yours,
Jeff Farr
co-founder, Not Your Normal School of Photography