#BizTalk – Last Good Day of the Year

End of Year slow down is real, but the last few days of the year don’t have to be a career wasteland…

Early on in my career, the end of the year would generally slow down for me so I would assume “Oh, Okay. There isn’t much work in the industry this time of year.” and settle for not working. It is easy to think this way what with the holidays and people leaving town, etc. Oh how wrong I was and if you are still thinking this way how wrong you are. People in our business are working year round. In the years since then I have worked right up until and sometimes ON major holidays (I did a job once actually on Thanksgiving Day) and then right up through the new year. This is a year round industry. If you are a junior artist there is a Key artist working who could use an assistant and if you are a Key artist, someone out there is booking a job right now. Even for those of you who focus on Bridal – in October I worked with a hairstylist who said that Fall is her busiest time and I have a bridal makeup artist friend who is booking into 2013. No matter what facet of the industry you are in, there is work happening all the time. Here are my thoughts on how you can stay in the game and prepare yourself for the coming year so you can keep working all year round…

1 ) Just keep marketing. If people are not interested they will decline to respond. Simple as that. Do not make the mistake of taking yourself out of the game by stopping your marketing plan.

What’s that you say? You do not have a marketing plan?

2 ) Make a marketing plan. Yes, there is a certain extent to which word of mouth and repeat clientele will keep you working but if you want to continue to grow and have new opportunities present themselves then you need to keep marketing. Even to your existing clients. In fact check that, ESPECIALLY to your existing clients. If they have already said “we like you” in the form of hiring you, tell them “I like you too” by staying in touch. That said, however do not stalk people and do not beg for work. Just a quick introduction or a quick periodic check in with any new work you have to share will suffice.

Along similar lines…

3 ) Prepare for Next Year Now. If you are not as busy as you would like to be right now, it is likely that you did not do enough future planning. This used to be one of my problems; I used to try to ‘wing it’. Winging It does not fully get it done. Sure some things may come up spontaneously, but a lot more things will come through if you make a plan of action. This is kind of in line with creating a marketing plan but it goes a bit further. If the marketing plan is the nuts and bolts, the preparation is the Vision work. Where is it that you want to go next year and how is it that you plan to get there? Now is the time to be reflecting on these questions. Crystal Wright had a great series on her blog – Freelance Advantage – at the end of last year entitled “11 THINGS YOU CAN DO RIGHT NOW! TO GET AHEAD…”. It has a lot of great and inspirational advice.

Now that you have done some internal preparation, it is time to get out of the house…

4 ) Go Test. If you are slow now is the time that you should be creating new work for your book. This goes for any artist new or old, Junior or Senior. First of all, it is easier to go out and meet people or to go out and reconnect with people when you have something new to show them. Secondly testing keeps your create fire stoked and if you are a bit down from not working paid jobs as much as you would like, getting new images will likely lift your spirits and keep you going. Thirdly – and I cannot emphasize this strongly enough – you never know what can come from a test. Many of my tests have turned into great tears and since I make it a point to meet and test with NEW photographers I’ve created great new relationships some have which have yielded great paid jobs via tests.

Don’t forget – photographers are not the only people who can hire you…

5 ) Work those Holiday Parties. People love to dress up and go to parties and quite frankly a lot of the best times to meet people are when they are relaxed and have a beverage in hand. I know of at least two major events that took place this past week (in Los Angeles) and I am sure there are scores more at any given time that an artist who is serious on their networking can attend. If you are not yet at the point where you are being invited to “exclusive” events, go to meet ups, look into marketing groups, etc. and eventually you will start receiving invitations. Do whatever you have to do to go see and be seen.

Once you have those business cards in hand and start the process of building new relationships remember…

6 ) Thanks Yous go a long way. I cannot believe how many people – aka most – do not send thank yous after each meeting and/or job. Ridiculous! I worked with a client last month whom I’d not worked with in about 3 years. First thing out of his mouth was how much he enjoyed the Thank You gift I sent after our first time working together. If you have been lax in sending those post-job Thank Yous, use the Holidays as an excuse to send at least a card in appreciation of people who have shared their time with you and/or hired you.

If you find that you slow down at the end of the year, I’ve been there and trust me I am NOT there anymore. Do not let another year pass you by. Do your prep work now and reap the benefits of a successful and fruitful coming year.

*title inspired by the great song by Cousteau

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