If you look up synonyms of the word cost, notably one is “penalty.” Also when we think of the cost of something, it means there is money coming out of our pocket.

When you extend that thinking to the cost of doing business, you could subconsciously be internalizing this as the penalty for doing business; the outlay that you are forced to into for the sake of maintaining the business.

I’m a self-proclaimed word maker-upper. I think language matters, and even have a list of words and phrases that are now in my Out list. At this point, I have set my sights on the CODB that we hear in every other sentence in pretty much all photography-related conversations.

While I probably can’t get rid of it because that’s the language everyone uses, I can create an association with the version that I’ve replaced this phrase with. The financial dream allocation. I like the abbreviation of the Dream-ALL but for the sake of being able to easily use it, FIDA.

The word dream, needs no synonym. When you look up allocation synonyms, you get things like assignment, classification, and sharing. These all sound rather positive, or at the very least, neutral and not negative. I especially like the concept of sharing - my money will be shared between different things in order to move my business forward. No penalty here!

What is a financial dream allocation?

Formerly know as the Cost of Doing Business in the SparkLverse, it is the allocation of money towards different aspects of a business to keep it running. The total allocation for all of business activities must be covered (usually on an annual basis) with the revenue your business brings. And while bringing in exactly the amount of the allocation at minimum is critical, nothing says you can’t bring in more. That’s like setting the lowest bar for yourself as possible. Typically this is fear talking. You can set the bar higher and bring in more, because that means more of everything good - better service to clients, ability to invest in education, equipment, better results to clients, happier clients that bring in more clients, happier photographer who can provide more to their family.

Think about seeking a job in traditional employment. You scour the want ads for a job and find one with a decent salary. A few entries later, a similar job with similar qualifications needed but 10% higher salary. Which would you go for? So why do we settle for as little as possible when we work for ourselves? Be a great boss and pay your employee well. They’ll stick around a do great work for you, wink wink.

Breaking down the barriers of the cost of doing business for photographers

COST: is interpreted as something taken out of your pocket. As noted in my opening sentence, it often has negative connotations like a penalty. If you swap cost with penalty in this context , it sounds rather horrible: “The penalty of doing business.” If you think of a cost as negative, something being taken away (especially when you feel you don’t have much!) or being penalized or punished (I have to run ads or have a website) to run a business, then it rather deflates you. It’s not language that motivates you in your entrepreneurial journey because it signals sacrifice and hardship. It’s no wonder so many new photographers are admittedly scared of doing a CODB; because it’s an indicator of other perceived hard things like higher prices and selling.
DOING BUSINESS: To me, this sounds pretty boring and corporate. Most photographers start their journey by falling in love with photography. Then, the horror! People like me who have experience in business and marketing tell them “You must do business.” And that scares the hell out of them because maybe they are trying to get out of doing business elsewhere, like a grey cubicle job! And then we layer the cost onto doing this business and it’s really a recipe to put off any budding creative. Of course I want every person to do things the right way, but the way we position these things in our mind really matters. When we are in the tender starting time of our business journey, we want to use language that encourages. It’s like lighting a fire - when you see the tiny sparks of fire, you must be gentle! You must tend to them with utmost care - blow too hard and the sparks are put out!

Note: This is not a sugar-coating attempt where some may say that it caters to people feeling like special snowflakes that need to be shielded from the harsh realities of running a business. If you believe that then maybe you’re better served with bootcamp-like education which you won’t find here. I spent many years in marketing agency and it’s long hours, demanding schedules and even more demanding clients. What I don’t believe is that we cannot alter the way we approach business to help people thrive. Old ways may not be the best ways; maybe we can know and do better. Shifting negative mindsets can unlock greatness and I don’t believe anyone needs to be torn down before being built up. Just because somebody out there coined a phrase like “no pain, no gain” and somehow it weaved its way into our culture and we all internalized it doesn’t mean we have to continue to believe it.

Calculating your financial dream allocation (FIDA)

There are plenty of calculators available online, so you can do a search and find one that you like. In the end, all calculators arrive at the same result. You calculate all of your expenses, and divide that number by the number of sessions you feel you can realistically accomplish over the course of your year and that gives you a working revenue number per session. Then you create a marketing plan to fulfill those numbers, because we now need systems to bring those leads and can’t rely on hoping clients come.

But I will add this: account for every expense from your office/ studio down to your office supplies. Don’t conveniently forget or omit things to drive down costs; it’s a psychological game we often play. Be real. Your expenses also include growth. You want new equipment? Put that in there, because otherwise, where will the money come from?

If your final numbers start scaring you, then return to our new definition to soften the blow and help you refocus. It’s your financial dream allocation. These numbers benefit you because hitting those numbers in your business means achieving the dream. Those numbers are beautiful. Use any fear not to stop you but to propel you forward, just like knowing a full gas tank will get you to a desired destination. Sitting by the side of the highway with an empty tank isn’t anyone’s desired destination; it was shortsighted not to fill it and that’s when there is a true penalty or cost - out of gas and nowhere near where you wanted to be. Set yourself up for success by changing they way you look at, and feel about what the numbers truly represent - your DREAM.