Imagine the following. Two photography studios open up side by side in a strip center. One studio is going to make more money than the other studio. Possibly a lot more money! Why is this?
It’s because one studio owner does things in a certain way in which the other studio owner does not.
To improve your business, you must take the first step and begin to question your present way of doing things. You must compare.
This then is the purpose of the Pro Photo Business Forum. It’s mission is to serve wedding and portrait studio owners by providing a highly affordable and safe environment, away from the eyes of our clients, to discuss the issues that really make the difference in a studio’s bottom line and growth.
My name is Aric Hoek, and I am the Administrator and Creator of The Pro Photo Business Forum.
Inside you will find a community of professional photographers with a wide range of experience. I myself have over 23 years of experience as a professional photographer, while others members of the community are just like you. We are all gaining and sharing our knowledge inside. If you are just starting out in your career as a professional photographer, then we can save you years of trouble and problems that you are sure to experience by simply reading, searching, and plucking out the information you require.
To keep things running smoothly for all members, the PPBF has four moderators on different sides of the planet to ensure that help is always close at hand. Additionally, we try to make sure that we always have six contributing writers to the blog on our home page. These writers have access to, and participate regularly in the community.
How did you originate the idea of the Pro Photo Business forum?
I wanted to find a place where I could talk with other photographers about how they were running their studio, so I could improve my own. Joining a forum was a perfect solution for me, but I didn’t want to spend a bunch of money to join an expensive private community. But I also felt that I couldn’t discuss the issues I wanted to discuss openly in a free forum, where my clients might see my discussions.
So, I decided to create my own forum, and two years later the Pro Photo Business Forum was created and launched. It’s a beautiful private community, and highly affordable. It provides an extremely safe environment for photographers to discuss the business of photography.
Tell me a bit more about the Pro Photo Business Forum?
The Pro Photo Business Forum is more about understanding the business side of wedding and portrait photography. There are many forums out there that discuss how to make a pretty picture or what software is the latest and greatest. Art is great, but making money through your art and running a great photography business is essential.
We feel that this is a great place to get started or tweak your existing studio experience. For the novice, we want to educate them on what it really takes to be in business. We strive to set a bar, if you will, so that small business owners can avoid costly mistakes in marketing, advertising and studio development.
The Pro Photo Business Forum is about education, support and resources. Not EGO.
What is your mission/vision for the Pro Photo Business forum?
It’s mission is to serve wedding and portrait studio owners by providing a highly affordable and safe environment, away from the eyes of our clients, to discuss the issues that really make the difference in a studio’s bottom line and growth.
How is the Pro Business forum different from the other professional photography forums?
The most obvious answer is the topic of the community. The forum serves as a resource for both wedding and portrait photographers looking for support on how to run their businesses, which makes the forum a niche product. Beyond this foundation, there are three main differences.
- Membership is highly affordable.
- The PPBF Team: Visit our homepage to find profiles of multiple PPBF Team members. These community members are dedicated to the photographic industry and regularly contribute articles to the PPBF blog, giving members and guests alike valuable business advice on running a photography studio.
- Free Site Reviews: The site is designed to help photographers, and to that end we have created a free section on the forum for all visitors. Guests and members can submit their web site for review, and the community will critique the site’s ability to attract new business.
