“When you create something out of nothing, the first rule is to agree.”

~ Tina Fey talking about the process of improv at Google headquarters with chairman Eric Schmitdt.

What else is it that photographers do, but exactly this?

The first part: creating something out of nothing.  The second part: getting your client to agree that what you’ve delivered is appropriate. You paid attention to what they said.  Not all that complicated.

But wait, there’s more: being a professional means you can produce high-quality work on a consistent basis.  To accomplish that, you have do something your client doesn’t need to know about: you have to believe that your own taste, your standards resulted in what you produced being, at the very least, what you set out to produce.  Or better.  Preferably better.

Furthermore, I don’t know about you, but I have to generate agreement with myself in a larger context, which is paying attention to the process I use producing each job, each photo, because each is a piece of the continuum of my career.  Paying attention, micro and macro.  Attention to what I produced, how I produced it, why I did it the way I did it, even what mistakes I might have made, including the ones I left in because they were an improvement.

But for all the attention I pay to my work and my process, I worry less all the time about my ability to control everything because, well, I can’t control everything, and besides, I get positive reinforcement about my work: I get paid for it.   The attention that goes into each product – the history – is not important to the people that pay for it.  They just want a good product.

I’ve been reading all week about the late Steve Jobs, and the dominant theme has not been about the products he made, but the kind of person he was, and, more to the point, the processes he used to help make those products, which were based on his own, personal, process.  It looked like a crooked road, but it wasn’t really.  No one’s is.

From his now famous 2005 Stanford lecture:

“If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later. Again, you can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”

I couldn’t agree more.

Barry Schwartz is a photographer, writer, and designer in Los Angeles, who, try as he may, can’t much tell the difference between his work and his life.

“There are no small decisions in moviemaking.”  – Sidney Lument , Director

(pg 112 MAKING MOVIES by SIDNEY LUMENT Vintage Books)

If you change “moviemaking” to photography, well you get the picture. This to me summarizes all my decisions from art, to craft to commerce. Every action has a consequence, or a purpose or a reason. Whether in the frame, in the concept, in the production or in the budget. If not, get rid of it, move it out of the way, or hit delete.

I live by this quote everyday.

Richard Kelly is a photographer and immediate past president of ASMP.

This week five of our blog contributors, including myself, will share quotes that have been meaningful to each of us in the course of developing our careers.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.”  - Calvin Coolidge

I keep this quote on persistence taped inside the kitchen cupboard that holds my coffee mugs. As an avid coffee drinker, I put this quote inside my mug cabinet to ensure that everyday starts with it’s not so subtle reminder (Subtlety doesn’t work on me until the second cup kicks in).

I have seen persistence prevail over and over in my 20+ years in the photography business. Whether struggling with a new technique, defining the parameters of a personal project or making sales calls; the stamina to continue the work necessary to build my career in photography receives the highest marks for making that dream a reality.

Susan Carr is ASMP’s Education Director and recently published her own book, “The Art and Business of Photography”.

I feel like I’m about to jinx us but in 22 years of business, my studio has collected on virtually every invoice we’ve written without ever once going to court.

We do a lot of the same stuff already mentioned this week and a few things that weren’t:

• We ask new clients how they like to handle billing.  Who should get copies of our invoice?  What’s their normal payment cycle? Who should we follow up with if there’s a problem and do they prefer phone or email follow up?
• We send new clients a completed W-9 form with their first invoice so they have everything they need to enter us into their system.
• Until proven otherwise, we assume payment delays are unintentional and we always end each follow up contact by setting a date for when they’ll hear from us again if the payment’s still missing.
• If they’re having cash flow problems, we try to find a solution that works for everyone; we remind them that we take credit cards and we’ll even accept installment payments if necessary.

All of the approaches mentioned this week are good business practices that are worth following but I don’t think they’re why we’ve had so few problems with collections.

The secret to avoiding problems with collections is choosing your clients carefully.

Within three years of starting our studio, we realized that working with people who didn’t treat us with respect was ruining our business and our lives.  Since then, we vet our clients as much as they vet us.  It’s hard turning down work but not as hard as working for nightmare clients who treat you badly and don’t pay enough (or at all!).  Over time, we’ve gotten pretty good at sussing out the losers and politely declining the job.

The best thing about this approach, though, is that I genuinely like and respect every single client that I’ve worked with over the past 15 years or so.  And I’m pretty sure that mutual respect is why none have ever stiffed us.  This is a relationship business so finding people with whom you can have a really good relationship makes good sense.

And yeah, if you’re one of our clients and you’re reading this – well, you must be a pretty great person ‘cause otherwise we wouldn’t be working with you.

Judy Herrmann helps some of her favorite people in the world grow businesses through evocative imagery, seminars, one-on-one consultations and her blog, 2goodthings.com.  You’ll find many of her favorite resources for imaging professionals in ASMP’s new social bookmarking community, CameraCake.com

Are they really clients if they refuse to pay up?  I don’t think so.  I have another word for them. Let’s call them what the court calls them: Defendants.

I am not litigious, but I refuse to be taken advantage of.  I’d rather not sue, but I have had to.  As a small business, I have had the unfortunate experience of having a few clients that have refused to pay. Refused to pay up for work that I completed and delivered at the agreed upon price.  Refused to pay in a timely manner or at all.

They broke the rules, so I had to change the game.

Now I am not a big player and I have no intention of entering the ‘World Series.’  I have only utilized the lower courts.  More specifically, I have sat down to the Small Claims table and anted up.

Why Small Claims?

There are a couple of advantages to playing at this level.  First of all it is inexpensive to file suit.  Not only are the filing fees minimal, but the fact is you don’t have to hire an attorney and the court often has free legal consultations available to you.  In California, for example, they provide an attorney for you to meet with and discuss your case before it goes to court.  You can even have an attorney in the courtroom during the proceedings, as long as they don’t address the court directly.  Same goes for the Defendant.  This means when it comes to time to make your case, it’s your word against theirs.  And perhaps the most important advantage, the courts do not like for ‘man to take advantage of his fellow man’.

While going to court is not a pleasant experience, it can be a rewarding one. My favorite part of the process is that you can have the Sheriff serve them a subpoena at their place of business and there is the opportunity to get what is owed to you.  Of course there is the possibility that you won’t win.  There is also a third possibility, which I believe offers a bit of insight: the win/lose.  I once won a judgement only to have a client turn around and claim bankruptcy.  The experience of taking him to court and having him told he was wrong, well the emotional reward far outweighed the financial loss.

Kevin Lock is currently a national director of the American Society of Media Photographers.  When Kevin isn’t having his ‘day in court’ he can be found winning, losing and then winning another hand of poker with fellow ASMP SD members.

Initiating a relationship with the accounts payable contact at each company hiring you, immediately after a job is confirmed, is a wonderful cash flow tool.

When you reach your new “partner” introduce yourself, and in a friendly way inform your contact that will soon be working with their company and that you are now calling now to make their job easier by asking a few key questions and sharing with them, information that will help you both create a smooth invoice, payment flow.

Here are some questions to ask.

• How many copies of the invoice do they need?
• Should you send a copy of the invoice directly to them when you send it to your contact?
• What is there typical payment cycle?

Then briefly share your info.

• Discuss your deposit terms
• Mention your net time for payment.

Net payment terms are always a good point of discussion. If your net terms are 15 and you hear  “Good luck, we pay in 45,” ask “How do we get this to net 30?” If the reply is “We can’t get it to less than 45,”  kindly respond “Well, you’ll find a 15 day net on my invoice.  I’ll call in 30 days and if this goes to 45, you and I will be good friends by then.”

When you are ready to invoice, call your accounts payable contact.  After hellos, let them know you are about to invoice them and that this is a courtesy call. Review any pertinent info they shared before and let them know your invoice is on the way.

This is solid service. The relationships I developed had many beneficial results.

• I learned how to change net terms in order to get paid more quickly.
• I had accounts payable suggest that I send the invoice to them when I invoiced my client to avoid it getting stuck on an art director’s desk.
• Once when calling about an overdue invoice I found out that the company was going into receivership and my contact put our invoice through before that happened because ” you are such a nice person.”
• I had relationships developed so when I did call looking for money I was not a stranger and I was comfortable calling and my contact treated me as a friend more then as a bill collector.

Building a relationship front end with accounts payable should be done from a place of true sincerity and authenticity.  When your actions come from this spot, not only are they financially beneficial but your entire experience will have more depth and value.

Selina Maitreya is a consultant working world wide online and off helping photographers develop businesses that THRIVE.  She can be reached at: selina@selinamaitreya.com

There are several reasons you might not be paid by a client (and most have little to do with a dissatisfied client, aggressive behavior, or conspiracy).  Here are a few practical strategies I employ at my office.

Use s systems of deposits. We will bill incrementally for work.  An initial deposit, another if substantial pre-production is required.  A bill upon initiation of shooting.  Another after post-production.  By spreading out your payments, you aren’t serving as a bank to your client.  You can also catch a flaky client before you’ve handed over assets and lost power.

Take credit.  While you’ll take a small hit in fees, the cash in hand is better than you paying interest towards your own debts.  Credit card fees for payments are typically less than credit card finance charges.  Take a look at easy solutions like Square to process cards with no account setup fees.

Ensure the final bill is accurate. Did you go through and reconcile all the changes the client made? Look though the initial quote and proposal.  Have you delivered everything you promised in writing?  Don’t get hung up because your bill has mistakes.

Don’t skimp on information.  Make sure the invoice has the project name, project or PO number, as well as your full details such as address and Tax ID. Make sure the Due Date is clearly visible on the invoice.

Ensure delivery. Make sure that your contact gets the actual bill. Send a draft as an email asking for confirmation of accuracy. Include hard copies in the mail and with deliverables (people are overloaded with email).

Close the loop.  Call the client a few days after sending bill to confirm receipt.  A few days later call the Accounts Payable department and confirm that they actually got the bill.

Run a report. Know who owes you money by generating a report in your accounting software.  Make sure you reach out within 3 days of a late payment.  Be sure all subsequent invoices are marked with the due date and point out any finance charges.

Pick up the phone. If you are actually owed money, pick up the phone. Call the client or the accounts payable department.  Be polite and ensure that the invoice was actually processed.  If you’ve done the previous steps, be sure to cite your previous calls where you confirmed receipt.

If all else fails.  If you’ve gotten to this point you either have a deadbeat client, one who is experiencing sudden economic hardships, or a dissatisfied customer.  The deadbeat client you should have spotted through the use of progress payments.  The economic hardships are a realty, but work out a payment solution and suspend rights or future work until the get caught up.  An upset client, you better get to work and resolve it.

Remember:

Be polite, but firm.
You are not a bank.
Accept credit cards and let someone else be the bank.

Richard Harrington is the founder of RHED Pixel,  a visual communications company in Washington, D.C.  You can read Rich’s blog at www.RichardHarringtonBlog.com as well as follow him on Twitter@rhedpixel.  If you’d like to check out his books, just swing by his Amazon page.

Timely payments are important in any business. Your reputation and credit depends on being able to pay your assistants, employees, vendors, loan payments and any outstanding balances.

A clear contractual agreement on both sides in the beginning is important. Our terms require a 50% retainer in advance before assignment date. With the balance due, we allow net 10 days, past 30 days; a 1.5% late fee may be charged. One of the most important points in our terms that we adopted from ASMP includes:  “License for usage will be authorized when payment in full is received”.

When I started using that combination of terms, our payments arrived in a timely manner with the majority of our clients. Some clients will try to take advantage of extending their payments, requesting discounts if they pay sooner and there is no reason for it. Advertising agencies and some corporate direct clients seem to fall into that category.

After the assignment is delivered, I follow up with a call or an email to the art buyer confirming that we met their needs. This is a great opportunity to ask if they have forwarded the invoice reflecting the final balance on to accounting. That confirmation is important. Many times that invoice will sit on their desk and that reminder works well. The email can act as part of a paper trail.

After 30 days, if we have not received the final balance, we send a letter and a copy of the invoice as a “friendly“ reminder. We follow up on 45 days with a phone call to the art buyer or accounts payable reminding them again and we email or fax copies of the invoice/s to reinforce the balance due with those copies.

If the client still has not paid after 60 days, additional letters, emails and calls continue.  After 90 days, which is extremely rare we look at other options. One of which is advising the past due client that we might report them to a credit bureau as well as potentially taking further legal action. That is a last case scenario but so far we have been successful.

Getting paid is all about having a concise contract, signed by both parties with a clear understanding of those terms. It’s also about follow up, a paper trail and persistence.

We all have our own reason for getting into this business.  For me it just kind of happened.  It was something I always did and to be honest I didn’t plan on making a living doing it.  Perhaps you had a similar experience and find yourself in business struggling to make a decent living. Well, I am here to tell you, if making a living is in your plan, you better mind your business.  You are a business first, a photographer second.

First step?  First Base.  You got to get on before you can score.  So, how? Market.  Sounds simple… but is it?  If you want to thrive let alone survive you must market your business.   You have to sell yourself.  If you aren’t taking the time to market, your market will disappear.

Second base… Well that takes a little planning.  If you didn’t hit it out of the park, you might find yourself stuck on first…. Waiting for someone else to drive you home.  I say, “steal second.”  Watch your competition and your clients closely.  When everyone else is not paying attention it is your opportunity to take advantage of the situation and move forward.

Third takes a bit of strategy.  Time to rely on your teammates/ your peers.  Surrounding yourself with other good players/photographers will assist you in taking your game to the next level. If you are an ASMP member, you are already on third and it is time to thrive.

With that motivation, the values and associates around you… scoring should not be a problem.

Kevin Lock is a current director for the American Society of Media Photographers.  When  Kevin is not laughing with his daughter while watching Abbott and Costello he can be found breaking into a nervous “Rain Man” fit .. “Who’s on first, what’s on second, I don’t know is on third?”

Of course, you can’t ask the person on the other end of the phone that question; at least I’d advise against that sort of blunt questioning.

But when a prospective client calls on the telephone to ask about your rates for an upcoming project she has, it’s imperative to know you are talking with the decision maker.  Remember, this is possibly your only opportunity to show your value to the caller, to show that person why YOU are the correct person for her project.  And having that conversation with someone who is not the decision maker will prove a waste of time because the person you’re speaking with is merely gathering information for the actual decision maker.

That’s why in every call, I’ll ask the question, “Is there anyone else I might email a few samples of my work to?”  If the caller gives you the name and an email address for anyone else in his company, very likely that individual is the decision maker.

Now your task is to get THAT person in on the telephone call.  If that’s impossible, you’re at an extreme disadvantage and you’ll instead have to empower the caller to act as your salesperson so she can adequately explain your value to the decision maker.

Simplify your value (again, why you’re the best photographer for the job and what you have to offer that your competitors do not) into concise, easy to remember bullet-points so that the caller can be part of your “team” and do your selling to the actual decision maker.

Determining who is really deciding which photographer will be selected is one of the most important early steps in the sales process.

Blake Discher is a Detroit-based photographer, educator, and SEO expert.  His blog, Groozi, covers negotiating and web marketing.