There are a few uniques about our Photographic Entrepreneur courses that make us work hard long before the delegates arrive. One of them is that we make sure that the delegates are from different parts of the UK so that they’re not competing each other. It takes a bit of time with our scheduling but it is really worth it.

By having 8 delegates that aren’t competing with each other we can have some open conversions about each others businesses, share experiences and offer each other valuable inspiration and ideas. On our last course we had an equine photographer, two studio owners, commercial photographers, a location portrait photographer and some wedding photographers. It was truly wonderful to see them gelling as a group not only during the course but also late into each evening at the pub and restaurants.

What we have found is that due to the passion that we put into courses and relationships that everyone makes over the 4 days, everyone keeps in touch long after the course is over. Our alumni from last year still meet up for dinner very few months.

Well the alumni for our March course are no different. In fact we were overjoyed with how well everyone got on, absorbed everything we had to teach and then discuss it long into the night.

So what did we cover?

Well the course syllabus is here but each time we give the course it is always slightly different. It entirely depends on the delegates as to how long we spend on one particular topic and in March the big topics of conversation were branding and finances. In these challenging times it’s vitally important to make sure that you stay ahead of the crowd and stand out. Julia Boggio spent time with each delegate reviewing their websites and branding strategies and everyone came away buzzing with new ideas of how to differentiate themselves.

We also spent  a whole half day  reviewing budgets and cashflows. With all of our photography clients being ever more careful with their money we need to be ever more vigilant about how much were spending, how much we’re making and how much we’re charging. The tools and techniques that we taught gave everyone the ammunition they needed to make 2011 much easier.

So what did our March delegates have to say?

“It gave me the time, space and most importantly the knowledge to get myself and my business back on track” Stella

“[The course] was a major wakeup call with regards to getting a grip on my finances relating to my business. A few tears were shed! I know feel motivated to implement the necessary changes to go forward” Channelle

“I am going home really inspired. I can’t wait to get back to the studio and start implementing all the great things I’ve learned. Load and loads of really useful information. It started on a high and finished 10 times higher. Each day got better! Thank you” Andy

“If you want an intense set of business ideas that make you succeed in business, come here! The course is fab, I would recommend you” Emily

“It focused me on all of the things that I should have done on day 1 of starting my business. I’m annoyed with myself but now I have all of the building blocks to sort it out.” Fleur

“I’m absolutely buzzing after an intense 4 day amazing business course. Thank you James, Julia and Anne for sharing so much. Time to conquer the world!” Abby

“Can I think about this? My mind is a whirl at the moment!” Andrew … glad we were able to fill up your head with lots of new ideas

“We love you” Robbie … Thanks Robbie ☺ We love you too

We have been delighted with how much we have been able to help give new photography businesses a clear direction and also give existing business a massive boost. At heart we’re all wonderfully creative people but without a solid business grounding our businesses, well, they might not be doing business.

It warms our hearts every time we hear from one of our past graduates about how well they’re doing and how we’ve been able to reignite their passion for photography and, as importantly, make money! This email from Lucy Williams is just one example of many that we receive and we’re excited that we can help continue to grow an army of talented, successful photographers!

You can read about our famous business photography course here.

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Dear Julia and the team,

I hope all’s well and busy at JB studios!

I wanted to thank you so much for your training course in all things to do with running a photography business! Before your course, I had been working as a corporate and commercial photographer for 5 years and was badly hit by the recession, losing around 75% of my clients almost overnight. Not only did this affect my business but also my confidence. All of my clients had been built up by word of mouth whilst I was growing my business and I had no idea how to start again. I quickly realised what I was most lacking in was business skills. Prior to the course at Julia Boggio Studios, I had sought out a number of business courses and although all of these were useful, none of them particularly met my needs in terms of running a creative photography business. By the time I found your course I was completely demoralised and had lost a lot of my passion for what I do.

The help, advice and support I received whilst on your course reignited my passion and has helped me build more of a solid foundation for running my business. It was also wonderful to meet other photographers running similar businesses. Since the course, I have found it easier to put steps in place to manage how I run my business and to see ways forward for my business in the future. I have regained a lot of my confidence and I’m finding new clients that suit the way I am working now. I am really enjoying what I do and am completely positive about my business growing in 2011. For this, I wanted to say a big thanks.

Best wishes

Lucy x

www.myheartskipped.co.uk
www.lucywilliamsphotography.co.uk

On Monday we hosted our Introduction To Wedding Photography course and it was wonderful to meet such an enthusiastic group of photographers who I have no doubt will have an impact on the UK wedding industry.

As usual we broke the day up into two, covering the business of wedding photography in the morning and practical shooting advice in the afternoon. We usually have professional models that come and pose for us in the afternoon, but this month our new studio manager, Sonja, and her husband James volunteered themselves to be the victims of the wedding paparazzi pack. It’s a good sign when the couple being shot both have such a fantastic time and as Sonja says, “It was wonderful to be made to feel so glamorous!” Well done May Alumni, you passed you’re first test. The bride loves you all!

The wedding paparazzi pack!

Hear is what some of the delegates had to say…

“The day covered a lot of information and Julia was keen to answer all of our questions….however silly they seemed!” Claire

” A great introduction into the world of wedding photography. I’ll save a lot of time missing the pitfalls of the business!” Mark

“This course gives you a very valuable insight into the business and financial matters as well as practical tips. It’s good preparation to get through a wedding without a disaster” Heike

Good luck everyone and as usual keep in touch with us and with each other.

Julia & James

What a fabulous bunch the class of April 2010 have been! It is always wonderful to see such excitement and enthusiasm from everyone who are now all heading back home to action their new business plans, draft their budgets and cash-flows and kick-start their shiny new marketing plans. All of our delegates were on both The Photographic Entrepreneur and The Ultimate Sales and Marketing workshops and as ever Julia and I are feeling like our brian have been sucked dry;-)

Here is what some of our delegates had to say….

“It was so informative and inspiring. Who knew that financial planning could be so much fun!” Christina

“This course is the difference between success & failure for photography businesses. Would recommend to everyone.” Vicky

“I definitely wish I had done these workshops at the start of my career.” Lucy

“Fabulous cupcakes!” Nigel

Julia, Anne and myself would like to thank the class of April 2010 for being such terrific company all week. We’re really pleased that we have given you so much to think about to help you be even more successful. Look forward to seeing you all again in November!

A worn out  James  ’Julia’s husband’  D.