Personal Note from Barb: Step out of your Comfort Zone   

Featured Article: Save Time with an Equipment List   

Upcoming Events: Monday, September 20 Teleseminar for Protege Club Members   

Barb Recommends: Photography Studio Must Haves   

Hello, 
Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? 

Second, I loped (or cantered) on my new horse that I have only known for five weeks. You would have to know my background and timid personality to understand how big of a deal this was for me. It might be equal to someone else’s jumping out of an airplane. Well, sort of.   

It is difficult to set yourself up for uncomfortable things on purpose. To call someone up and say, “I want to give a speech,” if you are nervous, or terrified of public speaking is highly unlikely.   

The key is, for me I guess, is not to automatically say no to an opportunity just because I am not confident.  Say yes and then figure out how to pull it off. You will grow from the experience and gain so much more self confidence. I know I learned a lot about how to prepare for my next television interview.   

And the best part? I survived both experiences. I didn’t pass out, sweat through my jacket, or fall off my horse. It was a good week. God Bless.   

Shoot for success,
Barb Gordon   

P.S.  Have you checked out my blog yet?  Be sure to subscribe for our blog updates, and you’ll be the first to receive my photography tips and information.   

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Photography Business Tip- Make an Equipment List
By Barb Gordon, M.Photog., CR, CPP 

One helpful step in starting a photography business, or even if you have been in business forever, is to write down some details of your major purchases. An equipment list will become a valuable time saver. If you start your list as you buy equipment, you will not need to spend much time on it. I have a simple Excel spread sheet I just add to as I buy larger ticket items like cameras, lenses, and backgrounds.   

Having a detailed list of your equipment purchases will be helpful for many reasons. It will be a big time saver if you need to find out any information about a purchase.   

Some equipment purchases can be depreciated so for accounting purposes you will want a list of those yearly purchases.   

My equipment list was a big time saver for me when I had a camera break down. The first question was, was the equipment still under warranty? Well, I couldn’t remember exactly when I bought the camera. I was not sure which vendor or supplier I bought it from either. I could spend a few hours going through every file folder of receipts from the time I think I bought it or pay staff to dig for it. But I was most relieved to be able to refer to my equipment purchase list and know in one minute all of the information I needed. Then I knew who to call for repair assistance. And it was under warranty!    

If you ever want to sell a piece of equipment you will have a start on deciding how much you want to sell it for.   

If anything is stolen or you have a fire, you will need to know the total value of all of your equipment including backgrounds and major props. The insurance company may want serial numbers and maybe even copies of receipts. By having the list of dates you purchased items on, going to the file cabinet to retrieve them will be so much faster.   

Here are the key columns of information I have on my equipment list spreadsheet.   

• Date of purchase
• Make and Model
• Price I paid
• Vendor I purchased it from
• Serial number
• Any repair notes and the date of the repair

By having all of these pieces of information readily available will prove to be helpful and time saving in the future. If you have not started your equipment list, today would be a great day to begin.   

 © 2010 Barb Gordon Photo Coach & Gordon Photography & Gallery, Inc.     

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include this complete blurb with it: Photography expert Barb Gordon, Master Photographer publishes Barb Gordon Photo Coach’s Shooting for Success ezine. If you’re ready to take your photography career to the next level, get your FREE reports “Make Photography More than a Hobby” and “15 Ways to Make More Money with your Photography” now at http://www.barbgordonphotocoach.com     

I have not selected a topic just yet but you may continue to send in your questions on any topic for future use.

Email them now to Coach@BarbGordonPhotoCoach.com We’ll see you on the call!   

Monday, September 20, 2010 – 5 PM Pacific / 6 PM Mountain / 7 PM Central / 8 PM Eastern.   

This call is for all ” F2.8 Protege Club” members. All you need to participate is a phone!
   

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Tip: I always have nail polish remover in my dressing room at all times. Many gals sometimes for get that their hands may show in some of their portraits. 

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