How Much Is Enough

It's really nice to be told time and time again (usually after people have booked me!) that I'm not expensive and that I should increase my prices. Well, increasing prices is one thing and increasing prices is another altogether.

When I am coaching / mentoring new business I ALWAYS discuss pricing and charges. My main advice is that once you are fully booked for a period of time then you increase your prices.

E.g.

A videographer starts out at £250. They book 5 weddings at the price so I'd advise them to increase to £450. They book 5 weddings at £450 so I'd advise them to increase to £950 etc etc. However, there will come a time when they are comfortable charging what they do, are getting enough work for what they need to cover everything they want financially. i.e. They know how much is enough.

They don't need to continue to increase prices every 6 months. They know that they can comfortably book 35 wedding a year at £1,500 and they are happy with not only that amount of work but that amount of income. Charge less and they would struggle to cover what they need. Charge more and they would struggle to book what they need.

Sure, they all have a different level of "How Much is Enough". Some will have young children so that means they need more to cover childcare and holidays etc. Some may have aging parents so need to cover care costs for instance. The point is, once they have worked out a comfortable price for what they do they are happy. They don't stress about getting enough work. They will build a reputation for giving great value for money, providing a good service and people WILL come to them to book. It takes effort and dedication and time - but so does everything that is worth working for. Many times it takes the support of a partner (husband / wife / boyfriend / girlfriend etc etc) to help them get there.

Value

They value what they do in terms of not only financial success but also in terms of ease of booking couples. They value the reputation they have built on those charges. They provide good value for money etc. They don't NEED the extra money, so why charge extra?

If your business is comfortable charging £xxx why charge more? You can't take it with you when you die that's for sure!

Which brings me to my wedding photography business.

My Wedding Photography

I currently choose to start my wedding photography collections at £1,175. At this price I need to book 35 weddings a year to cover my personal costs and my business costs - £41,125 turnover to save you getting the calculator out. Any more than that and it is a bonus. I plan that figure based on what I need to earn to pay for the things I want. I KNOW "How Much is Enough" for my business. If I'm lucky and book several weddings at a higher collection then I can choose to drop that number of weddings down to 34, 33 or 32 etc. My choice. For Marriott hotels I have an exclusive wedding photography collection, and I Andrew Miller the preferred supplier of wedding photgoraphy to Marriott St. Pierre Chepstow.

Charge More - Work Less

Great mantra. It often doesn't quite work out like that. I could charge double (£2,350) and only shoot 18 weddings year. At that price the target market for my services narrows a lot, the competition is tougher. So it's harder to book the weddings.

I could charge x4 the amount - £4,700 and only shoot 9 weddings a year. Yeah, like that is going to happen. The wedding photographers in the UK charging that price are few and far between and the client market is just as rare.

Charge Enough - Work Enough - Know How Much is Enough

I'm not afraid of hard work. I enjoy my job. I enjoy working. I'm fit enough to keep working as a Wedding Photographer for many years to come and photographing 35 weddings a year (or making a turnover of £41k) is enough for what I need.

So that's why I don't increase my prices. That's why I don't NEED to book more weddings.

My prices wil increase slowly to cover things like postage costs, fuel costs, general increases in inflation. They won't jump massively overnight. But that does mean I get booked up quicker than some of my colleagues, much quicker in many cases!

Point to Note

If you want to book me, you should do it earlier rather than later. The later you book the greater chances are I have reached that £41k and I don't need to book any more weddings.... including yours.