Has anyone here tried contacting any Businesses like Resturants, Hair dressing salons etc., about displaying before and after pictures of your work and how did you go about it? How often do you rotate the prints, what all do you display? Tom

Tom,

I haven't done anything like that for obvious reasons (not in business). But something like that could be a big advertising medium. I would suggest that you could approach some different types of businesses, and they could display your work under the pretense that when their customers spend $____.00 at their place of business, they get a discounted (or free, depending on how you want to do it) price for a restoration or manipulation. You might make coupons available for said business to hand out when the dollar amount has been satisfied. Gotta look at all the angles :)

Ed

Ed. I agree. The main problems I see with Restoration is that as a full time business you Must keep the Advertising costs to a minimum but still reach the folks with disposable income. I also feel that diversifying the services one offers is vital as well in order to keep the prices you charge at a reasonable level. In some areas perhaps a straight Restore business doing nothing else is viable, but I suspect that in most ,offering a variety of services, is the only way to remain in business. Tom

And even then, it jest ain't gonna be easy. It's tough to make it in any business, and when there's not much of a profit margin to begin with, it's really important to know the best way to spend your dollars. I noticed in one of the other posts, Chris mentioned the barter system. The barter and exchange system is alive and well in this country, but with fewer locally owned businesses, it is not as readily available an alternative as it once was. But even so, it is worth considering on occasion. It can save a few bucks here and there.

Ed

Ed, I looked into the Barter system and my wife told me that technically you have to report the value of the barter to the IRS as income. You are SO right about difficulty staying in business. Being undercapitalized, now knowing the " ins and outs " of the enterprise you are entering into, overly exuberent expectations, trying too much too quickly and plain old discouragment are but a few of the enemies. Those who are starting out as part time/hobbiest types have a decided advantage and THAT is really the way to go as well as remembering that for the first couple of years or so, if you manage a small profit or just 'Break even", you are doing OK. Most folks tend to quit before they can become established. Those first "lean" years are really the time when you "pay your dues" and they are never easy. Once your name and reputation get out then comes the "pay off" but it takes hard work, a few tears and lots of will power to stay the course. Tom

Did you mention the IRS? :depressed

I agree about the hobby vs. business status. The time to learn all about business is before you actually go into it to make a living. Then, when the time comes, you've got a *BIG* advantage. I'm a firm believer that many, if not most businesses fail because of a lack of knowledge. It's just too easy for someone to think that because they have a talent, they've got it made in business. *That's* when they find out that it takes a lot more than being able to do one thing well.

Kinda getting off topic again. Come on friends -- how do you do it?

Ed

Not really off topic Ed. You are right as usual. The world wont beat a path to your door just because you are talented or have a better mouse trap. You have to sell yourself and any free advertising is a big boon. Tom

The barter system seems to be how I'm supporting my digital imaging addiction( guess I've finally admitted it).At this learning stage for me,the only work that I do is for friends and neighbors in my community. They compensate me by buying me paper,ink cartridges or taking my husband and I out to dinner. I also have become the resident "911" computer person where I reside particularly when it comes to downloading and printing an email attachment (usually AOL)of someones grandkids. Take my word for it- I don't know if we are truly representative, but if my community is any indication, the man on the street is not doing anymore graphics on his or her computer than the occasional greeting card. Most of the folks that I know are I totally clueless about what can be done with digital manipulation.

Sounds like you are on the right track. My comment about barter was from the standpoint of the full-time taxpaying business. You are , in my opinion anyway, starting out in exactly the right way, and as your reputation grows( and from the excellent quality of the work you do I suspect it will--beyond your expectations) so will the volumn of work, you may be a business person before you know it. Do you display any of you work in Resturants etc. or have you considered doing this as a way of getting more folks to bring their restore/reprint work to you? Tom