Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,309 posts, read 8,478,793 times
Reputation: 16586
Advertisements
I am looking at possibly relocating my business to Boise. I am considering operating a home based photo studio that caters to upper middle to high end clients. I want to make sure I find a neighborhood that people have no hesitation driving to due to being considered low rent, unsafe, or just a pain in the rear to drive to due to traffic or too far out. Areas such as Caldwell and Nampa and Garden city are out. I've been there and I have no problems with living there myself, I am worried about my clients perceptions.
Does anyone have any suggestions? I am visiting Boise this weekend and would appreciate any area or neighborhoods that you all might think would work.
I would ask about the climate for business first and foremost; I think two or three similar home based studios have closed in the past 2 years, a few are entrenched in the area, and everyone else has digital cameras to do a sufficient job.
Not saying don't move; I'd do my research a bit better. My friend does wedding and other photography and is having a hard time finding more than one client a month for anything.
No expert in this business but I think the Boise Market is hard because people have more time to do stuff like this as a hobby as opposed to busier cities. My mom takes decent photos and happily does these things for free. She lives in a middle class/upper middle class neighborhood as do her friends.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,309 posts, read 8,478,793 times
Reputation: 16586
I realize that many areas have a tough business climate so this is part of my research. I may well close up if I move there too. But I also know the work I do is better than 95% of the other photographers so I do have that in my favor. I also know of one photographer who had a $42,000 portrait sale from just one client. I'm not saying that I would get that client or even if there is another one like that in Boise. My average client spends around $1400 on a senior portrait order and about $4,000 on a family order. Overhead and cost of living eat a lot of that up here in the Bay Area. And yes we have lots of mothers that do photography for free or cheap here too.
I do know that if I sold my place here I can buy a place in Boise all cash and still have some left over. I could deliver great work and charge less and probably still make a living since i have no housing expense for the most part. Right now $50,000 a year for my building is pretty tough to cover.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,309 posts, read 8,478,793 times
Reputation: 16586
Quote:
Originally Posted by boisefan88
I would ask about the climate for business first and foremost; I think two or three similar home based studios have closed in the past 2 years, a few are entrenched in the area, and everyone else has digital cameras to do a sufficient job.
Not saying don't move; I'd do my research a bit better. My friend does wedding and other photography and is having a hard time finding more than one client a month for anything.
Does your friend have a website I could see what their work is like? It might give me an idea of how I would stack up in the market.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
