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Let’s Talk About “Shoot and Burn”: Profitability, Digital Files & Respect in the Industry
56 Plays16 days ago
Episode Summary:
In today’s episode of Empowered, I’m unpacking the phrase “shoot and burn” and why it’s time we let it go. If you’ve ever felt judged for offering digital files or running an all-inclusive photography business, this one’s for you. I’ll share why profitability isn’t about how you sell—it’s about how much time and value you’re creating per session. This is a call for community over competition, and a reminder that there’s more than one right way to run a successful photography business.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode:
- Why the term “shoot and burn” is outdated and unhelpful
- How digital files can be the highest value item in your business
- The real metric that matters: time-efficient, sustainable profit
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Transcript
Introduction and Theme
00:00:01
Speaker
Hey, hey, hey, welcome back to my private podcast experience, Empowered. I am so glad that you're here. And today I want to talk about something that um I think is kind of near and dear to my heart. And that's because I dealt with a lot of, I don't know if you'd say bullying, but a lot of shame about how I ran my business in the early days.
Exploring 'Shoot and Burn' and Digital Files
00:00:23
Speaker
And now I don't care. but I want to deconstruct the phrase shoot and burn and undercover why it is such a negative phrase. In my opinion, this term is really derogatory and it came as a negative response to those of us who sell digital files.
00:00:42
Speaker
And this is just because there were some growing pains in our industry. You know, it used to be that you couldn't easily give digital files and that how photographers made money was on print sales, product sales, et cetera.
00:00:55
Speaker
And can you still make a lot of money on those things? Of course, of course you can. But also 2023 highest value the highest value item in these this day and age, in my opinion, is a digital file.
00:01:07
Speaker
A digital file is archivable.
Value and Transition to Digital Files
00:01:10
Speaker
it is It's literally you're giving somebody something that they can you know make their own you know prints with, all of that. So it's actually the highest value.
00:01:20
Speaker
item that I sell and that anyone sells i think. So the myth is is that those of us who sell digital files are undercutting our industry. But the truth is, nowadays, even photographers who follow a package system or an in-person sales model still sell digital files.
00:01:39
Speaker
It's just at a premium. Digital files, in my opinion, like I said, are really the highest value item because they're archivable, because the client can print their own prints and products.
Profitability Beyond Sales Models
00:01:50
Speaker
So people, I think, just really were holding on to that older business model and, you know, growing pains, they're real. Profitability has nothing to do with whether or not you are all inclusive, which hey, hey, that's shoot and burn, right?
00:02:04
Speaker
Or if you do in-person sales or you sell products. It doesn't. That's not what profitability has to do with. Profitability has everything to do with your profit margins and how much you are making per hour or per shoot.
00:02:17
Speaker
So for example, someone might tell me, oh, you're leaving money on the table. I make $4,000 a session. But then you look at how many sessions they're actually making $4,000 on and it's low. Or on the flip side, they're making $4,000 a session and they're spending 100 hours on each session.
00:02:34
Speaker
that's not profitability and i'm not saying that you can't be profitable with a in-person sales model or a product sales system i'm just saying that the two things are not mutually exclud exclusive profitability does not have to do with what you're selling how you're selling it has to do with whether or not you are making money in a time efficient way There are other reasons that folks really like to look down on those of us who sell digital files and I think it's because they believe that they are making more money than us.
00:03:05
Speaker
And again, it's just not true. You have to do the math. You can be all inclusive and sell digital files and be extremely profitable.
00:03:15
Speaker
And for me, being all-inclusive guarantees a certain amount of profit for each session and it takes me less time.
Embracing Diverse Business Models in Photography
00:03:22
Speaker
So that is where profitability matters for me. For you, you may want to get out there and do in-person sales, sell products. That's totally fine.
00:03:31
Speaker
Just make sure that your profit margins make sense and that you are actually making a profit. There is no need to put down others in our industry with terms like shoot and burn.
00:03:43
Speaker
If you want to do in-person sales and be a print and product focused business, amazing. Go for it. I'm behind you. If you want to be all inclusive, also amazing.
00:03:54
Speaker
My point with this little audio recording is that there is room for all of us. You do not have to put others down in order to lift your own business up. I promise you that.
00:04:06
Speaker
So let's stop with the negative negative phrases. Let's embody the energetic of community over competition. Let's remember that there's enough room for all of us and you do your business the way that matters to you and that serves your client the best or your ideal client the best.