Mistakes Make Magic

032: Richard Photo Lab’s Brian Greenberg – The Ins and Outs of Running a Small Business

February 20, 2018

I’m Catherine.
A New Orleans based wedding photographer and educator. We are excited you are here and cannot wait to connect with you!.
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I am interviewing someone today who owns and runs one of the most detail-oriented and highly successful film labs in the country. He is a quality obsessed business guru and classic car lover. He is also a straight-shooter which is one of my favorite qualities about him. You might think his name is Richard since he owns Richard Photo Lab, but nope you are mistaken! So welcome to the podcast, Brian Greenberg! 

WHAT YOU WILL HEAR IN THIS PODCAST:

  • Daily role of the owner of Richard Photo Lab
  • Tips for Managing Others
  • Biggest mistakes as the owner of Richard Photo Lab
  • Common mistakes photographers and creatives make
  • Sources of information for continuing education


Daily Role as the owner of Richard Photo Lab

As the owner of Richard Photo Lab, Brian has to make sure that his employees are doing the jobs that need to be done ahead of time. Each member of the team has a specific task, and Brian’s job is to oversee the constant coordination and to be a liaison between each department. Brian has quite a bit of client contact and making sure the leadership within Richard Photo Lab all understand what and why they do what they do. Richard Photo Lab is now made up of 35 people. It takes a team to make it happen, and Richard Photo Lab has such a great team! 

Tips for managing others

Brian has gone to multiple business related trainings and workshops in order to learn more about managing others. He has learned that it is important to have a solid scientific approach to hiring new members to your team, because if not, you will hire people that are too similar to you when a team needs diversity. For Brian, he does a ton of work on the backend before hiring. Hiring people that are smarter than you is also a great quality to look for in applicants. As a manager and leader, understanding what a person will excel in really matters as to where you place them within the company. Brian is so knowledgable about so many things and runs his business to the highest of standards, which I believe is why he has gained the success that he has!

Biggest mistakes as the owner of Richard Photo Lab 

While running Richard Photo Lab for 15 years, there have been so many different ways for Brian to make mistakes. Being the owner it is a constant process of trying to improve yourself and your system. Richard Photo Lab is a film lab with different types of scanning and post-production. Years ago, Brian decided to add press printing and really underestimated how difficult it would be, and it became the largest financial error that Brian made. Brian chose to get a less expensive printing machine, in order to be more financially stable, but the printer did not fit their needs. It is important to start small and find out if something works, and then grow to the more expensive products as your business grows. 

Common mistakes photographers and creatives make 

As a photographer, you are hired for a limited amount of time and are able to charge a large amount of money for your time, so this time should be cared for. Most creatives expect to be paid a large amount of money for their time, but also are quick to pass out their work for free, or expect others to work for free. When you are running a small business, you do not have the luxury of taking your time to complete a project. A certain project (ex. wedding) comes with a certain amount of post-production. There have been amazing professionals who take their craft seriously and have fine-tuned the process of post-production and other business processes, which makes them extremely successful. As a creative for hire if you do not manage your time and your money, then no one else will. Another element that creatives can get in trouble with is the idea of a business plan. Brian has watched photographers start out cheap, because they have not done enough research about the market and may not know the value of their work. It is then easy to become overcome with work, and get burned out on their business. All of this can be planned out and avoided from the beginning.

Sources of information for continuing education 

Brian turns to Super Soul Sunday with Oprah. This show and the people she talks to, will blow you away! From amazing directors to CEOs, you can learn so much from watching these professionals talk about their businesses and the insight they have to give. Every business can feel great to operate and can be profitable, you just have to have the right mind-set and understand things will be hard, and mistakes will be made.  

I found this quote on Richard Photo Lab’s blog which by the way is an excellent source of content. So as we sign off today, keep this in mind  ”Our passion feeds our work, and our work feeds our passion” 

CONNECTING:

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SPONSORS:
Showit – User-Friendly Web Design Platform: Use code MAGIC for 10% off your subscription!
Black River Imaging High Quality Online Print Site: Use code MAGIC for 20% off your order!

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