Have you planned for your company's future? Memphis TN

OBSERVATIONS

• More than half of our respondents (57.64%) are sole owners of their business, and 23.64% co-own their business with a partner.
• Surprisingly, 71.43% of our respondents say that their business will end when they are no longer at the helm.
• More than half of our respondents, 66.40%, do not manage their business with retirement in mind; 33.60% of our respondents operate their business in line with their retirement plans.
• Only a small minority (19.20%) of those who answered our survey have a likely successor in mind; 80.80% of our readers who responded to the survey do not have a ready successor.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

"It is our plan to hire a young, [up-and-coming] photographer to take over the business. We will assist for six months to encourage, [and to] help with call-back lists and the money management. We have a local college that offers professional photography classes, and we would seek and advertise through this group of students for a possible buyer. We have all worked too hard to allow the business to disintegrate."

Bobbi Poole, Photography by Bobbi, Okeechobee, FL

"Have a clear record of your clients, individual rates and maintenance, and items such as invoices, release forms, day rates, and usage rates. This keeps the client unaware that new management has taken over the helm, making it more likely [that you'll] keep that relationship alive."

John Pringle, New York, NY
www.jpringlephoto.com

"One of the keys to having a photography business with 'value' to sell is in proper branding of the business. If the long-range plan is to sell the business, then don't brand your name as most photographers do; rather, create and brand a unique studio name. That way, all of your marketing efforts to increase your photography business are also increasing the value of your business name."

Beverly Acker, FrozenZen, Germantown, TN, www.frozenzen.com

"I bought the studio through a well-thought-through succession plan. It included years of overlap, financial assistance, and branding/marketing."

Mark Orenstein, de Jourdan's Photographics, Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, www.dejourdans.com

"I sold my advertising photography business in 1997 to retire. I owned a 25,000-square-foot building, built in 1974 as a commercial photo studio. Smartest thing I ever did businesswise was to build that building, as I profited much more from the building's sale than the business' sale."

Tom Ferderbar, former owner of Ferderbar Studios, Delafield, WI