Re: [Leica] Re: It's so easy..

[Ted Grant <tedgrant@shaw.ca>]

David Rodgers offered:
> This is where creative accounting is useful. Forget the initial capital
> investment. Look at net present value of future cash flows, or analyze the
> internal rate of return of both printers. There are some unknowns, like
how
> much ink does one printer really use vs another? How many prints will I
> print, when and what size? Unknowns are good in this case, 'cause it'll
> allow you to tilt the numbers toward the printer you really want!!!
Course,
> any business manager worth his salt will question each assumption, and the
> numbers behind them. And your manager is obviously a keeper :-)<<<<<

Hi David,

One of the major failings of my career is, I never had a manager of any kind
and obviously over the years without one I wasted tremendous amounts of
money because everything was purchased on the basis of........ "I want it."
And of course lots of times it was "I don't have the money get it anyway
cause I want it!"

I probably would've given any manager several heart attacks or one really
biggie the way I did things without any thought of "how much would this make
me? Can I afford it? Will it give me a good return if I get it? And the
final one, "Oh hell get it, worry about paying for it later because there's
a couple of big assignments coming up!" :-)

Actually I'm damn lucky I survived this long. I know I am when I hear of
folks who have everything down to the last penny in cost vs. profit and all
the other proper ways of running a business. Me? Mine just flew as the wind
blew it and the assignments came along. And as long as I had some money in
the bank and I could pay bills that was OK. :-)

But business organization? Costs of stock and equipment? Not a clue.  I
always figured there was someone up there looking after me all these years
or I'd never have made it. :-) I sort of did my book keeping, "that's a
joke" ;-) what's book keeping?

I had an accounting firm that only once a year put together my company
financial statement, figured out the taxes to be paid and generally saved my
ass.  The problem was, I just wanted to shoot and assignments never ended
because I was always doing something producing income.

Often I wished I could clone myself there were so many things lined up. But
keeping financial records and all that paper work was just a pain. Besides I
never understood it anyway so why worry as long as you've got money in the
bank.

I of course know to-day that system cost me piles of money and often
monetary grief, but something always bailed me out, a bloody wonder I
survived.

One of the points I make to young photographers in training is the
importance of having a proper business management plan and or financial
manager because we as photographers, well not all, are the worst business
managers in the world because we just want to take pictures not do paper
work.

Sorry I'm rambling, but when I see points made as you have above, I know
those economic ways are correct for proper business management and I'm sorry
I never had them as I grew-up. I know Tina and her husband and she's got a
firm hand for guidance that many others didn't nor do have and that's quite
a blessing.

However, I bet she and Tom have some "conversations" ;-) about the economics
of her business at times.. ;-)

ted

















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