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I'm constantly amazed that people at the top of their game talk about their work in an accessible way, regardless of how complicated it is in reality. They can split the technical expert and the public relations parts of their personality to suit their audience. I feel smarter after spending time with them, which is a perk of the job.
Do you read the room and tailor your approach for it?
Laura Jaramillo, Executive Director of LISC Houston
I get a lot of cool people in my studio here in Marblehead. Last week Somerville-based artist and interior designer Catherine Owens stopped by to update her headshot for her website’s about page.
We got a great headshot, of course, but we also headed into the garden for a closer to nature feel.
She brought a black top and white skirt so we could play with the black and white backdrops. The checkerboard pattern is one of my favorite signature shots.
See Catherine’s work through her website, and you can get in touch with me about your headshot by emailing info@filnenna.com or call me on 339 297 2849. Why not use the opportunity to explore the historic coastal town of Marblehead while you are here too!
I’m Fil Nenna, a portrait photographer serving Boston’s North Shore who specializes in helping small businesses like yours get more customers through quality images for your website.
Located in Marblehead I provide on-location services in Salem, Swampscott, Beverly, Danvers, Lynn, Boston and beyond. I can work in any space no matter the size or lighting conditions.
Please get in touch at info@filnenna.com to find out how quick and convenient making awesome headshots can be!
We get excited about taking pictures and sharing them, sometimes to the extent we overlook some of the less exciting housekeeping tasks. BUT there are some things to do that make us better photographers in the long run and the end of the year is the perfect time to make sure we are on top of it.
It is a great privilege to be able to take pictures. To have the resources and the time to take an interest in some aspect of life and preserve it through a camera. I look forward to every photo session. The portraits I make allow me to meet and learn about hundreds of people a year. I get to hear about their experiences and soak up some of their wisdom. Not every one gets to spend time with so may interesting people, and for this I am grateful.
Perhaps you get to spend time in nature, or solve the puzzles of arranging still lifes. Maybe you hang around classic cars, or find local news stories to document. Where have you taken your camera in the last 12 months?
All those digital files! Backing up is a standard practice to prevent a single hardware failure from wiping out your work, and its often overlooked because we have other things to do.
But please do it.
Not only backup, but you could use the opportunity to make sure your files are organized and keyworded.
Digital files are convenient, but they don’t exist. Not in the physical world. In 100 years time, they could be lost to hardware failure, format obsolescence or worse - people wont be able to access them becaue they don’t know your passwords. Even if they did, would they be able to (or be bothered to) process RAW files? And even if they did would they want to sift through thousands of images to find the good ones. And even if they did, would they find the processed ones?
And so on.
This is all solved by printing your work. Every year I print 4x6s of family photos and store them in a shoebox for my children to find like my parents did.
I also go through my portraits and pick the 30 or 40 best ones of the year and print a low-cost Shutterfly book. I can show the book to clients and friends, and its also an archive of my best work.
What did you take pictures of this year? How many pictures did you take? Did any pictures get published in a local magazine? What was your most viewed blog post or instagram picture? I like to document the most important things I’ve done over the past 12 months, especially if it was unusual, like getting picked for the juried gallery at a charity auction, or meeting a cool photographer or business owner that I really connected with. Take stock of what you did and write it down. After a few years you’ll have a collection of these reports and you’ll see how far you’ve come!
When you review your best pictures to print out, you can start to think about what you can improve on. Do you need to look for inspiration in different places? Is there a technique than needs some attention? Its a great time to set goals for the following year knowing that if you succeed or fail, you’ll have to write it in next year’s review!
My end of year checklist is really important to me and I don’t let it slip. I need to know where I’ve been, where I’m going and to make sure my work is preserved digitally and physically. I love being a photographer and still get excited about where it might take me. Each year is better than the last!
I’m Fil Nenna, a portrait photographer serving Boston’s North Shore who specializes in helping small businesses like yours get more customers through quality images for your website.
Located in Marblehead I provide on-location services in Salem, Swampscott, Beverly, Danvers, Lynn, Boston and beyond. I can work in any space no matter the size or lighting conditions.
Please get in touch at info@filnenna.com to find out how quick and convenient making awesome headshots can be!
Written November 2023. CAUTION: could be out of date at time of reading, and fees can change fast!
There are a few payment-processing companies offering ways for small businesses to accept credit card and online payments without the traditional monthly fees of a full-blown merchant account.
These services usually charge the seller a fixed-fee per transaction and a percentage of the total sale. I created a simple table to show the fees incurred for different transaction amounts.
The table below shows popular payment services from PayPal, QuickBooks, Square and Stripe, though there are more out there (comment below if there are other services you think I should include). The QuickBooks Go payment service is only available for QuickBooks users (and it integrates with their accounting software seamlessly).
To collect payment in person, you’ll need a card reader which these companies offer from $29 to $59. Stripe also have an option to use ‘tap to pay’ on your phone so you don’t need a reader, but at the cost of 10 cents per transaction. PayPal Zettle and Square offers Tap to Pay with no extra charges.
In general, taking credit cards in person (tap, swipe or insert card) incurs the lowest fees. Invoicing online is slightly more costly, and keying in a card number without the card present incurs the highest fees because it is the riskiest transaction type for the payment processor.
A general trend is that for in-person payments in the order of $40 and under, Quickbooks is the least expensive because there is no fixed fee, only a slightly higher-than-average percentage fee. Stripe and Zettle are not far behind. This benefits stores like coffee shops which have a high volume of sales for relatively small amounts.
For sales in the order of more than $40, PayPal Zettle becomes the least expensive because they have the lowest percentage fee. QuickBooks follows closely in price.
If you primarily take payments through invoicing (without the customer storing a card with you), then QuickBooks is the way forwards right now.
One important thing is that the fee difference for card-swipe transactions is minimal between companies. For example, the difference between the highest and lowest fees for an in-person $10 transaction is 10 cents, and for a $1000 transaction it is $4.06. Not a massive amount, in the grand scheme of things (but it can add up…). Invoicing your client online adds a few dollars to that fee. However, manually keying-in a card number comes with the highest fees.
The information in this blog post may become outdated/incorrect at any time. Do your research before deciding on one of these card services.
Comparing the fees between these companies is only one metric. Other considerations might include customer reviews of the service, extra fees, the ways you can integrate the service into your workflow and your personal preferences for certain companies compared to others.
These companies also have a selection of card readers in capability and price.
There are so many exciting things to buy for your business - Like computers, cameras, and business cards with your name on.
But the other day I had a moment in Staples where I found myself holding a ream of paper in my hands. Its not as exciting as the photography gear I have littering the place.
So let's talk about the things business owners overlook. The items that make day-to-day business possible, but definitely won't be turning any heads.
Disclaimer: If you buy through the affiliate links in this description, I may receive a small commission at no additional charge to you. I appreciate your support!
Mmmm. Look at this exciting large pigment printer. Shall we talk about archival prints? No. Instead lets look at this boring small printer that I use for printing marketing materials and contracts. It's the smallest printer that uses separate CMYK tanks of ink. It prints 15 pages a minute and has a duplex function meaning that it prints 2 sided automatically. This thing gets used pretty much every day - and after a computer, it's one of the first things any small business needs. Even a photography business.
The first time you get a piece of equipment it is really novel. But if you get a second, or a third, the novelty wears off. Duplicates are necessary though. Cables. Cameras. Light stands. Batteries. My first c stand was an amazing upgrade from the more portable stands I was using at the time. Then I got the second. And the third. The 4th c stand was such a cold and heartless purchase. Its so bloomin practical.
Things wear out and things can break. Of all the lenses I’ve ever bought, there is a 35mm lens that brought me the least joy. Because it was a replacement for one I dropped and broke. Could have been an exciting time if I’d have used it as an excuse to go mirrorless but reality kicked in and I realized I would have spent close to 10 grand on two new camera bodies and two lenses. Very exciting but there’d be no visible improvement to my images. So instead, I spent $650 on keh for a used replacement 35mm instead. Not very interesting. But not financially silly either.
QuickBooks is accounting software which, along with a dedicated business bank account, can be used to analyze your spending, your income and get things in order for tax season. Not everyone likes accounting, but I kind of enjoy it. Lots of data to analyze. But I also enjoy keywording my images and calibrating my monitor so take that for what it's worth. I’ve not tried alternatives to this accounting software, and maybe I should because QuickBooks online is a subscription model and it's the most expensive piece of software I run.
Ever get excited about buying paper? If you do, it might be time to get professional help. Reams of paper and inexpensive, but getting a premium version doesn't cost that much more. I use this paper for marketing material and contracts. I don't want clients to feel like they are touching the same boring materials that they use in their offices or at home. It's a little thing, but the smoothness and strength of nice paper brings a little luxury somewhere you wouldn't expect it.
Regular jeans are great, but if you are constantly getting close to the ground then climbing around then demonstrating a body position, then rummaging through your bags - then you want clothing that isn't constricting. This might be an old person thing, but I can’t work comfortably in regular inflexible jeans.
Tea. You might be thinking - Fil - I love tea and it is very interesting. To that I say…you are right. But I’ve included it on this list because its little things like this that get overlooked. Back in England, tea is what your friends make you when you visit. If a plumber is working on your kitchen, you’d make them a cup of tea. When someone is sad, a cup of tea cheers them up. You have a chat while drinking tea. It warms you up on a rainy day. Tea isn't glamorous, but it sets the tone I'm after. If clients come to my house, it's the first thing they get. I want them to feel welcome, because they are.
I hope you found this blog post about uninteresting things, err, interesting.
What's the least interesting thing you’ve bought for your business? Let me know in the comments below and we will find out who has the least interesting stuff.
Strangely, when I joined Alignable I attended an in-person networking event in town that same week (something that happens rarely, I found out). I made some real connections with people that I followed up with in person over the following weeks. It was brilliant! For that alone, joining Alignable was worth it for me.
Using the platform for a few months now, I’ve found that there are some great aspects to Alignable, and some really bad ones.
You need to know about both.
Alignable is not social media, but a networking space for business owners. The word “networking” can mean different things to different people, and that’s where Alignable’s problems exist…
The best experience I’ve had is with the “Networking for Introverts” group. There’s a mastermind hosted by Kerri Karel and Sam Rafoss that’s been increadibly valuable. These events are free to join regardless if you are a “premium” member or not.
I’ve interacted with other owners trying new things for the first time, sharing their experiences, talking about navigating in a world where most people didn’t learn anything about business in school. Its nice to not feel alone.
There are other groups with similar events. I’ve not tried them yet but I will.
When you spend some time in the groups you have joined, you’ll quickly see most people treat the place like a bulletin board. They post a vanilla monolog about their business using cliches like “passionate” and “empowering”, then hope it will drive business to their door.
What they forget is that the audience is other business owners, who are either doing the same thing, or wading through this pile of self-indulgence looking for a place to genuinely network with others.
Posting on groups is also a mixed bag. Some groups will respond and it will turn into a conversation. Other groups, like the local ones - crickets.
SmartConnect is both brilliant and infuriating. It is a one hour video call (available multiple times a day) where you get paired with another business owner for 7 minutes at a time to see if you can help each other out and form a connection.
Some people I’ve met are fantastic. We will chat about or successes and our challenges. I’ve met a lady who was helping people with self publishing, a voice actor who sounded AMAZING, and a virtual assistant who was such a delight to talk to, I’d recommend her to anyone in a heartbeat.
BUT THEN…
I had a “finance” guy talk AT me for the full 7 minutes, and acted surprised at the end when I declined to give him my phone number so he could talk AT me further. He thought he was at a free captive audience sales event, and I was left wondering if “networking” was just code for cold calling practice.
The MLM crowd are out in force, too. Some people won’t tell you they are in an MLM, but you get hints when they say “if you want to know about my product, my company has a 15 minute presentation…”. I wish I had the wisdom to help them out of it, but I don’t. So I sit and nod and wait for the timer to end.
I chatted to a web designer who said he was better than others because he had a formal education rather than “making it up”. I asked for a case study and he showed me a site he claimed had 1000 views a month (which is less than I get on filnenna.com without any SEO work). And of course, he’s only contributed a percentage of that because they would have had visitors before he assisted them. Then I asked him about his own website. He said it ranks on Googles first page! Further pressed he said he gets 100 hits a month.
What’s the point of ranking first then?
Some people get Imposter Syndrome, but I met so many genuine Imposters that I’m starting to shake off that particular worry for my own business.
I’m using the free version of Alignable which limits the connections you make and the reach of your posts. If I were paying $300 a year for the premium version, I’d be miffed that I was being sold at constantly. But many others spend their $300 thinking they are paying for the right to sell at you. There is no intermediate product, but I guess you could go month-to-month for a while to try it out.
Now here is the conundrum - should we wade through a swamp of cheap and ignorant salespeople, just to find a handful of genuine networking connections? I want the utopian vision of Alignable, but the reality is really something quite different.
I’m going to keep with it simply because the friends I’ve made there are worth the hassle. If you think of joining, I’d love to connect with you there so I can tell you how passionate I am about empowering people like you!
Just Kidding.
I’m Fil Nenna, the portrait photographer serving Boston’s North Shore who specializes in helping small businesses like yours get more customers through quality images for your website.
Located in Marblehead I provide on-location services in Salem, Swampscott, Beverly, Danvers, Lynn, Boston and beyond. I can work in any space no matter the size or lighting conditions.
Please get in touch at info@filnenna.com to find out how quick and convenient making awesome headshots can be!
Portrait and Headshot Photography in Marblehead and the North Shore, MA
