What is Founders 101 Photography
An overview
Founders 101 Photography is a one month entrepreneurship program that can help you start your photography business in just one month. This is not a theory program, course, training or anything they teach you in business school. This is a one of its kind program whose result is an actual business started in just one month. It will help you carefully think through every step of your photography business/company so you can prepare for success. It will help you discover any weaknesses in your photography business idea, identify opportunities you may not have considered, and plan how you will deal with challenges that are likely to arise. It comes with a free workbook which will guide you in coming up with your photography business plan. A well-written photography business plan can help convince investors or lenders to finance your photography business.
Start your photography business today?
You have the skill, let us help
you structure it as a business
MEET YOUR INSTRUCTOR
DAVID MACHARIA - FOUNDER OF VERSATILE PHOTOGRAHERS
The most important and impactful decisions I have made during my career have been inspired wholly or in part by my mentors and other people I have looked up to for direction. I have subsequently taken up the role of mentor to many young people to point them in the right direction towards achieving their goals.
One of the best ways to empower the youth in developing countries is to create employment opportunities that boost their skills and inspire them to start their own ventures. It is basically teaching them to fish as opposed to giving them fish.
After our one month program
Deliverables
After finishing Founders 101 Photography in one month, you will have set the foundation and started your Photography business. Among the measurable is that you will have a registered Photography business/company, you will have a well developed business plan, you will have the necessary branding you need e.g a logo, business cards, letterhead and website, mentorship and great networks. You will also have an opportunity to shadow David Macharia for one month to see how a Photography company operates from reception to sales at Versatile Photographers.
- Introduction and ideation
- Understanding your market and industry
- Marketing your product or service
- Legal and Operations
- Human resource management and operations
- Accounting and record keeping
- Financing
Start your photography business today?
You have the skill, let us help
you structure it as a business
Introduction
THE PHOTOGRAPHY INDUSTRY IN KENYA
Kenya’s photography sector has indeed evolved. From the conventional ‘village photographers’ that came around every so often with a traditional film camera to capture life’s moments to the modern, sophisticated and technology fueled photographer that owns and works with a host of digital cameras, lights and editing suites. A new caliber of photographers has arisen who boldly demonstrate their prowess in one important aspect of photography without which this extraordinary art form would not thrive; story telling. With their timeless pieces of work, they weave in social and economic themes that impact Kenyans reminding us of the important role that photography plays in a social and cultural setting.
These creative and diligent photographers are raising the bar by combining the significance of art, history, storytelling, our country’s culture and digital awareness to produce high quality photographs that are not only being recognized locally and globally. It is this consistent growth that has fueled a trade that was in the past been looked down upon. Photographers today are part of a significant set of professionals that are reaping handsome business returns by monetizing their craft. The photography culture has slowly been growing, people are now starting to pay attention to photography, getting more engaged and needing portfolios, wedding shoots, family events and paying for it.
The growth of Kenya’s photography sector has been occasioned by several factors. First has been the accessibility and affordability of high- quality cameras which has encouraged younger people to become much more involved in a previously very expensive (or at least an expensive to learn) craft. This has made it easier to learn photography and manipulate photos digitally using various open source software. However, as photography is becoming easier to learn and more people choose it as career, it still takes time, skill, and commitment to become a good photographer; it doesn’t happen overnight.
This program is meant for entrepreneurs who are just starting out, need a refresher of the business basics or need to update or create a plan to use as a guide for running your business. Each meetup includes 40% expert advice, case studies, listening to founders that are already in the same industry followed by 60% of practical application.
WHO IS IT FOR
The formation of the Photographers Association of Kenya has also been integral in ensuring that photographers from across the country have the ability to collectively bargain by providing avenues to negotiate issues affecting the sector including insurance, equipment deals and supplies, exhibition and workshop venues. In addition, the association has partnered with the government and international photography companies like Canon to grow skills through training forums and master classes for members and mentorship programmes for upcoming photographers.
As a result, we have seen more people choosing photography as a career, a boom in the registration of photography companies and an increased specialization by photographers into either wedding, nature, sports, portraiture documentary and other forms of photography. These extremely professional photographers are exquisitely running their own studios and know how to market their craft to the right people locally and abroad. The government on the other hand, has been consistently supportive of the industry through the enactment of laws that provide and protect image copyrights and intellectual property rights of photographers. This has elevated the value with which the public views this craft translating to better pricing and mutual respect which has greatly favoured photographers.
To amplify further these efforts, Kenyans need to appreciate and value photography art more than they currently are. The biggest challenge photographers in Kenya face is pricing. While for a long time many have minimized photography to a ‘click and manufacture’ processes, modern technology involves much more time, skill and effort from shooting, editing to processing of the final photos. This process is priced differently by different photographers but the general idea Kenyans should understand is that as a business, a photography company operates on overheads that must be met.
PHOTOGRAPHY TRENDS
AVERAGE REVENUE PER MONTH
A photographer makes an average monthly revenue ranging between Kes150,000- 500,000. Most have customized packages depending on the type of shoot and the duration it will take, with each session ranging from Kes3,000- 5,000 at the very least.
Start your photography business today?
You have the skill, let us help
you structure it as a business
This could be you
SUCCESS STORIES
Some of the big names in the photography industry include
Mutua Matheka
Osbourne Macharia
Tatiana Karanja
Ben Kiruthi
David Macharia
Simple Ideas
What all this people have in common is that they took simple ideas and magnified them to be world class empires. Start today
Free workbook
Founders 101 photography comes with a free workbook as an entrepreneurship material. A well written hardcover book for you at no extra cost.The beauty about this workbook is that it is so simple that you can DO IT YOURSELF without any instructor or a physical meet-up or training
Auto pilot
This workbook covers every single section of a business plan and includes instructions for each of those sections, followed by corresponding fillable worksheet/s. After you complete the 12 worksheets provided, you will have a working business plan for your startup.
Design
Founders 101 workbook includes all of the business areas crucial to planning and running your photography business. It incorporates not only the crucial areas, but helps you apply them to a business plan worksheets that you can then use as a roadmap for your business within the book.
Silver Package
- One month training
- A photography business plan
- Shadowing program
- Founders 101 workbook
- Business registration
Bronze Package
- One month training
- A photography business plan
- Shadowing program
- Founders 101 workbook
- Graduation
- Business registration
- Free photography events
- Great networks
Gold Package
- One month training
- A photography business plan
- Shadowing program
- Founders 101 workbook
- Graduation
- Business registration
- Branding
- Free photography events
- Great networks