Business From The Ground Up: Launching Your Photography Business
with Jen Bilodeau
2 WEEK WORKSHOP
$150 Full Participation | $75 Study Along
Turn your love of photography into your dream job.
Follow this systematic, step-by-step approach to launching your photography business including business structures, taxes, contracts, marketing, SEO and more. You’ll move forward informed and ready to confidently embark on your journey as a photography business owner.
Learn how to start a business via a step-by-step approach covering goal setting, legalities, contracts, bookkeeping, website development, branding, taxes, workflow, marketing and more. Through the detailed weekly PDFs, daily discussion topics, exclusive interviews and weekly live chats, this class will cover everything you know to take those first steps. Launch your business, learn how you can set yourself apart in a crowded industry, and set the stage for long-term success.
After completing this two week class, participants are encouraged to continue the Click Photo School photography business start-up program by completing The Profitable Photographer: Your Guide To Sustainable Pricing, where Jen will help you establish the pricing framework your business needs so that you can set yourself up for long-term success. This four week journey is your complete guide to starting a business that is successful, sustainable and satisfying!
PREREQUISITES
None
what you’ll get
WEEKLY LESSONS
1 preassignment, plus 2 weekly PDFs (formatted for print or on-screen viewing). Weekly lessons also include daily action and discussion prompts to keep you moving through the materials.
START UP CHECKLISTS
General business start-up checklist, Branding Checklist.
DAILY INSTRUCTOR-LED Q&A
Full participation students engage in instructor-led discussion and Q&A for daily interaction and support. Study along students have full viewing access.
LIVE Q&A
Full Participation Students will have the opportunity to participate in weekly live Q&A chats with Jen. Study Along students will be able to download and view the recorded sessions.
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEWS
Interviews with with a branding specialist, a social media expert, an SEO specialist, and a website designer.
INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT FEEDBACK & CRITIQUE
Full Participation students receive extensive personal video critiques of weekly assignment submissions.
Study Along Students have full viewing access.
syllabus
Welcome
Lesson One
LEARN ABOUT
Understanding The Industry
Building Your Portfolio
Defining Your Target Client
Writing Your Mission Statement
Setting Yourself Apart
Determining Your Business Structure
Registering With The Government
Insurance
Contracts & Copyright
Client Documents
Setting Up Your Website
Lesson Two
LEARN ABOUT
Bookkeeping & money management
Getting Your Website Noticed (SEO discussion)
Your Social Media Presence
Competitive Analysis
Workflow
Branding, Marketing and Grand Opening
Managing work/life balance
Introduction to Pricing (in-depth pricing is taught in The Profitable Photographer
Tax overview
Goal Setting
as seen on instagram
#THEGROUNDUP_CLICKPHOTOSCHOOL
"Coming Soon!"
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about your instructor
Jen Bilodeau is a lifestyle and portrait photographer based in Massachusetts. Through her artistic use of light and shadow, and her commitment to capturing authenic organic moments, Jen creates beautifully timeless and powerful imagery. Jen is also a CPA and enjoys mentoring fellow photographers to help them take their business to the next level. Across all areas of her work, Jen strives to capture honest, emotive and timeless images that artfully preserve today’s moments that matter. Her portfolio is available here.
how it works
download weekly lessons
Each week, students receive a set of course materials, which generally include a PDF and instructional videos. All course materials are yours to download and keep.
chat online
Your workshop registration includes access to a private online forum for sharing and discussion. The classroom forum is open 24 hours a day so that you can learn and join discussions on your own schedule.
study & ask questions
Study on your own time, and check in on the classroom forum for interactive learning. The instructor is present in the forum every day to answer questions and offer encouragement.
complete weekly assignments
Students receive an assignment to complete each week that pertains to the topics covered in the course materials and builds upon class discussion throughout the week.
Full Participation students engage in an interactive online classroom experience that includes instructor-led group discussions and detailed, personalized guidance for the duration of the workshop. Full participation students post their assignments in the forum and receive critique each week.
Study Along students have access to all materials and are able to view all content and conversation in the main workshop. Study along students will not be able to ask the instructor questions or request instructor feedback on their assignments, but they can follow along with instructor critiques of the Full Participation assignments.
My mind is blown with how much information Jen manages to pack into these two weeks. The week 1 PDF was worth the enrollment fee alone! This was just the beginning. I’m so full of appreciation for the time Jen takes in the forum DAILY and with her assistants. She answers anything and everything with such knowledge and will search it out if she’s at all hesitant. Worksheets to keep/ponder, amazing PDFs full of info, and weekly video chats in two weeks. This course is AMAZING!
I am in the final days of Jen Bilodeau’s Building a Business From the Ground Up, and I am simply BLOWN AWAY by this class!! I’ve taken a lot of CM classes (and I mean, a LOT of them!!), and I’ve enjoyed them all, but Jen was absolutely the most responsive, knowledgeable, accessible and helpful instructor I think I’ve had to date! The PDF itself is MASSIVE, packed to the brim with so much information to completely demystify the process of starting a business. Jen’s knowledge of business best practice is top notch, her knowledge of the sticky parts (like what kinds of insurance you might need, what kinds of questions to ask an accountant, etc.), amazing, but it was her constant presence and feedback that was so outstanding. After this class, I feel that I have all the information I need to make this transition well informed. She has structured it so well that I actually completed tasks that have been on my to do list for MONTHS in week one! I’m not kidding!! If you are even THINKING about starting a business, I cannot recommend this class highly enough.
I am so happy I took this course! Jen has set the materials up in such a great way that it is impossible to not feel organized and on top of all the steps to start a photography business. She is also quick to answer questions and is very present every day. She even has two video conferences. I could not be happier that I decided to take this class and will be turning to the incredible materials often as I launch my business. I highly recommend this class!
I hope this course will run again soon. I am so sad I missed it and would love to see it run again soon.
I took this class just as I was on the brink of opening for business and it was exactly what I needed. Jen lays out step-by-step what you need to do to get up and running. In addition to the logistics of getting formalized as a business, she helps you develop your marketing plan, start a newsletter, prepare for grand opening, etc. It’s a lot of information in two weeks, but she keeps you organized with daily activities and a workbook to keep all of your information in. I can’t recommend this class enough!
I am now finishing up this course and am beyond grateful for all of the knowledge that Jen and the TA’s have shared. They all run successful photography businesses and are open books to share their experiences. Jen has done an amazing job and laying out the steps it takes to build a successful business, from contracts to marketing to websites and everything in between. This course was exactly what I needed to gain the confidence for opening my own business!
Hi! How often do you offer this course? I’d love to take it next month or in June if possible.
Hi Ali! I will be offering this course several times a year. I’m currently not sure when the next run will be be I’m guessing late summer or early fall. Hope to see you there!
Hi! Is the bulk of the content via the PDF? I really love videos and find them much easier to grasp the information.
If you are looking to get your business running and off the ground, Jen is 100% your girl! Not only is she an incredibly talented artist, She is a gifted teacher with a solid, professional foundation in business. She has a tremendous heart and is extremely generous with all of her business knowledge. I highly recommend both of her courses if you are looking to halt all of the decision paralysis and jumpstart a business that speaks to your own unique vision!