Real Life Example: Cost of business + cost of time dedicated per client + cost of goods sold + federal income taxes = more than some people want to pay. Some people, however, will drag out their consideration of booking you, telling you what all they want, a great idea for the session, what they anticipate spending, then back out. Sometimes its a spouse bringing them back down to reality, sometimes its because they assume if someone advertises on Craigslist for pennies, they’ll forgo quality for price. Or try to negotiate. Sorry, I’m not the low price leader and I’m not a flea market. I’m a legitimate small business owner providing a quality product at a slightly premium price.

Because I am a legit business, I have legit expenses. I pay taxes totalling approximately a third of what each session fee and product is priced at. Add in the overhead, product costs, marketing, and future re-investment costs, and double what’s set aside for taxes. Now triple that original amount. That’s my pay. Sometimes I clear a pretty nice sum with a client who spends a pretty penny. Other times, I make less than minimum wage when I calculate how many hours I gave to a client who spends as little as possible but eats up a ton of time with emails/calls, etc.

And then there are those that think I charge too much. Really? Have you owned a business? Paid in self employment taxes? Figured in ‘profit’ to put back into gear that’ll have to be replaced due to wear and tear over time? Covered basic expenses? If you want a crap product at a cheap price, there’s plenty of newbies and undercutters out there willing to deliver. Been there (newbie, not undercutter), done that, and should own the tee shirt. I’d like to recoop something for the thousands I’ve invested of my own money. Money that would have made a very nice down payment on a house instead of starting a business.  

Guess how I’m considering turning this negative into a positive …

As a child I considered becoming a meterologist but all that science kinda nipped the excitement in the bud. Looks like I didn’t have to go to school to become one after all …

Sadly, for me, neither of the above occurred when I went to renew my driver’s license yesterday. Semi curly hair + humidity + being told to smile by the DMV lady resulted in a photo that, quite honestly, seriously sucks.

Maybe I’ll move or get married before it expires … or maybe I could just *lose* it on a day when I have time to flatiron my hair …

The Original Felt ipad Case — shoot, I’d go out and buy an ipad now instead of sometime next year just so I could own the case!

Mod Rosette Necklace — oh so seriously cute! This would go great with a cute dress or a simple tee and jeans!

Week 29 of 52 — Theme: cherries

COOL ‘N EASY Strawberry Pie

Numero Dos: Late Tuesday through early Wednesday was dubbed “Miracle Worker Day” by myself. Aka, I pulled off a small miracle work-wise to avoid our unit catching pure hell over something not my fault. The someone who screwed up should be thankful it was caught … still waiting for them to get their butt chewed out …

Numero Tres: I’m working on a list of photo challenge themes for myself and my pal Kate (who is also a photographer) … the current list is here. Have an idea for one that’s a one or two word theme? Just leave it in the comments and I’ll add it to the list!

Numero Quatro: My BFF is having surgery on Monday. Send plenty of prayers and positive thoughts her way that it goes well and that she has a super super quick recovery!

Numero Cinco: Remember back in June when I blogged about On the Good Road (aka Darren & Lindsey) … well if you haven’t visited their site lately, they’re now selling photo prints of the places they’ve visited so far. I’m anxiously awaiting the prints I ordered of two vistas & of course two of the now famous Lulu!

Tell us about you

Where do you live?
i live on the edge of the piney woods in texas in a city named after the capital of a southern european country.
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Tell us something funny/goofy/silly thing about yourself.
most folks think i’m this serious, quiet person (i.e. most of the folks i’ve worked with in recent years) that’s occasionally talkative.  talkative, serious, yes.  also a really big dork, who has a tendency around her family and most of her friends to talk in different voices/accents, say stupid stuff, have blonde moments (yeah, so what if I’m not one?), and rattle off phrases of foreign languages at random.
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Do you have any pets?
two dogs (rascal & tater) and one cat (pokie)
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What blogs and mags do you read and what shops do you shop at?
when I have time online, i frequent a handful of blogs and flickr pages of real life friends and pals, plus some bloggers/photographers i’ve gotten to know over the past several years.
mags…pretty much anything travel related, self, rangefinder, and professional photographer
shops…
brick & morter: barnes&noble, ross, hobby lobby, thrift shops, used book stores
online: etsy, ebay, amazon, paper source
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Share something that lights your heart up
my dogs and cat
good mail (from friends)
gorgeous photographs
exotic flowers (& tulips)
compliments
learning something new
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What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
blue bell’s good heavens
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What’s your worst fashion disaster (PICTURES welcome, lol)?
besides 5th-8th grades? can’t think of any…right now
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What song on your ipod is most out of character for you?
well… SexyBack by JT and Right Round by Flo Rida…i like the beat of both, forget the lyrics!
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Favorite Movies and/or Books:
too many to list in both categories!
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If you had one hundred dollars fun money, what would you want to do?
right now, there’s several items on my etsy favorites list i’d purchase; anything left afterwards, gas money to go photograph area towns!
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What are your inspirations?
nature & flowers, gorgeous photographs, books, journals/blogs, friends, colors and prints
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What do you collect?
postcards and vintage cameras. 
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What is your dream? (You can also share a dream that has come true)
My dream list includes: a flexible day job that allows me to be creative and provides benefits,  having my photographs published in a major publication, having a book or two published, traveling to every continent (well, the six that are easily accessible anyway), design (& build) my own home & office/studio. well, that’s the professional/career dream, toss in a husband, kids, and another dog or two and you’ve got the whole dream!

That said, here’s some of my recent favorites from the members of Flickr …

Yet another cartoon posted by the IT guy at work … I consider myself a Longhorn fan although I’ll cheer for A&M when they’re not playing UT