BVB Part II - This Time We Mean Business!

       Come join Pilot Imaging for our second "Bringing the Value Back to Photography" event!  This past May, Pilot Imaging hosted an event with Doug Gordon, Clay Blackmore, and other industry educators that was focused on motivating photographers, inspiring them to continue learning their craft and exercising their creativity.  Pilot Imaging believes that by coming together as a community in these difficult times we can turn our industry around and bring both monetary and artistic value back to photography. 

This event is focused on building and improving
your photography BUSINESS.

It takes more than a good eye and technique to make it as a great photographer, it also takes strong business skills.  We are gearing up and bringing in top-notch professionals to come pass along their knowledge and inspire you with their business success stories during this full day event.  

5 speakers, an advising panel and a full day of
networking and education for just $125
Don't miss our $95 early-bird special! 

Here is a sneak peak at some of the day's featured presenters...

Liana Lehman Hall  lianasbananas.com
"Sales is NOT a dirty word!"

Liana loves her life and career! She is honored to spend her time shooting destination weddings in the US and abroad and speaking at major industry conventions such as WPPI, Imaging USA, Chicks that Click, and other regional events.  Liana is one of the only working professional photographers certified and willing to teach managerial accounting and business planning to other wedding and portrait photographers. Her website received PPA’s ANNE award for Website of the Year and she was also featured on NBC.  A third-generation entrepreneur and graduate of an exclusive program in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management and Marketing, Liana has been bestowed with knowledge that she desires to share with others. She believes in helping others achieve the impossible, that photography and business should be FUN, and in telling stories through pictures and numbers!

Find out how to DOUBLE your income in less than 6-months by learning to LOVE sales! Are you the type that would prefer to eat worms than ask your clients for a sale?  Liana will share how embracing a new attitude about the s-word has made her bottom line AND her clients happier. Know how expectations, immediacy, samples, and simplicity not only play key rolls in your sales but will also have your clients raving about you. 

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Scott Kurkian ppa consultants

Scott Kurkian has been the Chief Financial Officer of PPA for the past 17 years. He is also the founder of Studio Management Services (SMS), the financial consulting division of PPA, available only to its members. Scott has worked with many photography businesses of all sizes to help them learn and understand the financial aspects of managing a small business and how to use financial analysis to improve profitability.

 If you only see your accountant once a year at tax time, you’re missing out on a valuable resource in the quest to run a profitable business. Find out how PPA, through its Studio Management Services program, is working with photographers to provide financial information and analysis that improves their bottom line. Learn how the following can help keep more money in your pocket throughout the year:

· Setting up your company legally to minimize the amount of taxes you pay.
· Which tax deductions are crucial to know and which ones are often overlooked.
· Why managerial accounting is so crucial to maximizing your company’s profits.
· The importance of financial forecasting.
· What types of financial and managerial software exists for photographers and which is best for ...your business.
 
Most importantly, you’ll learn the results of PPA’s exclusive benchmark financial survey and how the information can be used to analyze your business and grow your profits. Find out:

· the percentage successful photography businesses are keeping in their pockets;
· the most important numbers in your business that you must know;
· the financial differences you need to know when deciding between a home-based studio and a  ..retail storefront;
· the analytical differences between successful and non-successful businesses; and
· how much you should be spending on marketing, overhead, employees, and other operating ..expenses.

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"SEO (or Search Engine Optimization) and Harnessing the Power of Social Media"

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Asher Epstein rhsmith.umd.edu/dingman
"You're Not Just an Artist, You're an Entrepreneur"

Mr. Epstein has extensive experience advising, growing, and managing emerging firms both in the United States and internationally.  Since 2004, Mr. Epstein has been the managing director of the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business.  Among his accomplishments include the creation of the Smith School China Business Plan competition which attracted entrepreneurs from all over China to compete for $50,000 of seed funding. He also spearheaded the center's annual Cupid's Cup business competition in 2006, which awards seed funding to the top University of Maryland student and alumni startups.  Mr. Epstein began his career as a consultant to Fortune 500 companies.

Mr. Epstein will focus on what it really means to be an entrepreneur today and what necessary steps you should be taking to be successful for the long term.

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Wedding Industry Marketing Panel 

We've assembled an experienced group of wedding planners and publishing professionals to tell you, direct from the source, the best ways to market your images and your business.  You'll hear suggestions and recommendations that you can use immediately to gain additional exposure and gain a competitive advantage in this lucrative market.

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Doug Gordon dgworkshops.com
Posing & Lighting Workshop

We are welcoming Doug back as a special guest at this event.  As photographers, who  really wants to talk about business all day without a little fun, light-hearted photo talk?  To help keep you from getting bleary eyed, Doug is coming in to get you pumped up and motivated to learn more about your craft!  Maybe he'll even sneak in some of his business secrets; after all, who is better qualified than a photographer whose studios shoot over 1,000 weddings a year? Come watch one of the nation's top wedding photographers as he teaches his techniques in a close and intimate setting. 
Watch this comedic, spontaneous video from one of Doug's presentations....click here

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Have questions? Contact us today! info@pilotimaging.com 301.838.9006

We look forward to seeing you there!