• Create a list of all of your expenses and enter them into the Cost of Doing Business Calculator
• Will you run your studio out of your home or in a separate space?
• What expenses do you have to run and maintain your space?
• How much do you spend on software and subscriptions for running your business and communicating with customers?
• Do you have insurance?
• Have you joined professional associations? Doing so gives you many benefits such as equipment insurance, continuing education, credibility, networking opportunities, etc.
• The list in this worksheet is not exhaustive. Try your best to estimate these expenses. It’s best to estimate high so you can prepare for every evenutality.

Once you are done filling in your expenses in this Cost of Doing Business Calculator these two numbers will be calculated automatically. The form will add up your monthly expenses and multiply by 12. This will give your total yearly expenses.

When you are determining your Cost of Doing Business (CoDB) you need to set your expected income. This is the amount you need to bring home every year to live your life.

Please consider estimating an amount that will allow you to thrive and not just survive. Breaking even as a photographer will eventually lead to burnout and will ensure that your business is more of a hobby and not a professional career.

In your expense section there are line items for payroll, props, and supplies. Consider other factors in your Cost of Goods Sold such as whether you pay a hair and makeup artist or an assistant for each session, or whether you pay them a salary. If you pay a salary put them in expenses. If you pay per session, estimate how much you pay them here. Props and other session related expenses such as artwork like albums and wall art should also be added to your CoGS (Cost of Goods Sold). 

Once you have a percentage cost of each sale enter that number into the Cost of Goods Sold box. This will determine your Yearly Sales Goal. 

This is a really important section to think deeply about. How many weeks a year can you really work? Corporate jobs give days off for illness and vacation. You should budget these things in for yourself as well. 

Do you need to take weekends off to be with your kids? Would you rather work only during the weekends? 

How many vacation weeks do you need to take to meet the needs of yourself and your family?

There are 52 weeks out of the year. Decide how many of those you would like to work.

Enter that number into the corresponding box and it will determine your average sales goal per week. 

The last step – you know how much time you want to devote to each client. Think about how many hours/days per week you can realistically devote to your work. From there you will be able to figure out how many clients per week you can serve. Enter that number into the Number of Clients Per Week box.

Voila! Your Cost of Doing Business Calculator is complete. You now have a good estimate of the average sales goal you should have per session. This will help you to determine your price list and target your packages to your ideal client. You are now on your way to running a profitable and successful business that will serve you and your clients well!