How I Failed to Launch a Successful Photography Platform in Less Than 2 Weeks:

“Education without application is just entertainment.”- Tim Sanders

As I sat in class one day, I thought to myself, what if I take everything I know right now about business and entrepreneurship and just apply it? Apply it, knowing full well that I will fail. What’s the worst that can happen? It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve failed at anything, and hopefully, it wouldn’t be the last either.

It just so happened that the same day, I was browsing the Aggie Facebook group when I came across a post that said, “Howdy, my name is Anaby. I’m a senior graduating in May and am looking for a photographer for a senior photoshoot.”. This is not the first time I have seen a post like this. In fact, I had seen 20+ of these similar posts, and each followed 30+ comments by photographers looking to render a service. What I saw was an opportunity to experiment.

The Experiment: There are photographers and photographees who want to be photographed on campus and in surrounding areas. Facebook is their current source of finding each other, but there may be a more streamlined way of helping them solve the problem of finding each other, coordinating with each other, negotiating a price, and ensuring payment.

To learn more about the problem, I will attempt to purchase the service from one of the photographers I will be contacting, interview photographers, interview students looking for this service, and attempt to custom-fit a solution to meet their needs.

My focus throughout this experiment was to test how quickly I could gather information on the problem set and how quickly I could develop a minimum viable product and gain any traction.

Constraints: I self-imposed certain restrictions to limit the scope of the experiment. I knew I wanted a short time frame to push myself to action. I also knew that opening the budget to anything more than $300 would reduce my chances of finding creative solutions. Money can be thrown at any problem to find a solution. I wouldn’t have learned anything by doing that.

-Spend no more than two weeks to test, run, and write about the entire experiment.

-Spend no more than $300 with any expenses involved in the experiment.

-A problem with an accessible customer base.

Goals: My goals were to achieve 10 customers (5 photographers using the platform and 5 clients using the platform), have a website that could serve them as a minimum viable product, and launch a small advertising campaign around campus utilizing flyers and lawn signs.

Action: I’ll be upfront and state that I was unable to move beyond customer discovery, and I wasn’t even able to get photography services. At face value, it may seem like a colossal waste of time, but hear me out.

In total I contacted 12 photographers and 3 clients that had received photography services in the past. Out of the 12 photographers I contacted, I engaged with 9. Of those 9, 6 provided me their photography contracts, insight into popular locations around campus, additional services beyond the point-and-shoot, why they started, and generally valuable insight into the business. I learned much more about photography than I initially thought I would. Copyrights and contract law are the cornerstones of this business. I think that it takes away the personability and fun that is supposed to come with a day of being outdoors, taking pictures with your family, or celebrating a moment.

Working to secure services from them also taught me the pain points of the photography business. Texting back and forth over several days was a massive waste of time. On the client side interviews, I learned that they do not work with anyone who is not directly referred to them by someone they know (1-2 degrees of separation.), and that’s how they were avoiding most of this back-and-forth messaging.

I thought I had secured photography services from one young lady, but at the last minute, I received a text message with a cancellation from her. At that point, I knew this was the end of the experiment, and I had no interest in talking to another photographer.

Lean Canvas: One of my takeaways in learning about lean launching is that the business plan is dead. As the author of Running Lean, Ash Maurya puts it, a 50+ page business plan is a waste of time because no one reads it, and it's all a best guess anyway. The lean launch approach uses the lean canvas tool. This is what that tool looks like when adjusted for this photography business:

What I learned about the photography business:

1. Photographers do not want to give up the copyright of the images they take.

2. Photographers value being credited, by name and social media tags.

3. Photography as a business is centered around service contacts.

4. Most clients do not fully read their photography contract.

5. Scheduling and coordinating a service over text message is how most of the appointments are booked. (Inefficient and frustrating for both parties).

Lessons Learned:

1. My next experiment should have 1 customer/user instead of two.

2. I need better access to the customer base. Facebook is a great source, but having a direct connection with 10+ customers who meet the intended customer segment is better.

3. Secure two mentors before starting the experiment. Someone I can trust to share and learn from the experience as it is occurring.

4. Practice making MVPs on a blank domain. I now have a website where I can do this on.

5. Build a business around the customers you want to have.

6. Try again, fail. Try again, fail. Try again, fail. Try again, fail. Try again, fail. Try again, fail. Try again, succeed. I need more reps.

Biggest Takeaway: Learning by doing. This is the first of many attempts at business ventures that I am going to be taking. I have another experiment I am lining up. I intend to take all of these lessons learned and apply them towards it. This is a journey and I’m having fun along the way.