5 reasons being a do-it-all could destroy your business

I totally understand the thought process behind it…

You want to attract more clients/customers, so you start offering every style of photography to appeal to as many people as possible.

But, as controversial as it may be, I genuinely believe this is at the heart of why many small businesses fail.

& the reasons I truly believe this are…

1.) People won’t remember you. By offering everything you become known for nothing. But if you are specialised then you can become synonymous with that specialism.

“I used that photographer, oh you know, the one that photographs…erm…babies…but erm, she’s in Herts”.

Or

“I used that photographer, everything is white, it’s simple & the babies are just natural. I think her name is something like white photography…oh Little White Photography”.

2.) It’s harder to charge more. By having a specialism you become a specialist & people are always willing to pay more for someone that is specialised in what they want.

3.) People won’t make the effort. If you offer everything you risk becoming a dime a dozen. But by specialising you increase your desirability as you become the best in that area. People will always make the effort to travel to the best.

4.) You will improve faster. They say it takes 10,000 hours practicing your craft to become a genius at it*. Now if you spread your time over multiple styles & types of photography, then it takes much longer to really hone your skill.

Whereas if you really focus on a specialism then your time is much more concentrated & you’ll see your work develop much faster.

5.) It’s much easier to form a strong brand if you are specialised. Everything becomes streamlined & easily identifiable under the umbrella that is your brand. 

& this links to point number 1, because the stronger your brand is, the more memorable you will be.

So that’s it, my two pence worth on why I think being specialised in photography is the best way to go.

Well actually why I believe that being specialised for any small business is the best route to go down.

Halo & Wren, for example, have paved an incredible name for themselves by being the specialist for modern, exciting & unique wedding dresses. Now attracting people from all over the country.

*Malcolm Gladwell popularised in his book Outliers, there’s a “critical minimum” amount of time that you must spend practicing your craft in order to become a genius at it: 10,000 hours, to be exact.