Pet Photography Business Plan

The management of Adorable Pet Photography will be very simple in the first few years. In addition to performing the artistic functions of the business, the photographer is also the proprietor and initially must be involved in all aspects of the business, such as marketing, payroll, management of both accounts receivable and accounts payable, and other miscellaneous business details. Additional personnel can be added as the business accounts grow, in order to alleviate these responsibilities from the photographer.

The staff for the first two years of operation will consist of one part-time individual who will serve as an office and photographer’s assistant. In the third year of operation, this position will be upgraded to a full-time assistant as the assumptions regarding profitability come to pass.

Adorable Pet Photography’s growth will be deliberate rather than fast paced. It is possible that the business will need additional staff. Gaps in the personnel structure might well occur in the support staff. It is a reasonable assumption that the demands of the office, and also assisting the photographer, might become too much for one individual. Depending on the strengths of the individual that fills the first part-time position, the second staff member will be hired as a complement, and both will be trained in the other’s duties.

6.1 Personnel Plan

Because the business is small, there is no need for an elaborate personnel structure. The receptionist/photographer assistant position will initially only be needed part time. The following table assumes that this position will become full time in fiscal year 2003. No salary is set for the owner, and will be determined at year end, based on profitability of the business. This is feasible only because the owner has additional income to support normal living expenses.

A reasonable staff for start-up would be one part-time employee in addition to the photographer. The duties and job description would for this person would include:

• General reception duties, including phones, mail, and greeting customers.
• Setting appointments and managing appointment calender.
• Tracking inventory and supplies.
• Billing, handling both accounts receivable and accounts payable.
• Assist photographer in portrait sessions.
• Assist with marketing strategies and plans.