Many people dream of being a professional photographer but just how do you get started? We take a look at how to get started in creating a professional photography business that has all the ingredients of success.

EVERY business needs a plan

No matter what the business, it needs a plan. This means that as well as photography skills, you need business skills too.

Here’s a snapshot of what a business plan should contain;

A business plan is the projected route of your business to success and for any new business, having a detailed plan is essential (but no guarantee of success!).

Your photography specialism

A professional photographer offers a particular service such as landscape photography, wedding photography, portraits and so on.

The professional photography market is a crowded and competitive place but that doesn’t mean that with vision, commitment and talent you can’t make an impact and have a successful business.

By offering a specialism, you are appealing to a niche market and for you, that means understanding your customer demographic.

What is ‘customer demographic’?

Customers demographic is an overview of who your customers are – their age, gender, income, occupation, wants and needs etc.

Build your portfolio

Getting a start in a creative industry can be tough, especially if you don’t have anything to show potential clients.

With photography, building a portfolio is a stepping stone to getting your first commission. By building a portfolio, both in print and online, you show potential customers you do have the photographic talent to deliver what they want.

Marketing

Every business needs customers – and a constant stream of both new and returning customers – and a steady flow of cash through the business.

When you start a business, deciding what to spend your limited budget on can be problematic. But with your business plan and your customer demographic defined, you are in a stronger position to create a marketing campaign that hits the right people.

Research what opportunities there are to push your business in front of the right people. As well as online marketing such as social media, pay per click ads so that customers find your website and so on, consider offline marketing tools too, such as booking a stand at a wedding fayre.

Expand your skills – photography and business

You will need your business head to push your business forward and into a successful arena, just as you will need strong photography skills.

How to Start Your Own Photography Business

Stick with it!

Starting and running your own business is a big step. If your dream is to become a professional photographer, here’s the good news – it can be done! – but here’s the tough lesson: you need to be committed, focused and passionate about what you do and what you can offer.

Is it your dream? How will you make it a reality?

The vast majority of young families say that their grandparents are their first choice when it comes to looking after their children or other close relatives. If this is a regular occurrence, is paying grandparents for childcare in the UK allowed?

Childcare costs are spiralling and with limited financial help available, 97% of families say that they turn to grandparents or other close relatives for childminding help. This can be picking up and dropping off school age children or looking after a child full-time whilst parents work.

It makes sense that if you are relying heavily on a relative that you pay them for childminding duties but is this legal? What are the rules relating to paying someone as a childminder? Let’s find out more about paying grandparents for childcare here in the UK.

When should you register as a childminder?

You should register as a childminder if you are looking after children who are not close relatives, are doing so for more than two hours a day and are charging for your service.

A professional childminder will also have a DBS check to check they are safe to work with children, hold a paediatric first aid certificate and be inspected by the appropriate body, which is England is OFSTED. You should also consider a childminding course and possibly online childcare courses if you are thinking about registering as a childminder.

What is the definition of a ‘close relative’ when it comes to childminding?

family member getting paid for childcare

 

There is a ruling that says a close relative who looks after a child relative does not have to register as a childminder but could technically charge for the time they look after the child.

A close relative is defined as a grandparent, aunt or uncle. So it would seem that anyone outside of this definition would, in the eyes of the law, register as a childminder although this is not made clear!

Is paying grandparents for childcare in the UK legal?

It is not uncommon for parents to make a payment to a relative who looks after their child on a long-term basis, for example, every day after school or every shift that they work.

How this income is treated is a grey area. Some say that your relative would need to declare this money as income and pay income tax on it be declaring a return. Others say that this is not the case and is a token gesture payment.

It is hard to find any clarity on the situation but payments are ‘token gestures’, e.g. not at the current professional childminder rate. The average rate for 25 hours of childcare a week for a child under 2 is just over £107 per week with full-time care rising to £227 per week.

Can it be seen as ‘expenses’, rather than payment?

For many parents, the costs of childcare are so high that returning to work part or full time is not financially worth it. And this is why parents rely on grandparents and other relatives to care for their children.

There is also the question of suitable childcare arrangements for parents who work shifts and irregular hours. Quite often, grandparents will have grandchildren to stay overnight and take them to school in the morning, whilst their parents work at night.

And then there are the school holidays from the 6-week summer stretch to half and end of term breaks.

It could be argued that the money you give your close relative is to cover expenses, such as food and outings.

Again, providing you are not paying a ‘salary figure’, it could be argued the money is expenses.

But what if a relative wants paying the current childminding rate?

Naturally, grandparents and other relatives may expect the current childminding rate if they are doing the childminding duties. So, since your relative is likely to be taking on the brunt of the childminding, then you should pay the same level of money for a professional childminder with a schedule of activities, play and learning.

Paying grandparents for childcare in the UK?

In the UK, it may be possible for grandparents to be paid for contributing to or looking after their grandchildren full time. This is in recognition of the fact that many grandparents do care for their grandchildren on a full-time basis.

 

If you want to become a childminder, you’ll need to know how to go about setting up your business. Find out the basics of how to become a childminder with our great blog. You can also learn more from our childcare courses.
Being a childminder is a fulfilling career choice. If its something that appeals to you, you may be considering becoming a self-employed childminder, offering to look after children in your own home.

Your local authority

You will need to see what measures your local authority has in place to register childminders in your county. Every authority has a ‘family services’ section, although it may be called something different from one county to another. There may also be different requirements in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland too.

Get your paperwork in order

Running your own business usually means some kind of background paperwork that needs to be completed and kept up to date and being a childminder is no different! Online business courses are a great way to introduce yourself to a new skillset.

There are certain key things that you have to have in place before you can formally register with OFSTED. You’ll need to check who inspects childminders if you don’t live in England.

You will need to complete;

How to Set up a Childminding Business

Register with the inspectorate body

In England, you will need to register with OFSTED as a childminder. This is process checks through your paperwork, documentation and whether you provide the stimulating, safe and nurturing environment that young children and babies need in their early years.

There is a growing emphasis on the quality of early years childcare provision as it has been proven with academic studies and research that the better quality learning in these early, formative years, the smaller the gap between children’s learning later in life.

In Wales, it is PACEY who are responsible for inspecting childminders. In Scotland is it the Care Inspectorate and in Northern Ireland, it is the Early Years’ Service. Check their websites for their current requirements.

Get insured

Once you have completed your application to OFSTED or the equivalent body, and successfully passed your inspection, you will be issued with a certificate. This is an important piece of paper, confirming to parents and caregivers that the provision you offer is safe and of the highest quality.

It also shows that you have in place all the necessary measures and basic qualifications such as first aid.

What you now need to do before you open your doors and welcome children into your home, is public liability insurance. This protects you against paying out potentially expensive claims should something happen whilst a child is in your care.

Stay up to date

Being a childminder can be full-on. After a busy day, you will need to stay on top of your paperwork because you could have a drop-in inspection at any time.

We have produced an in-depth guide to anyone considering becoming a childminder. You can find out how to become a childminder. You can also find out more about the skills and qualifications that are useful for childminders by taking a look at our growing range of childminding courses.

Within your professional field, you can become a specialist, offering childcare services with a specific slant to them such as provision for children with disabilities and more.

Being a childminder is a fantastic career choice and one that parents and caregivers rely on heavily. Is it something you plan on doing? Enrol on a childminding course to test the waters.

You’ve made a decision – you are going to shift the excess weight and get in shape. So you hit the gym and settle into the less-calories-in-more-calories-out formula.

At first, you lose some weight and you’re toning up nicely. But, within sight of your goal, it all stops. Your weight remains the same, you are taut and toned but still… what do you do? Do you give up and accept that you are never going to be a size 8, or do you wonder if there are other factors at play, factors that are perhaps just out of your control?

If that is the case, can you gain control of these factors that affect your life so much?

A Long-Time Survey
A long-running survey in America In America between 1971 and 2008 looked at the lifestyle choices of a pool of over 35,000 people.

The data makes for interesting reading. Whilst calorie intake increased over the course of the study, so too did levels of physical activity.

That said, Millennials are 10% heavier that previous generations. In other words, a 25-year-old today will have to eat less and exercise more to be in the same shape as a 25-year-old from previous generations.

Why is this the case? Researchers think they have identified the causes – medication use has changed over the decades, as have the levels and types of pollutants, genetics, timings of food intake, stress, gut bacteria and nighttime exposure to light.

So, being healthy, trim and slim is not just about eating less and exercising more. Understanding the whole picture about weight gain and why it has changed is one that challenge modern society faces.

Obesity
Obesity is described as a global epidemic, but here’s the rub – the vast majority of obesity societies are those in ‘the West,’ or the developed world. What we need to address is the cause of obesity.

Some health professionals say that for those with weight gain problems, a lack of self-control is the issue. But now experts are asking, ‘why is self-control such an issue?’

One reason is what scientists and psychologists are calling a ‘toxic environment’.

What is a ‘toxic environment’?
Our exposure as consumers to advertising has changed over the decades. The persuasive sales patter of TV adverts and the Internet have packed our daily lives with subliminal messages relating to energy-dense foods and high sugar drinks.

Our disposable income has led to us eating out more and with super-fast and super-easy online food ordering, with everything delivered to your door at the click of a mouse. With this in mind, you can understand why the environment around us has become ‘toxic’.

But there are other factors that all impinge on how we see ourselves and the relationship we form with food:

Genetics, age, gender, race and ethnicity are all factors that affect your diet and your level of exercise. Linked with these personal factors are our emotions.

Previously, it was thought that how we see and connect with food was the only relationship worth considering when looking at why we gain weight, but research has shown that how we react in all manner of situations influences our relationship with food.

These are the physical locations you inhabit – school, workplace and home – as well where and how you receive medical care. Also listed in community factors is where you get your food. With some families relying on charity and food banks during the prolonged period of austerity, this can be a real cause for concern.

These are the messages that we are given about what or how we should look. What does society think is the norm when it comes to shape and weight? There are family pressures too – for example, how many of us were told we had to ‘clear out plate’ at the meal table?

Complex Solutions to Complex Problems
Like most issues and problems, if the habits of healthy eating and losing weight were easy, we would all adopt them.

Understanding the complex issues involved with weight, obesity, decision-making, norms of society and family and so on, are all factors covered in our online healthy eating courses.

To help others adopt a healthy lifestyle, you first need to understand your own relationship with food and your opinions on physical activity, but also ground this with knowledge relating to healthy eating choices.
What do you think makes for a healthy lifestyle? What’s your opinion on the emergence of the ‘toxic environment’ theory?

Maths and numeracy are two key skills that can significantly boost your chances of getting a job. But why?

Across All Career Choices

Many people fall into the mode of thinking that maths and numeracy are key skills for only a few jobs, such as being a teacher or an accountant. But, math skills are used every day in a wide range of other careers.

For example, a nurse needs to be able to perform simple calculations relating to medication; failure to do so could result in someone being made ill from the wrong dose. Fashion designers, architects, surveyors, butchers, bakers, teaching assistants… you name it! There is not one career that is not informed by the need for a good working knowledge of maths and numeracy.

Now that we have established that Maths knowledge is important across many career areas, we need to look at why. Here are just a few ideas of why maths plays an important daily role in any job you do:

Handling money, giving the correct change, and performing basic mental arithmetic are all essential when it comes to accurately handling money.

Some job roles will involve taking and recording measurements. This can be a pilot working out how much fuel he or she needs to fly across the Atlantic, or a logistic manager working out if they have enough warehouse floor space to accommodate an order.

It could also be the tailor taking measurements for a bespoke suit, or a TA working with children to calculate the mass and volume of various materials. The possibilities are endless.

Maths is about calculating and coming up with precise data. This is never more important than when looking at and reading maps. There are many job roles that require looking at maps and calculating distances, such as lorry drivers, pilots, farmers and more…

Sometimes information is given not in the form of written words but in the shape of digits, data and graphs.

This information needs to be interpreted – what are the numbers and digits telling you? This is called quantitive information, and it is the hard facts on which many companies will base their decision.

For example, a social media manager needs to interpret the analytics that the program is giving them in relation to a recent online campaign. They need to show how valuable and successful the campaign has been in order to design future campaigns.

Look at Data in a Different Way

Data gives you a certain amount of information, but someone good at maths can play around with this information and extrapolate even more.

This is about reasoning processes. The good news is that you don’t have to be a maths genius to be able to drill deeper into what the figures are telling you.

Companies and businesses sometimes want a more analytical approach to problems. This means having someone who can look at the hard data objectively rather than apply emotion.

Find Solutions to Problems

Every business wants as high a level of productivity as possible, with no bottlenecks and no issues. And yet, when there is a problem the solution is often ‘ill-fitting’.

Having mathematic skills means that you have the powers of reasoning and investigation necessary to seek a solution that is a better fit.

For example, on a production line, why is the same amount of goods produced on days when there is less staff on hand as when the production line is fully staffed? It is an interesting conundrum and suggests that economies of scale are reached. Someone good at maths can assess this issue.

When these economies are passed, the process becomes wasteful. With a strong mathematical thought process, you could work out what is happening and why, as then develop solutions.

Many people who have a natural and learnt mathematical aptitude are often naturally organised.

This is not just in how they organise their desk but in regards to their approach in general. They can think in a clear way, producing strategies for getting things done that revolutionise a work process.

But, I’m no good at maths…

Maths is a subject area that will either fill you with horror or make you clap your hands with glee. We teach ourselves that maths is hard by remembering days of complex-looking algebra that made no sense and other mathematical concepts that we say we ‘have never used since’.

But you have, you just didn’t realise that you were using them. Employers want people with a strong mathematical knowledge, which is why many employees are now looking to distance learning maths courses to equip them with the knowledge and the analytical thinking skills that so many employers are looking for when they hire for lucrative positions.

How do you think maths is used in your current role?

Are you lacking in motivation? Are you looking to achieve a goal, but it feels like it is slipping further away? Does life get in the way of your study and career plans? Do you feel like giving up?

Maybe you have already given up?

Many of us are familiar with a lack of motivation – and getting it back can be tough.

In this two part article, we will look at what motivation is and what influences it. In the second part, we will round up six things that successful people do to get and stay motivated, even in difficult times.

PART 1 – What is motivation?


carrot dangling from a string

 

Motivation is defined as the ‘process that initiates, guides, and maintain goal-orientated behaviours.’ Motivation is the ‘thing’ – the carrot – that causes us to act.

It is the driving force behind all kinds of action, such as the need for a glass of water to reduce our thirst, to reading a book on how space flight is achieved in order to gain knowledge.

Motivation involves biological, emotional, social and cognitive forces that activate and drive behaviour. In everyday terms, motivation is used to describe why a person does something.

Why do you go to work every day? Why do you go the gym? Why do you run?

There are various theories of motivation, but for anyone with a big goal in life, they will soon discover that the simple desire to accomplish something is not motivation enough.

Running a Marathon

Let’s consider the decision to run a marathon. For 26.2 miles, your body will take step after step. You may complete this feat to raise money for charity, or to get fit, to achieve a personal best, or just to say that you have run a marathon.

These are all desires. Motivation is the ‘thing.’ It’s the reason – or the carrot – that compels you to train for the marathon, it’s what moves you off the sofa on a dark, windy night to run a 1-mile training run.

To achieve your goal of running a marathon, you will need to persist through obstacles, enduring many difficulties and challenges.

Three Components

There are three components to motivation, and in part two, we will look at how successful people put these in action

PART 2 – How successful people get and stay motivated


snail stuck in a gap
Finding your motivation and hanging on to it can be tough, especially when it seems like obstacles and hurdles come at you one after the other.

Successful people seem full of vim and vigour, turning negative situations into positive without seeming to question or lose their self-motivation.

So, what is the secret?

SSSEEE or 3s,3E

This is the magic formula you need…

     I.        Set Goals

We are told that setting goals is essential in our careers and our lives as a whole. Set your mind to something, keep it in sight and go for it.

Your goal to be fit and slim by summer is all well and good, but how come plans to squeeze into a smaller bathing suit go out the window with the first whiff of chocolate?

Your goals are not lofty enough. Radical motivation thinkers believe that goals need to be audacious, almost untouchable and unachievable. And yet we are told not to aim too high. So, which is it?

Motivation experts point to entrepreneurs that have achieved lofty ambitions that at the outset many would have said were impossible to reach. Look at Elon Musk and his stellar career thus far… now do you see what we mean about BIG ambitions and goals?!

    II.        Share Goals

So, you are running a marathon? Tell others and you will soon be amazed at how many people offer to run with you as you train.

Completing an online accounting course? Friends and family will offer to look after the kids for an afternoon, or they might have a book that you may find interesting.

The power of support is essential in achieving your ‘lofty ambitions,’ even though they may laugh at first, they will step up when they see your determination and motivation. If they don’t, then this is no great loss, as detractors are demotivating.

   III.        Serve who?

The final S in the series of three is to look beyond yourself and to who else could benefit from you reaching your goal.

It may be the people close to you – training for the marathon will make you fitter, leaner and less stressed, all known benefits of exercising – and your family will love the ‘new’ you.

Your career goals primarily focus on you, but if you do bag your ideal job, your nearest and dearest will also benefit – maybe you will be earning more money, working better hours and taking them on grand holidays.

There can also be philanthropic benefits to your goal. Musk, for example, wants pollution-free cars. This will mean that the whole planet will benefit, even those people who don’t drive or own a car.

The feeling of serving something bigger and greater than ‘little old you’ is part and parcel of motivating yourself to remain on the path to your goal.

  IV.        Eat

Successful and motivated people have lots of things in common, and the 3Es will illustrate this.

The first is E is eat. Eating healthily means your body is fit for purpose. Those high-fat, calorie laden takeaways are all well and good as a treat, but if you are eating them daily because you don’t have the time/energy/motivation to cook or to eat well, then your whole physical being is compromised.

Eat healthily and look after your body, which brings us to the second E…

    V.        Exercise

If you look at the likes of Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and others, you will see a lifestyle that you may associate with the rich and famous. You might think, ‘of course they have time to visit the gym for two hours a day’ – but they didn’t get where they are today by being a couch potato.

To achieve their lofty ambitions and goals, they worked towards them constantly. That meant late nights and challenges, but in order to maintain their businesses and their motivation they eat well and exercise.

It doesn’t have to be an air-conditioned gym. A half hour power walk round the block will do just as well.

  VI.        Energy management

Nope, this doesn’t mean switching your TV off – you should be doing that anyway – but managing your own energy.man asleep at desk

There are times when burning the midnight oil is essential in pursuit of greatness. You have an assignment to complete and you need to focus without distractions, so working on it at 10pm when everyone else is in bed makes sense.

Productive sleep is about a sleeping pattern that suits you, so that when you wake up, you feel invigorated and well rested.

If you don’t, you may need to take a look at when you sleep and for how long. We are taught to sleep through the night in a large block of time, usually between seven and nine hours. But there are other sleep cycles that can work better for some, so check which sleep cycle might work better for you.

Round Up

To get and stay motivated, you need to understand what motivation is and where it comes from.

Once you have a greater understanding of what motivates you, you can swing into action, just like successful entrepreneurs and academics across the world.

You need a goal that feels just beyond your grasp, and you need to share it. It is also helpful to understand who else will benefit by you reaching this goal. You need to eat well and exercise to keep your body in peak physical condition.

You also need to manage your energy levels, and that means getting the right amount of ‘productive sleep and rest.’

If it were easy, we would all be doing it. We have to accept that at times, some of the challenges we face will dent our motivation. We may lose all sense of where we are going and why for weeks at a time, but we need to get back up and focus on the goal.

This is why we constantly need to assess and review goals, where we are and what we are doing. We need to look at the people that surround us and understand their impact on our lives and our motivation.

What motivates you? What destroys your motivation?

From motoring offences to murder, people commit crimes every day.

Some of these are unintentional, with no premeditation or planning – they just happen, such as a car accident. Other people meticulously plan the crime they commit, right down to the last detail. They will take many steps to avoid detection.

When (or if) they are caught and charged, they may still continue to deny any wrongdoing.

fingerprints

There are many people involved in detecting and solving crimes. From police officers to forensic scientists, to the psychologists who work with offenders, there are many professionals involved in the process.

Some people who commit crimes are of sound mind, fully aware of the crime they have committed and its affects. Others are driven by poor mental health, unfettered anger, jealousy or hate.

A Complex and Rewarding Field of Study and Work

As you can see, detecting and solving crimes, working with victims and their families, and dealing with criminals is complex. Working in the field of crime detection is a rewarding career in many ways, but it also a field of work that can be harrowing.

This is valuable work, and that is why many people want to get involved in solving crimes, catching criminals and supporting victims and their families. They can be part of the prosecution process or they can be the forensic scientists that gather the evidence at the crime scene.

Do you have what it takes to be a crime solver?

How to solve a crime

In the UK, crimes are investigated by criminal agencies such as the police. There are some crimes that are investigated by specialist criminal agencies, such as financial fraud or online cybercrimes.

The people responsible for solving a crime may have a small, finite number of clues and evidence to work with. It takes knowledge, skill, determination and a heavy dose of courage to seek out the perpetrator.

So, how do you solve a crime?

#1 Document EVERYTHING

At first glance, some crime scenes can render very little information. Neighbours say they didn’t see anything. Relatives and friends say they now nothing.

But, as seasoned detectives will tell you, at every crime scene there are golden nuggets of information. From names to times, dates and ‘I did see…’ moments, the vital clues you need are all there.

Some are well hidden, and this is why the police and other investigating agencies rely on the systematic work of forensic scientists. Alongside officers, they gather minute, almost invisible information that could lead to the perpetrator.

There are other people that police turn to when trying to solve a crime. For example, a criminal psychologist can profile the person the police are possibly looking for, based on the type of crime committed and the evidence left behind.

#2 Create a Timeline

Nailing down the timing of the crime is essential, and that means creating a detailed timeline of what happened and when. This is done by gathering evidence from witnesses, as well as by reviewing CCTV and other forms of evidence.

#3 Follow Every Lead

There are many red herrings (dead ends) to any investigation into any crime, from murder to theft, and they all need to be looked at in detail.

The same is true of forensic evidence. Questions need to be asked of the evidence, and this is why people who investigate crimes follow a set method and structure. It is often true that a small piece of evidence can be the link to the perpetrator.

#4 Everything is Evidence

outline of body at a crime scene

So, how do you solve a crime?

This means that every part of the crime scene is preserved. Every word everyone says to you as a detective is recorded. Every hair, bead of sweat or drop of blood left at the scene treated in a careful way to prevent contamination – in other words, it can tell its story, and that means it can help you get to the truth.

#5 Persevere

Not all crimes are solved neatly, fitting with the neat timescale we see on TV programmes. Real life cases can be cold for years, but with changes and advances in detection techniques, they can be solved decades later.

What Part Can You Play in Crime Detection?

There are many people involved in detecting and solving crimes. From police officers to forensic scientists, to the psychologists who work with offenders, there are many professionals involved in the process.

And you could be one of them! At NCC, we have many courses, such as a criminology courses and an online criminology diploma that is used by students as a stepping-stone into crime detection work.

It can be harrowing work but rewarding. Are you cut out for a career in the world of crime?