Week 5: EOC Racehorse not Unicorns

Executive Summary:

Elite Photography LV is a Vegas based company that is a partnership between two talented photographers, Mike Lapadu and Jennifer Camacho.  Both photographers have studied Photography at The Art Institute of Las Vegas and focus on event photography as well as editorial.  The business will focus primarily on wedding photography and other rights of passage events.  Photography will be provided in the Las Vegas area but travel to other cities and states will be considered if a client desires our services.

The primary service provided will be Wedding photography.  Prices will be based on what a client orders from an a la carte menu.  After sitting down with potential clients and determining what level of needs will be required the photographers of Elite will prepare.  Preparation for a wedding involves scouting the event location and determining what type of lighting and equipment will be needed.  Other required items such as engagement photos and boudoir photo sessions will be offered and scheduled accordingly.

Once an event has taken place the photographer(s) will then edit the photos using industry standard software such as Lightroom or Photoshop.  The only photos retouched will be the photos decided upon from the couple hiring the photographer.  The photographer will make suggestions but will allow the client to make a reasonable requests.  All images that have been selected will then be placed in a physical album and also put online for the couple to share with family and friends.  The virtual gallery will be hosted for 3 months after the wedding date and then removed. Any and all images can be purchased separately or all together if a client decides to.

Elite Photography is well aware that the Las Vegas market is saturated with a good amount of Wedding photographers and intends to provide a competitive product for the price.  The ability to have to educated photographers who understand light and composition is not easy to come bye and that will be used to the company’s advantage. 

The goal is to average 25-30 wedding a year with an average earnings of $2500.  Estimated amounts of revenue after expenditures is approximately $62500 - $75000.  Overhead is typically low for such a business and a large amount of extra revenue comes from up selling of products such as albums or additional photography photo shoots.  The Las Vegas market can allow for this type of growth with the proper marketing and business management support.  Accounting will be handled by a third party company as well as council from an attorney to protect all parties involved in any and all transactions.

In order to achieve these numbers an estimated loan of $60k would be required to cover lost income from current full time jobs that both photographers have.  This would allow for proper marketing and preparation for a successful “once in a life time event.”  Proper  marketing and creative images will allow for word of mouth referrals and long term clientele that will eventually have a growing family that will need photos.