PBX420: Kim Hamblin – How to build a photography business to sell

Kim Hamblin, previously of www.theportraitstudio.co.nz and now www.kimmarie.co of is a newborn, maternity and family photographer based in Christchurch, New Zealand, who recently sold her photography business after achieving a $500k revenue!

Her work is studio-based, adorable, clean, bright, beautifully lit and focussed on her subjects, mostly smiling faces.

Her website is structured to lead potential clients to purchase wall art and albums.

She has a small team working for her, and she's been a solo mum since her son was 15 months old. She's built her successful business without a partner supporting her financially, with child care, home repayments and more.

Looking back through the emails we've exchanged – they go back to 2013, where she wrote saying…

I'm a full-time photographer in Christchurch, this is still my first full year in business, and I love doing what I do but have a long way to go to reach my goals.

In this interview, learn what Kim has done to reach her audacious goals to build a hugely successful photography business with an exit plan to step away after selling her working studio to continue successfully with new owners driving it forward.

Here's some more of what we cover in the interview:

• What it was like for Kim to start a new photography business with little financial support
• Is full-time photography a sustainable and viable income source today
• What Kim would do differently if she were to start over in her photography business
• The vital importance of outsourcing if you want to grow your business
• How successful is Kim's business today
• Hitting a $500k turnover during the pandemic
• How to find clients interested in buying your photography business
• At what point did Kim think about selling her business
• Should you have an exit strategy for your business
• Why you need to consider renaming your business name
• Should you expect a downturn when changing your business name
• Why Kim believes clients don't come to your business for you or your brand
• Kim's photography team – what are their roles
• Putting a monthly amount aside as a buffer
• Kim's role in her photography business
• Finding a broker to help sell your business
• Determining if your business is a saleable asset
• What systems should you implement to have a saleable business
• Discussing profit and loss when assessing photography business profitability
• Having a broker to market and advertise your business
• Broker fees
• The finer details of selling a photography business
• Dealing with lease arrangements
• Biggest fears of potential business buyers and addressing them
• Contracts and settlement dates
• Non-compete clauses
• The usual driving force to buy a photography business
• Can you set up any kind of business and build it to sell
• Kim's advice for building a photography business to sell
• Is it vital to remove the photographer from the business to make it saleable
• What's next for Kim and her career

What is your big takeaway?

Following this interview, I’d love to know if you're taking anything away from what Kim shared. Is there something you heard that excited or motivated you to the point where you thought, yeah, I'm going to do that! If so, let me know by leaving your thoughts in the members FB Group. What are your takeaways, what do you plan to implement in your business as a result of what you heard in today's episode?

The success is not in the numbers though. Yes, they're amazing for me to think about, but it was my team who are the biggest success, because, they did it. – Kim Hamblin

If you have any questions that I missed, a specific question you’d like to ask Kim or if you just want to say thanks for coming on the show, feel free to comment inside the Members FB Group too.

Any extra income that comes in the business I'll generally hire someone. Because my time is more important than increasing my income. – Kim Hamblin

Links to people, places and things mentioned in this episode:

Kim Hamblin Website

Kim Hamblin on Facebook

Kim Hamblin on Instagram

The Portrait Studio Website

Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine

For anyone who wants to hire a person, create the systems. Do it once and you don't have to redo it over and over. And then a new person can come in and they can learn it. – Kim Hamblin

Thank you!

Thanks again for listening and thanks to Kim for coming on to share her thoughts, ideas and experience on what's it's like to build an incredibly successful photography business and sell it as a going concern to a new, non-photographer owner.

I really do believe that every business should have an exit plan and why not have it built to sell. – Kim Hamblin

If you have any suggestions, comments or questions about this episode, please be sure to let me know in the member's Facebook Group or feel free to email me at [email protected].

That’s it for me this week, hope everything is going well for you in life and business!

Thanks and speak soon
Andrew