(3 prizes up for grabs, worth £100 each)
This weekend, I’ve decided to run a competition with 3 prizes up for grabs, to help businesses that have been affected by this pandemic.
Not everyone has been affected the same way. Some businesses have suffered horrendously, some not as much but they are still suffering. But every business has a story that matters. And not only would I like to help a business by giving them a free service, but I’d like to help raise awareness for how this pandemic is affecting small businesses.
What are the Prizes?
I am going to give away 3 Photoshoots.
1 x Product Photography by Post shoot (which I can do during lockdown) worth £100.
And
1 x Personal Brand Taster Photoshoot for after lockdown (worth £100 and done in accordance with whatever rules are in place at the time).
PLUS one extra shoot (either brand or product, as above) for one business who’s answers particularly catch my eye.
The product photography prize is open to anyone in the UK who can post their products to me. And will take place during lockdown.
The Personal Brand shoot is open to any local businesses in the Torbay area (or people who are willing to travel to Torbay for their photoshoot in accordance with whatever travel rules are in place). This must be used by 31st January (this may be extended if a lockdown prevents it from going ahead and that will be arranged with the winner).
(Entries via this post on my Instagram page)
How to Enter
This competition is running on Instagram only.
To enter, you need to answer three questions.
Which do you want to win? The product shoot, or the brand shoot?(you can only choose one)
How your business has been affected by this Pandemic
How this Photoshoot could help your business.
Your answers can be added in the comments on the Instagram post I’ve created for the competition (it matches the main pic of this blog and is shown just above) or here’s a link:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CHDd2gMJ_2F/?igshid=jf0geposdj31
OR
If you would rather share this information privately, you can DM me your answers on Instagram.
And for an extra entry in the draw.... put it in your Instagram stories and tag me (@franminifiebrandphotography) so I can see it and share it, to help get your business out there and raise awareness for how small businesses are affected by all of this. Your name will then be entered twice into the draw.
How will the winners be chosen?
I’ll pick names out of a hat (actually I’ll use an app to do it, but same principle). One each for the product photoshoot prize entries, and the brand shoot entries.
And the bonus prize will be picked by me personally, and awarded to a business I think I can really help.
When is this happening?
Now. On my Instagram page. Here is a link:
Www.Instagram.com/FranMinifiebrandphotography
The winners will be chosen on Thursday 5th November at 9pm, to coincide with the start of this pesky 2nd lockdown.
Entries MUST be received by 8pm on Thursday 5th November to give me time to collect them all ready for the draw.
Why am I doing this?
I actually decided to do this before the new lockdown measures were put in place. It was in the run up to Halloween, and it got me thinking about my last business (a fancy dress shop) which was hugely reliant on seasonal events to survive.
The lack of halloween events would have killed us. The industry is reliant on Halloween. It was our ‘Christmas’. One week of insane sales, queues down the street to get into our shop. It was madness. The revenue from that one single week was 20-30% of our entire year’s turnover. In one week. It paid the rent in the quieter times when no one came in.
Add to that the festivals over the summer being cancelled (which is what most of our sales were for over that period), and the likelihood of no NYE celebrations, our business would have died. Everything we had worked hard for. The blood, sweat and tears that went into building that business from scratch, everything you’ve worked your ass off for. Gone.
We’d have been allowed to open this year... but with no ‘need’ for fancy dress we’d have made very few sales. We’d have a shop that we could open, so wouldn’t have the support that businesses like nightclubs have that cannot open. Because we could open, we would have been expected to survive, but we wouldn’t have.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d have tried everything I could to survive. I’d have sold other things, more party stuff for those having lockdown birthdays etc. But I would have had to creep away from fancy dress, and it would have been like starting up a whole new business.
I’m so glad now that we closed it just before our daughter was born, and ended it on a high rather than months if struggling, stress and tears, and finally joining the many businesses that have closed when we could no longer afford to pay our (very expensive!!!) rent on a lease we were tied in to.
So I feel for all the businesses in that position. If you haven’t had a business, you have no idea what it takes. What’s involved. They don’t teach that in school (I did business studies GCSE and it touched in some of it, but nothing like the reality). The emotional part of it too. It’s your baby, your life. The thing you worked 18-20 hours a day for to get up and running (well I did for a period).
It just breaks my heart to think what some people must be going through right now.
And some won’t lose everything, but will struggle like hell still. I’m losing business. I’ve had to cancel all of my booked shoots this coming month. Thankfully I can still do some photography by post, but it’s not what I do regularly and I’ll have to work hard to try and win those new clients. If I even get any when nobody is working and businesses have no income. So I could now have no income for lockdown. Like so many other businesses.
I’ll also be working with the Business Women Torbay Facebook group to deliver some marketing tips to some local business who need help in this area (prior to starting my own businesses I had a career in marketing for many years).
On the plus side, doing things like running this competition will grow my following, get more businesses to hear about me and my services, and hopefully bring me work in the future. It won’t pay my bills or my mortgage though. But it will achieve something for me as well as helping other businesses. Hopefully!