No, this is not a post about health insurance. Well, not directly. It may save your health to have these policies in place - or at least your sanity.Every business has policies. Policies are guidelines and rules that help a business and the consumer when situations arise. As a business owner, they give you something to stand on when you're faced with a tough situation, and it ensures that you won't let your clients walk all over you. It's company policy, after all!
When you're creating your business policies, you may come across recommendations on other websites, forums or groups that sound great. I want to caution you, before you put them into practice, please do two things for me. 1) Ask yourself if it's brand right for your business; and 2) Check your local laws to make sure you can legally have that policy.
Policy creation can be very exhausting and a little overwhelming. So often, we strive to be flexible with our clients and even more-so as small business owners. They feel they can push a little more, and we feel inclined to give in a little more. Policies are here for your protection, and for you to bend as you see fit. Don't fold on a policy unless the benefits to your business outweigh the possible negative repercussions.
I'm not going to tell you what your policies should be, I'm just going to list things you should have policies about.
Copyright
Model Releases
Session Cancellations and Reschedules
Appointment Cancellations and Reschedules
Refunds
Unsatisfied Clients - session/images
Unsatisfied Clients - finished orders
Digital Images
Sneak Peeks on Facebook and Blog
Session Scheduling and Collection of fees
Order placement and collection of money
Late charges, returned check charges, non-payment
Online Gallery (if applicable)
Retouching
Yearbook submissions (if applicable)
Discounts and Promotions
Portrait Programs
Shipping and Mailing
Proofing
Session Fees
Travel Fees
Large Group Fees
Holiday Fees/Weekend Fees
Turnaround time for ordering appointments
Turnaround time for finished orders
Reprints/Reorders
Missing Product
Changes to placed order
Non-orders
Exclusivity
Photography/Camera Phones
Custom Pieces design, proofing and approval
Portrait Care
Payment Options
Payment Plans
Social Media Tagging and Cropping
Pricing Guarantee
Location expenses/parking, etc
Reshoot Circumstances
Storage of ordered and unorderd images
Minimum purchase
Session Preparation
Illness/Emergency
Pricing Availability (in person only, online, etc)
Watermarking
Delivery of Finished Prints
Print Releases (if applicable)
Commercial work
Friends/Family
Sponsorships
Donations
Referrals
This should get you off to a good start. Can you think of any more you'd need to add? Let me know in the comments below!
This is awesome Kate!!
ReplyDeleteSo many things I never even considered having policies for
ReplyDeleteThis whole post should be a subsection of my business to-do list. I think you covered everything..
ReplyDeleteI'm already in the process of redoing some of our business paperwork,and this will help make sure I don't leave some great points out. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteomg that list is SO long...but true. It seems we never know we need a policy in place until a weird or difficult situation comes up. Thanks for sharing that!!!
ReplyDeleteWould you just type it all out and put it in a binder to refer to? Not necessarily include everything in a contract??
ReplyDeleteJennie, I would include this in a policy handbook that I keep. The main, most important policies that require sign off would go into the contracts.
ReplyDeleteAwesome and humbling! I have much work to do!! :) Let it begin.
ReplyDeleteThis is such a great post!! TFS!
ReplyDelete