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Ready to play with the big boys? A growing number of women are embracing the challenge, jumping full force into industries that were traditionally dominated by men. In fact, according to the Center for Womens Business Research, nearly half (48 percent) of all privately held U.S. firms are 50 percent or more women-owned, employing 19.1 million people and generating nearly $2.5 trillion in sales. No small potatoes
And a substantial number of these female-owned businesses are in the photo retail industry, racking up customers (and profits), giving their male counterparts a serious run for their money. Take Ann Markley, owner of Ann Chase Photography, a portrait studio and services bureau located in Woodinville, WA. I left corporate America three years ago and purchased my studio, she says. Last year my studio sales went up 50% from 2004; in 2004 they went up 75% from 2003; and right now, were seeing a 40% increase year-to-date over 2005.
Her challenges began the day she entered the photo retail market. When I went to my first PMA, everyone looked at me like I was nuts, she recalls. I got the cold shoulder from so many people.
With a great deal of perseverance, creativity, and flexibility, Markley started turning her business into a moneymaker. Today, her closest alliances and support system are all women. The people I talk to every day, those who own businesses in other cities, are all women, she says. We give each other great ideas and advice.
This leads to the first possible difference between men and women in the retail field: the equivalent of being willing to stop to ask for directions. I think that women arent afraid, if they dont know something, to say they dont know something and to help each other out, says Markley. Theres this wall with men that sometimes may prevent them from asking.
Markley cites the incredible networking experiences shes had, including a recent expedition to a Professional Photographers of Oregon event in March. Four of us went to PPO and shared two rooms, and we had so much fun, she says. But when we sat down, we werent just gabbing; we were role-playing. Wed ask, How do you deal with a phone call like this, for instance? We were all enormously supportive. I mean, theres no competition, right? Were all in different cities!
In fact, this openness and willingness to share works its way back to all participants. Markley met Fullerton Photo owner Gaby Mullinax (featured in the next section) at PMA two years ago, and the two women quickly started their information exchange. Gaby told me all about a ladies night promotion she did, and even though I wasnt able to go to the one she invited me to, she told me everything she did, and three weeks later, I did my own, says Markley. It was so nice of her to share her ideas. She picked up a few of my ideas as well.
Being flexible and adapting to the industry climate is another advantage many women business owners feel they bring to the table. I became more strategic, including getting rid of doing passport pictures, says Markley. The guys I bought the shop from said, Oh, doing passports is really good money; people just walk in off the street. But I looked at it and said, You know, for $10, Im wasting a half-hour; I need to make $100 an hour. So maybe thats $500 a month Im now not making from passports. But Im not distracted, and I can do higher-quality work, because Im not worrying about that $500 a month.
Knowing how to appeal to female consumers is another benefit of being a woman business owner. As purchasers of camera goods, women photographers often talk about how poorly they are treated when they go to purchase camera goods, Markley says. For example, I have a $1,500 lens. And every time I go into the same camera store in Seattle to ask for a lens hood or filters, they question me to ask if Im sure I want something for that lens. I say, Yes, Im sure! They dont even recognize that Ive been there every month for the last two years. They ask me the same questions every time.
To appeal to her own women customers, the first thing Markley did when she bought the store was change the environment. I got huge wooden cabinets at a consignment store, and thats where I put my frames, she says. I have really big couches, and a conversation table; in my viewing room I have nice furniture; I have candles, flowers, and plants. I spent a lot of time thinking about it.
According to the Center for Womens Business Research, most women business owners (66 percent) are willing to take above-average or substantial risks when investing for their businesses. But Markley says that many women still need to combat that fear of risk. I think women have a tendency more than men to think small, like Ill just make $100,000, whereas a man will go in and make his projections, and hes making a half a million his first year, she says. If you thought you could make half a million, then you would make $200,000. But if you think youre going to make $100,000, youre only gonna make $50,000. You have to have no fear if youre going to get into this. Think big, and just do it!
Fullerton Photos Female Leader
Gaby Mullinax didnt give much thought to entering an industry dominated by men when she bought Fullerton Photo in Fullerton, CA. It was more the changing technology that presented her main challenge. It was intimidating in the sense that I wasnt comfortable in my own skin, she says. I bought this lab as an analog photo lab, coming from the photography side; I had no idea how to make a print come out of a machine. Her philosophy to embrace the technology, however, served her well, and from the ground up, she figured out what direction her business would take.
Being a woman business owner proved to be an asset. According to the Center for Womens Business Research, women emphasize gathering facts, consulting with others, and relationship-building. Mullinax agrees with the advantages this can offer. I would think that our intuitiveness is a great asset, she says. Thats not to say there arent men out there who arent intuitive. But I really do go with my feeling on things, and Im sure other women could probably relate to that. Obviously, I dont let my heart always be my guideto be a good businessperson, you still have to look at the bottom line and evaluate whether its a good product or service to offer. But in the beginning, my first instinct isnt about the bottom line. Its how I provide something maybe few others are doing, how I relate that to my customers, and how I build that relationship. And I dont think men necessarily automatically think that way.
When she started her business, Mullinax studied the environments that already existed and figured out a way to make hers better. Ive really tried to make our environment empowering for our customers, she says. Having been to other labs in the beginning, there were many sterile, intimidating environments.
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