[DavidHWalker]

I'm looking to start up a new project here in Austin. My clothing company is doing well, but I have a hankering to start something on the side.

I'm a student at The University of Texas -- the 2nd largest in the USA and have a number of friends who are budding photographers but being a student (having little money) they do not have professional cameras and lighting equipment. The school has some stuff for students to check-out, but it is VERY difficult to get it.

So, I was thinking I could supply this equipment to them for a rental fee, thinking that for certain class projects and independent photoshoots, they'll come to me to rent their gear for a few days.

Points of interest:
1. rental prices HAVE to be low for students
2. damages/stolen a possiblity
3. initial start up costs high to buy all the gear

I could operate on a referral only basis at least in the beginning so I'm dealing with people I can trust.

I value the YE community's opinion, so lay it on me.

best,
Dave

[GSchubert751]

this could be a good idea if you could do it right. Im a photographer and Equipment is Very expensive it would cost you around 40k to get started 38 - 39 of that buying equipment

[DavidHWalker]

I wouldn't do it nearly to that scale. I was thinking of starting out with a few sets of equipment that I could rent out as a packaged set.

[Flich]

I like the idea, I think you might have found somthing. I would say buy 2 Cameras and then if there is interest, buy more. For the whole stolen thing, just make em sign somthing that says if its broken or Stolen you must pay for it. And also make that incude any and all small damages. Great Idea though!

[leaj23]

Think about the payback period, since the initial investment for the equipment is pretty high, and renting it out to students, pricing must be low. So, payback could take a long while... Plus assuming that a lot of students get to borrow the equipment weekly, depreciation and maintenance would surely be a concern.

[pentupentropy]

I think you could get a lot more than just students, especially if you could give or hire someone to give like 2 hour "intro to photography" sessions, especially in groups. Maybe just once a week or something. There are a lot of routes to go with if you own the equipment

[DavidHWalker]

pentup,

that's a great add-on selling idea...never thought about the tutorial sessions, any other add-on ideas anyone has?

thanks for all the feedback everyone!

dave

[pentupentropy]

are you a photographer? If you are I definitely have ideas you could run with in your spare time to build business.

-OR-

cheap labor, get some of the students who show great potential and some natural ability and intern them...

take pictures of people's kids for free and develop one pic. If you take cute pics, parents have a hard time not paying for the set you sell em. It may sound silly to some, but large photography studios do this as a regular practice, places like jostens and others.

Even wal-mart does it. they show you a picture set for $5 and then sell you a huge package for like $100.

Other things too, give a discount if all pics taken are your property, sell them as stock photos if they're any good.

Photography has a lot of potential, my wife is taking classes now as a minor to her business major.

You should actually talk to her, she has a lot of ideas, the kid thing is something she talks about.

[Karen]

Would camera rentals also be a good idea for students who are taking a weekend (or week) vacation?


Karen

[DavidHWalker]

karen, I would think so: do you see potential pitfalls with this?

Pentup: I'm not a photographer actually. If I do too many of these add-ons though I think it would take away from my core competentcy--the actual rental of the equipment. Great ideas though. I'd be interested to hear what your wife has to add to the mix. Different perspectives are always welcome.

[leaj23]

Here in our place we have a company that focuses on kids, a picture studio (called The Picture Company) just for kids, for their parents to have framed and displayed. The studio dresses up the kids in costumes (beetle, bee, butterfly, etc.) and the kids pose, then do a little editing via Photoshop, and then parents purchase them. The pictures are cute, and professionally done. Not sure how much though but I'm sure the parents don't mind the price.

Nice idea. We all know that parents love taking pics of their kids, especially in their best light, and showing them off to their friends.

Pretty profitable I would assume since they're in malls (heavy foot traffic), and the studio is packed during the weekends, with families lined up.