8 tips: How to become a wealthy photographer

Monday 1 January 2018, 14:41 by Elja Trum | 24,776 views | 24 comments

This article was translated from Dutch with the help of AI. Read the original.

Almost everyone wants it: to become rich. Photographers too. And I believe anyone can do it. In this article, I give you eight tips to help you become a wealthy photographer.

1. What is rich?

Your first step towards wealth is to look at what you consider 'rich'. In this article, I am focusing on financial wealth. Of course, there are other ways to have a rich life, but let's be honest: that is easiest when you are financially comfortable.

In my view, you are rich when you can live the life you want and still have a nice amount left over each year.

When you are rich according to that definition obviously depends on what you want from life. If you want to live in a huge villa with a fancy car outside and go on holiday five times a year, you will have to work a little harder, or smarter, before you can call yourself rich.

If your demands are a little lower, it is also easier to achieve wealth. It is smart to establish for yourself when you consider yourself rich. That turns it into a concrete goal to achieve.

2. Build your wealth every month

Yes, you can of course become rich in one go by winning the lottery. In practice, however, the chances are very small. Becoming rich overnight is almost never realistic. Becoming rich is a matter of constantly and gradually building up your wealth.

A good way to become rich is to set aside 10 to 20 per cent of your income every month. The more you can spare, the sooner you will be financially free.

You should always be able to save ten per cent of your income somewhere. Further on in this article, I will give you some tips, but the most important thing is to make sure you have something left over every month to set aside and let grow.

3. Start with your basic capital

Start building up your basic capital. This is an amount in your savings account that allows you to get by for half a year without a single penny of income coming in.

The amount, of course, depends on your spending habits. If you spend 2,000 euros a month, your basic capital is six times two thousand euros: 12,000 euros.

You want to have this amount in a savings account that you can access almost immediately. Do not use this amount for random expenses, but keep it reserved for emergencies.

When you have no work, it is your buffer while you calmly look for a new job. If the washing machine breaks down, you can quickly buy a new one without any problems. Or if your car breaks down, you can pay for that repair too, even if the bill is high.

What you will discover, by the way, is that your basic capital is an important buffer that will give you peace of mind. You do not need to worry immediately if your income is a little lower for a month or if unexpected costs arise.

It also gives you the peace of mind to say no to a job that appeals to you less, or to spend time on things that do not immediately earn you money in the short term.

4. Make your wealth work for you

Once you have your basic capital in order, you obviously do not stop. This is when it really gets interesting. You can use the money above your basic capital to become wealthier. You make your money work for you.

At the moment, your money is not working for you in your savings account. If you get 0.2 per cent interest on it, you already have a good savings account. That is not enough growth even to keep up with inflation. In fact, the money in your savings account becomes worth less every year.

You can make your wealth work for you by investing it wisely. You can of course decide for yourself how much risk you want to take. For example, a great deal by investing in Bitcoin, or relatively safely with shares and/or bonds.

But you can also invest in property or a start-up. The general rule is always: the greater the risks, the greater the potential returns. But also: the greater the chance that your wealth will decrease.

5. Use index funds

An even safer choice, and in my view the smartest one, is investing in index funds. With an index fund, you do not invest in one company, but in many at once. This spreads the risks. With an index fund, you need to pay close attention to the fees you pay. They need to be as low as possible, because they eat heavily into your profits.

My advice would be to choose the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF index fund. It has low fees and a good return, over several years.

If you look at the past hundred years, it does not matter when you invested, even if it was just before a stock market crash. Over an investment period of 10 years, you always achieved roughly 7 per cent return per year.

What this means is that if you put an amount into such an index fund now, you may, with a bit of luck, double your investment after 10 years. In any case, that is a lot more than you will make with your savings account over those same 10 years.

There is a reason why I recommend building up basic capital first: money invested in this way may be worth less in the short term. So you should not suddenly need it, as that could cost you money.

An interesting way to get started with index funds is Binck Fundcoach. It allows you to invest a fixed amount in index funds every month at low cost. A good way to build up substantial wealth over time.

Investing every month is smart, because it spreads out the timing of your purchases. This means that, on average, you will buy when the market is relatively high and when the market is relatively low.

Timing the right moment to invest is so difficult that spreading out your investments is a smart choice. For example, by investing a fixed amount in an index fund every month, you spread out the average purchase price and are less affected by investing at the wrong time.

Disclaimer
I am not a financial expert. I recommend that you always do your own research into the risks and potential returns. Of course, it is your money and you do this at your own risk. The advice in this article is based on my personal knowledge and research in this area.

I have no connection with Binck and have not received any compensation from them. There are undoubtedly good alternatives, but I happen to use Binck myself.

6. Limit your spending

Of course, you can try to increase your income so that you have money left over, but there is another way too: cut costs. Think carefully about every expense you make. How important is it really?

Suppose you can reduce the 2,000 euros in monthly costs I mentioned earlier to 1,800 euros. That gives you an extra 200 euros every month, which you can use to grow your wealth.

It is smart to make a good overview of your expenses, so that you can clearly see where you can cut costs. I am not saying you have to live like a miser, but almost everyone can relatively easily save tens of euros a month by taking a good look at their spending.

7. Limit your new equipment

For photographers, it is very tempting to keep buying new equipment. New cameras, lenses and accessories are released very regularly, each one offering a few more advantages over your current model.

However, that new equipment also costs a huge amount of money. And honestly, how badly do you really need it to take better photos?


A good way to save money quickly is to keep working with your current equipment for longer. Instead of upgrading every year, upgrade every two years; that already saves you half the money you spend on equipment.

Another pitfall for photographers is simply having too much equipment. You can often get much further with a bit of creativity than with extra equipment. And you have to carry all that equipment around with you every time. So having less equipment saves you not only money, but also a sore back.

7. Invest wisely

Some expenses are smarter than others. You spend your money wisely when an expense will save or earn you money in the future.

Think of education, for example, such as a photography book or a photography course. It costs you money, but if all goes well you learn things that help you take better photos, allowing you to market your photos and services more effectively.

Solar panels, for example, are another smart investment. You spend around 5,000 euros once, but over the next twenty years you pay much less for electricity. That investment pays for itself in about seven years, after which it only makes you money.

And the best thing is that you immediately save money on your electricity bill each month, while you will soon forget about the one-off investment. You also become more aware of your electricity consumption because of your solar panels, allowing you to save even more.

Another good investment is, of course, investing in your own business. If you buy something that allows you to do your work more intelligently, quickly or effectively, that is valuable too. Especially if that investment may also help you sell your business in the future.

8. Create recurring income

Look for ways to build up recurring income. For example, take part in stock programmes, such as Adobe's. The more images you have there, the greater your income, without any extra work.

Reduce 'time for money' work, where you exchange your time for money. After all, you can only work so many hours a week. Of course, you can increase your hourly rate, but there is a limit to that too.

So look for work that you can do once and continue to earn money from in the future. Even when you are on holiday yourself, or ill in bed.

As a photographer, for example, you can create a beautiful series of photos. You can then publish it as a book or have it displayed in a gallery, where the photos are sold.

Yes, you have to put a lot of time into your photos, but that is what you enjoy, isn't it? It is not easy to build up this kind of recurring income, also known as 'passive income'. However, it does not matter if this happens slowly, because it keeps adding up.

Suppose you regularly submit your best photos to stock agencies. And suppose you earn 10 euros more from those photos every month. After a year of doing this, you will already receive 120 euros a month, which will continue even when you are ill in bed.

I am not saying that stock agencies are the solution for you. Above all, look for a good way to build up that recurring income. It is worth so much in the long term.

What are your tips for becoming a wealthy photographer?

Perhaps these were not the tips you had in mind when you started reading this article, but I believe they are the best tips for anyone who wants to improve their financial situation. And the great advantage is that you can get started straight away.

So you do not have to become a famous photographer first and only then become rich. Take your first steps today to make sure you become completely financially free.

Do you have any good tips for becoming financially wealthy?
Let us know in the comments!

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