Episode 179: How Much to Pay Your Contractors or Associates

On today's episode I chat with Emily Loeppke, Principal and Founder of Anna Delores Photography about how much to pay your contractors as you grow your team.

Emily was doing paid advertising on every blog she could, networking at local events, and building her relationships with wedding planners which lead to her having a fully booked wedding photography schedule and knowing it was time to hire.

As Emily grew her team of second shooters, she started by calling them associates but transitioned to keeping that an internal term, understanding the importance of calling them the team or lead photographer because they are not any less than and she wanted to avoid clients feeling like these photographers were not all equal members of the photography team.

The question Emily was facing was if her team should be employees or associates (more on this in Episode 177). Emily started by paying her contractors on an as-needed basis per job. She would pay them a booking bonus as a thank you for saving the date, and then a flat hourly rate.

Emily determined starting rates by doing mentorship programs with other photographers that offered associate programs to see how they paid and structured their team. She knew it needed to be more than what a second shooter was paid because there was more responsibility when you are the lead photographer on a wedding day.

How and how much to pay associates is a common problem Emily sees. Many pay their associates on a percentage-based model which is a dangerous model that can simplify expenses and what you are able to pay yourself for all the coordinating and behind the scenes work you are doing along with your fixed business costs.

When you hire a team you will need to track their hours, especially if you pay them hourly. As you continue to hire a team, it becomes easier to get clock-in and hour tracking software, like Gusto,

Get in touch with our guest:

Emily Loeppke, Principal and Founder of Anna Delores Photography

DM @AnnaDelores on Instagram to sign-up for coaching from Emily on how to build your own team

Check out Emily's website AnnaDelores.com