"I am overwhelmed with gratitude to you after reading your book, 'NICHECRAFT.' It is the most detailed book I have ever read on the subject.
    Reading your book inspired me to take immediate actions to refine my niche  even further. Over the past several months, my average order has soared due to the actions your book motivated me to take
Bradford Rowley
Bradford Renaissance Portraits
Costa Mesa, CA
Customers of Burrell Professional Labs' can order her book for only
$21.95
(standard retail is $24.95)
by calling 503-228-6776 or you can visit www.falkenstein.com 
Congratulations! You made it through the chaos and bustle of the holiday season. Your clients are now enjoying the beautiful images you created and you can finally experience a much-earned, year-end respite. A perfect time to take stock of the year that ended, and an even better time to plan for the one ahead ... A perfect time to examine the things that worked and those that didn't. Most of all, a perfect time to recommit to your focus - to be certain it's the one your really want - one that will take you personally and professionally where you want to go.
      For anyone, focus is a critical word. For professional photographers, however, it carries and even more special meaning. Yours more than any profession, depends upon focus for those extraordinary images. And looking through the camera, it doesn't take you longer than that proverbial heartbeat to know when things are out of whack. Maybe the subject looks fuzzy or perhaps there's just too much happening in that potential photo. Maybe it looks busy. Your own skill, training, and instinct all tell you when it's wrong. You adjust here. There. And soon things are crisp, clear, and beautiful. And often times, they are also simple, elegant, and powerful.
      Achieving focus in your business is a lot like achieving focus in your many wonderful photographs. There is that same simplicity and elegance. There is no clutter. Your customers know what you stand for - what your style is.
      More importantly, your cu7stomers can tell you apart from everyone else in the industry. In short, your niche is clear. The irony here is that all too often the same photographer gifted in achieving focus behind the camera has a business which, at best, is what I describe as "all over the map." At worst, it's like a typical teenager's room, so many things going on at the same time, you're afraid to walk in. A mess.
      In photography - as in many businesses - cleaning the room, "saying no" to what's in it, can be a scary thing to do. How do you decide what revenue center to build upon and keep when there are so many to choose from? Even if you business does not yet resemble the teenager's bedroom I referred to earlier, the following checklist will help you decide which products and services should stay on your menu, keeping you in even better for 2001. If, by chance, however, your studio and the teenager's room do have something in common, you'll be on your way to a massive clean-up operation, resulting in the most exciting business focus you've experience in a long time.		       Your Niche Direction Criteria: Make a list of your studio's major products and services and then test them against each of the following questions. Add up the numbers. They'll speak for themselves, just as your own bottom line does at the end of the year.

1. Builds on your company's strengths
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2. Is likely to return the greatest profit to your studio
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3. Will be relatively "clean" to deliver, e.g. simple as possible, few snags and complications
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4. Will contribute to your company's core nice and focus
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5. Will be as free as possible from political hassles and unexpected interventions by 3rd parties jockeying for the same customer.
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6. Is media friendly, e.g. does this option have media appeal which will facilitate a swift roll-out and keep you in front of the public at low or no cost.
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7. You and your own staff will enjoy
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8. Will take you and the business where you want to go.
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9. Add your own criteria here
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      The point of these questions is that even though I firmly believe our instinct is often the smartese part of our beings, we also need to balance it with concrete hard numbers. This exercise takes the emotion away from getting rid of products and services that contribute nothing but dust and time-wasters to your business.
      So as you use this lull between storms for personal "R&R" and strategic planning for next year, I encourage you to add one more resolution to your list. It's the resolution of "Focus with Purpose." The above questions will help ensure you achieve it. But, like any resolutions, the bottom line is commitment and living it. I say, go for it NOW.