NOVEL WEB Exploiting Hollywood 1980.
Chapter 31 Business is booming
Chapter 31 Business is booming
"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone rang again, and Ronald picked it up. By the way, he gave a demonstration to his neighbor, Miss Weber,
"This is Ronald Portrait Photography Studio, may I ask you..., ok, I have written down your name and phone number, and your appointment time is 02:30 in the afternoon.
"Look, it's very simple." Ronald looked at the little neighbor girl, today's temporary operator.
"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone rang again within a few seconds.Ronald:
"This is Ronald's photography studio, may I ask you... ok, ok, your appointment time..."
"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone that had just been put back rang again,
"This is Ronald, may I ask you..., tomorrow afternoon, you can..."
"Ring ring ring ring..."
"Ahem... please tell me"
"This is Ronald's portrait photography. Would you like to make an appointment for shooting?" Fortunately, Miss Weber took over immediately.
From 10 o'clock in the morning, Ronald's phone began to ring non-stop, and the notebook recording the appointment became longer and longer.Soon the people who came to take pictures were full of appointments, and Ronald had to arrange time for the evening.
There are so many people that there is no place to change clothes and wait, and the comments from customers are so messy.
There were more people in the afternoon than in the morning, and the filming was not finished until 8 pm.Ronald felt that the momentum was wrong, and the effect of the advertisement was far beyond his expectations. Today is Christmas, and there will be more people tomorrow.If you don't improve, your reputation will collapse.
After thinking about it for a long time at home, Ronald decided to expand his business immediately, took out a pen and paper, and started planning.
First find the neighbor Mrs. Weber, Ronald immediately raised his daughter's daily salary from $5 to $20 a day.A small rent was also paid to Mrs. Webb, and she was asked to temporarily take out the living room and bedroom of her apartment to serve as a waiting room and dressing room for the portrait studio.
In the next few days, Ms. Weber was upgraded from an operator to a secretary. She was responsible for making appointments and recording the number of shooters every day, and issued a number to each customer.Arrange customers to line up next door, put on makeup, and call the number when it's their turn.
Her mother, Mrs. Webb, was also hired by Ronald to file each customer's film, send it to the Kodak lab twice a day, and bring back the developed pictures.
In order to prevent mistakes, Ronald also bought a Polaroid instant imaging camera to take pictures of customers and let Mrs. Weber use them for archiving with the film to prevent mistakes.
Ronald no longer accepts outside shooting business, and only shoots in the apartment.After taking portraits every day, they are developed and archived at night, and sent to clients the next day.
After working non-stop in the morning and evening, after a week of vacation, Ronald has already earned more than 1 US dollars.Excluding the employment of Mrs. Weber and his daughter, the cost of film, and the cost of printing, the net profit was more than 4.
Looking at the cash in the drawer, Ronald counted one by one again, the green bills he really earned.
The celebrity-endorsed strategy was very successful. As soon as customers saw those two audition photos of beauties, they would have an illusion, as if I could also take such photos.
This is because the customers that Ronald attracts are mainly young people in their early 80s and early [-]s, and women account for more than [-]% of them.Most of them have never appeared in film and television dramas.
They are similar to the two dancing beauties in "Rock High School". They are at the age when I am the best in the world and full of longing for future dreams. Their minds are full of thoughts of "I will succeed, only one photo is missing".
As long as the audition photos are good, they can become the next Olivia Newton John (the actress of the movie "Grease"), dance on the screen with John Travolta, and become the idol of thousands of boys .
Relying on the experience of being on the crew during this period, Ronald explained to them the role of the audition photos and the shooting method in a few words, and then wentssip.
Then point them to audition photos of Demi Moore and Natasha Kinski, then casually mention that director Roman Polanski had cast them both, and customers can't wait to pay for the photoshoot.
Ronald didn't say that it was because of the audition photos he took that impressed the little director, it was all imagined by the customers themselves.
Even the nearby Kodak printing shop made a lot of money. The manager was surprised and tentatively asked if he should send someone to serve him, hoping to eat him, a big customer with a stable business.
Ronald's ad was on the right track, and with the blessing of Demi Moore's invincible beauty, the flow of people this wave of holidays was beyond his expectations.This business seems to be doing well.
Ordinarily, if Ronald's goal was just to make money and find a job, then this would be a great start.
The next step is to register the company, rent a venue, hire manpower, and then sign a contract with Kodak's print shop to ensure the time and quality of prints.When the business stabilizes, you can start recruiting photography assistants and expand the scale step by step.
Then try higher-level photography business, such as shooting the cover of fashion magazines and modeling for print advertisements.
But Ronald's ideal is to be a film director, to do something real.A portrait photographer, at his best, is not as influential as a fledgling film director.After all, the size of the audience of the work, the number of people making money, and the satisfaction I get are not at the same level.
Is it to take advantage of this wave of enthusiasm and do another advertisement?Earn as much money as you can in a short period of time, and at least earn money for 4 years of tuition and graduation short films.
Ronald hesitated a little.
The constant flow of people in the apartment day and night has aroused the curiosity of many people. Ronald feels that if this continues, it will attract the attention of the IRS and send someone to check the accounts.
In addition, Ronald was also worried that there would be robbery. Venice is relatively safe, but it is not that there are people from other communities wandering around.
There is too much cash at one time, and I am afraid of being coveted by others, and also afraid of being targeted by the IRS.When Ronald was taking pictures in Staten Island, he had inquired about the high tax rate of individual freelancers, who would have to pay taxes if they earned more than $400 in annual income through photography.
In addition to the tax filing season in April each year, freelancers also need to estimate the tax amount for the next quarter by themselves and prepay the income tax for the next quarter in advance.
California state taxes are also not friendly to freelancers.In short, in addition to the high tax rate, the tax payment procedures are also very cumbersome. A few dollars underpayment, or a few days late payment, will attract a large fine from the IRS.
Everyone avoids it as much as they can, so that small businessmen and freelancers try to use cash for transactions as much as possible to prevent the IRS from getting caught.But the IRS will also conduct surprise inspections based on reports or clues in the news.
Cash transactions can avoid taxes, but it is not safe to keep so much money at home.
If the one-time cash deposit is too high, it will arouse the vigilance of the bank and report to the IRS.
It would be great if there is a senior who is acquainted with him, and he can ask this kind of thing.
Ronald simply called Aunt Karen to wish him a happy New Year, and asked her how to deal with this kind of thing.
Ronald half-concealed that he was a part-time portrait photographer and made a lot of money, but he didn't know whether he should continue to do business to earn tuition fees, or should continue to work in a company to gain experience.
Aunt Karen comforted him and said, don’t be afraid, God will guide him:
"If you don't have an answer, then act on your intuition, which is God's guidance for you. Every time you use your intuition to determine the direction, it will be smooth sailing. If you don't follow God's guidance, but think before and after, and go back and forth, often will be frustrated."
Over a bowl of typical American chicken soup, Ronald decided to... listen to Aunt Karen.
I am indeed quite hesitant about the idea of expanding my business, and I may not want to continue subconsciously, so I just proceed with caution.
Ronald made another trip to the advertising agency of the Los Angeles Times, and another notice of closure was placed in the Times.From then on, I only accept orders recommended by old customers on weekends, so as not to attract thieves and IRS.
Then I broke it into pieces, went to the post office and Western Union, and bought some cashier's checks (Money Order) worth 300-500 dollars.This kind of promissory note is purchased in cash, which is more reliable than a check and will not bounce.
Therefore, the reputation is good, and major department stores and supermarkets can cash it at any time.
Divide the remaining cash and cashier's check into two, carry one with you, and put the other in a plastic bag and hide it in the refrigerator, so that Ronald feels a little relieved.
He plans to disperse in different time periods, one after another, go to the bank every one or two weeks, deposit a little money into the bank account, fly low-key and close to the ground, avoiding the radar of the IRS.
After doing these things, Ronald's thinking became clearer.The current business volume is undoubtedly brought about by holidays and advertisements. After the holidays, if we do not continue to advertise, we will not be able to maintain this scale of passenger flow.
Instead of trying to expand the business, it is better to close the business and return to a semi-underground state.After all, it is still uncertain where to go to school in half a year. If I go to New York, it will be very troublesome to deal with business here.
Afraid of scaring Aunt Karen, this time Ronald only sent 500 dollars home, and when he returned to New York, he would give her a little more money to make her life easier.
In a blink of an eye, the Christmas and New Year holidays passed, and it was the day when Ronald went to New World to produce and work as an editing assistant.
(End of this chapter)
"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone rang again, and Ronald picked it up. By the way, he gave a demonstration to his neighbor, Miss Weber,
"This is Ronald Portrait Photography Studio, may I ask you..., ok, I have written down your name and phone number, and your appointment time is 02:30 in the afternoon.
"Look, it's very simple." Ronald looked at the little neighbor girl, today's temporary operator.
"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone rang again within a few seconds.Ronald:
"This is Ronald's photography studio, may I ask you... ok, ok, your appointment time..."
"Ring, ring, ring..." The phone that had just been put back rang again,
"This is Ronald, may I ask you..., tomorrow afternoon, you can..."
"Ring ring ring ring..."
"Ahem... please tell me"
"This is Ronald's portrait photography. Would you like to make an appointment for shooting?" Fortunately, Miss Weber took over immediately.
From 10 o'clock in the morning, Ronald's phone began to ring non-stop, and the notebook recording the appointment became longer and longer.Soon the people who came to take pictures were full of appointments, and Ronald had to arrange time for the evening.
There are so many people that there is no place to change clothes and wait, and the comments from customers are so messy.
There were more people in the afternoon than in the morning, and the filming was not finished until 8 pm.Ronald felt that the momentum was wrong, and the effect of the advertisement was far beyond his expectations. Today is Christmas, and there will be more people tomorrow.If you don't improve, your reputation will collapse.
After thinking about it for a long time at home, Ronald decided to expand his business immediately, took out a pen and paper, and started planning.
First find the neighbor Mrs. Weber, Ronald immediately raised his daughter's daily salary from $5 to $20 a day.A small rent was also paid to Mrs. Webb, and she was asked to temporarily take out the living room and bedroom of her apartment to serve as a waiting room and dressing room for the portrait studio.
In the next few days, Ms. Weber was upgraded from an operator to a secretary. She was responsible for making appointments and recording the number of shooters every day, and issued a number to each customer.Arrange customers to line up next door, put on makeup, and call the number when it's their turn.
Her mother, Mrs. Webb, was also hired by Ronald to file each customer's film, send it to the Kodak lab twice a day, and bring back the developed pictures.
In order to prevent mistakes, Ronald also bought a Polaroid instant imaging camera to take pictures of customers and let Mrs. Weber use them for archiving with the film to prevent mistakes.
Ronald no longer accepts outside shooting business, and only shoots in the apartment.After taking portraits every day, they are developed and archived at night, and sent to clients the next day.
After working non-stop in the morning and evening, after a week of vacation, Ronald has already earned more than 1 US dollars.Excluding the employment of Mrs. Weber and his daughter, the cost of film, and the cost of printing, the net profit was more than 4.
Looking at the cash in the drawer, Ronald counted one by one again, the green bills he really earned.
The celebrity-endorsed strategy was very successful. As soon as customers saw those two audition photos of beauties, they would have an illusion, as if I could also take such photos.
This is because the customers that Ronald attracts are mainly young people in their early 80s and early [-]s, and women account for more than [-]% of them.Most of them have never appeared in film and television dramas.
They are similar to the two dancing beauties in "Rock High School". They are at the age when I am the best in the world and full of longing for future dreams. Their minds are full of thoughts of "I will succeed, only one photo is missing".
As long as the audition photos are good, they can become the next Olivia Newton John (the actress of the movie "Grease"), dance on the screen with John Travolta, and become the idol of thousands of boys .
Relying on the experience of being on the crew during this period, Ronald explained to them the role of the audition photos and the shooting method in a few words, and then wentssip.
Then point them to audition photos of Demi Moore and Natasha Kinski, then casually mention that director Roman Polanski had cast them both, and customers can't wait to pay for the photoshoot.
Ronald didn't say that it was because of the audition photos he took that impressed the little director, it was all imagined by the customers themselves.
Even the nearby Kodak printing shop made a lot of money. The manager was surprised and tentatively asked if he should send someone to serve him, hoping to eat him, a big customer with a stable business.
Ronald's ad was on the right track, and with the blessing of Demi Moore's invincible beauty, the flow of people this wave of holidays was beyond his expectations.This business seems to be doing well.
Ordinarily, if Ronald's goal was just to make money and find a job, then this would be a great start.
The next step is to register the company, rent a venue, hire manpower, and then sign a contract with Kodak's print shop to ensure the time and quality of prints.When the business stabilizes, you can start recruiting photography assistants and expand the scale step by step.
Then try higher-level photography business, such as shooting the cover of fashion magazines and modeling for print advertisements.
But Ronald's ideal is to be a film director, to do something real.A portrait photographer, at his best, is not as influential as a fledgling film director.After all, the size of the audience of the work, the number of people making money, and the satisfaction I get are not at the same level.
Is it to take advantage of this wave of enthusiasm and do another advertisement?Earn as much money as you can in a short period of time, and at least earn money for 4 years of tuition and graduation short films.
Ronald hesitated a little.
The constant flow of people in the apartment day and night has aroused the curiosity of many people. Ronald feels that if this continues, it will attract the attention of the IRS and send someone to check the accounts.
In addition, Ronald was also worried that there would be robbery. Venice is relatively safe, but it is not that there are people from other communities wandering around.
There is too much cash at one time, and I am afraid of being coveted by others, and also afraid of being targeted by the IRS.When Ronald was taking pictures in Staten Island, he had inquired about the high tax rate of individual freelancers, who would have to pay taxes if they earned more than $400 in annual income through photography.
In addition to the tax filing season in April each year, freelancers also need to estimate the tax amount for the next quarter by themselves and prepay the income tax for the next quarter in advance.
California state taxes are also not friendly to freelancers.In short, in addition to the high tax rate, the tax payment procedures are also very cumbersome. A few dollars underpayment, or a few days late payment, will attract a large fine from the IRS.
Everyone avoids it as much as they can, so that small businessmen and freelancers try to use cash for transactions as much as possible to prevent the IRS from getting caught.But the IRS will also conduct surprise inspections based on reports or clues in the news.
Cash transactions can avoid taxes, but it is not safe to keep so much money at home.
If the one-time cash deposit is too high, it will arouse the vigilance of the bank and report to the IRS.
It would be great if there is a senior who is acquainted with him, and he can ask this kind of thing.
Ronald simply called Aunt Karen to wish him a happy New Year, and asked her how to deal with this kind of thing.
Ronald half-concealed that he was a part-time portrait photographer and made a lot of money, but he didn't know whether he should continue to do business to earn tuition fees, or should continue to work in a company to gain experience.
Aunt Karen comforted him and said, don’t be afraid, God will guide him:
"If you don't have an answer, then act on your intuition, which is God's guidance for you. Every time you use your intuition to determine the direction, it will be smooth sailing. If you don't follow God's guidance, but think before and after, and go back and forth, often will be frustrated."
Over a bowl of typical American chicken soup, Ronald decided to... listen to Aunt Karen.
I am indeed quite hesitant about the idea of expanding my business, and I may not want to continue subconsciously, so I just proceed with caution.
Ronald made another trip to the advertising agency of the Los Angeles Times, and another notice of closure was placed in the Times.From then on, I only accept orders recommended by old customers on weekends, so as not to attract thieves and IRS.
Then I broke it into pieces, went to the post office and Western Union, and bought some cashier's checks (Money Order) worth 300-500 dollars.This kind of promissory note is purchased in cash, which is more reliable than a check and will not bounce.
Therefore, the reputation is good, and major department stores and supermarkets can cash it at any time.
Divide the remaining cash and cashier's check into two, carry one with you, and put the other in a plastic bag and hide it in the refrigerator, so that Ronald feels a little relieved.
He plans to disperse in different time periods, one after another, go to the bank every one or two weeks, deposit a little money into the bank account, fly low-key and close to the ground, avoiding the radar of the IRS.
After doing these things, Ronald's thinking became clearer.The current business volume is undoubtedly brought about by holidays and advertisements. After the holidays, if we do not continue to advertise, we will not be able to maintain this scale of passenger flow.
Instead of trying to expand the business, it is better to close the business and return to a semi-underground state.After all, it is still uncertain where to go to school in half a year. If I go to New York, it will be very troublesome to deal with business here.
Afraid of scaring Aunt Karen, this time Ronald only sent 500 dollars home, and when he returned to New York, he would give her a little more money to make her life easier.
In a blink of an eye, the Christmas and New Year holidays passed, and it was the day when Ronald went to New World to produce and work as an editing assistant.
(End of this chapter)
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