Are you a budding amateur Brisbane portrait photographer who gets a kick out of taking photos and friends weddings, friends christening or portraits of your partner and kids outside? Have you ever thought about turning this hobby into a paid hobby?!

Step 1. Set out some goals for your business.

Just like you would set goals for yourself, you should set goals for your business and treat it as a business. Try to write a one page business plan that gives you some quick bullet points to focus on. You may need to focus and think about areas such as advertising, budgeting and marketing.

Step 2. Choose a niche area.

i.e., focus on one aspect of Brisbane portrait photography – this is by far the quickest way to start making money – try to cover all areas of photographer and you will be running around in circles. So select a niche, i.e., Wedding photos, baby portrait photos, family photos etc. Focus your business plan around this niche.

3. Set out advertising!

Begin with friends and family, word of mouth is a great way to get your name out there but don't forget print ads in your local newspaper and try some online advertising as well, Face book is fantastic for getting out to a lot of people in a short amount of time.

4. Create a website.

This is key to your success in business those days. If you don't have an online storefront, people will not know how to find you. Today's generation use the internet to search for EVERYTHING.

5. Don't quit your day job!

Don't leave your normal job until your business is consistently getting work (and paying!) and starting to take up all your spare times! A lot of people start out their Brisbane corporate photography businesses as a weekend job, and it doesn't take long for it to take off if you are good and have great references.

Make sure that you do some research on pricing as well and just go for it. Don't procrastinate and don't get bogged down with some of the finer details.