|
Rambles
By P.G. Ramblings
The Business of being
a Model
It is stated sometimes that a
successful model will have a pretty face, a good
figure and a business head. I fully believe in the
statement - especially the last part. Many models
hardly regard their modelling as a business, but
those who do pay a little attention to business
issues are almost certain to have more success than
they would have if they just dreamily drifted
along.
Business theory is wearisome
stuff, so I’ll keep it brief. Almost all
markets are determined by the principles of supply
and demand. On the one hand, if there is a lot of
supply of a product or service and very little
demand, prices go down and it is hard for some
suppliers to do business. On the other hand, if
there is limited supply for a product or service
and strong demand then prices go up.
In Northern Ireland there seems
to be a strong supply of models and only moderate
demand from photographers, promotions companies,
etc., so models need to be careful not to price
their services too high and probably have to
recognise that their modelling will probably remain
a part-time occupation for the foreseeable
future.
Must models totally resign
themselves to the fate of the market they are in?
No. So what can models do? There are many things,
and I’ll list a few, but the main one by far
is in helping any campaign which increases demand.
If there is more demand then things get better for
many models, not just for individuals. The common
methods for increasing demand are marketing,
advertising and publicity. I’m convinced that
Ireland is a dormant market and if greater
awareness and a shift in attitudes can be achieved,
demand will increase significantly. That isn’t
the full story, as further facilities,
publications, etc., are important too, but it is a
large part of the story.
A model can also look for
specialist areas and can broaden her range of
services to help her get more work. Then there is
the concept of export. Some could get bits of work
by approaching UK agencies and by independently
marketing their services there. The more
entrepreneurial model might even think up her own
projects and sell this on to the general public
(eg. greetings cards) or other third parties (eg.
stock photos for commercial use).
And there are all the other
general issues of being a good supplier –
punctual for shoots, enthusiastic, not giving the
customers (eg photographers) unnecessary grief,
consistent in pricing, knowing when and when not to
do TFP, etc.
Hopefully the above comments are
just enough food for thought to convince models to
think more about the business side of things. Such
focus leads to more success as a model. And
business can even become interesting!
One major organisation which
will regard the model’s work as a business is
Inland Revenue. Yes, it would be nicer if that
recognition came from elsewhere, and maybe it does,
but the taxman is interested in these businesses
and will get involved sooner or later. So it is
best to be aware of what the taxman’s
expectations are and always be prepared for it. A
model who does her homework has nothing to worry
about, other than the annoyance that the taxman
takes some of her hard-earned money.
All models should keep basic
accounts. It may be that they work on a part-time
basis and their earnings are so low that they do
not need to pay tax. But the model still needs to
be able to prove that. The exception is where the
model works exclusively for one agency. In that
case the agency, as the sole employer, is obliged
to take responsibility for the tax returns for the
model. But any model who does some paid modelling
work independently is regarded as responsible for
declaring relevant earnings to the Inland Revenue.
The situation that every model wants to avoid is
getting an imposed estimate from Inland Revenue.
This happens when a model can’t satisfactorily
show what her earnings were and Inland Revenue
imposes their estimate on the taxes due. This is
nearly always several times higher than what the
real amount should be, but it can be very
difficult, with no receipts or accounts for the
model to really prove otherwise and pay only a
realistic amount.
The amount of payable tax is of
little concern for models who are students and have
no other employment but all others should visit
HM
Revenue &
Customs
for further information.
A model is taxed on profit. That
effectively means earnings minus expenses. The main
expenses are travel expenses so keep all flight,
ferry, train, bus and taxi receipts. If you are
away overnight on a job, that day’s meals are
classed as expenses, as is the hotel bill. And
while clothes normally cannot be recognised as
expenses, some more unusual props that a model
occasionally has to buy can be recorded as
expenses. If a model ever buys a camera, etc., for
herself she should make sure that it goes onto the
expenses list as well. In short – keep all
receipts for these things and calculate them as
expenses to offset taxes.
Step aside, model. Step forward,
businesswoman!
IndexPage
|
