Financial Statement

When creating a financial statement for my business's budgets and sales forecast; I learned a few things.  First it is not an easy task, rather time consuming, actually.  It is not a fun project by any stretch of the word but a necessary one.  The research alone will drown you into a state of deep depression.  HOWEVER -  Thanks to the good folks at Nevada State bank, an easy-to-adapt excel workbook version was available and I was able to plug in my figures and calculations.  I still had to determine what these figures were and actually had to do Math - Yuck! But nonetheless, it has to be done.
Here are few things I observed:

•  Your figures and estimations need to be real - very real. There is not one banker that will view your business plan based on fictitious numbers. Be prepared to explain and justify every expense and earning. Staring with your cash investment and equipment purchases to salaries and profits.  
• You will most likely not get paid your first 6 months of running your business.   If you have a business partner that has shared this investment with you, neither will they.  So expect to continue working your Pizza Delivery job for the first year.
• The Forecast is great guideline.  You spent all this time creating it - Now use it!  This will assist you to stay on budget - avoid over spending. Also your sales forecast will aid you in staying on top of your monthly sales.  Keeping a running tally of what your actually sales are each month and where they need to be is a motivator to get out and make more money. 

Overall, I am having a good experience with my budget & sales forecast. oh sure, my sales fall low one month and then triple the nest, but with this business plan, I am able to keep on eye on my bottom line and anticipate which direction my business is going in.

Photo Challenge: Food Photography

It is said you eat with your eyes first! Food Photography is a dirty little secret game. There is so much styling and prep work that goes into food photography it literally makes it inedible. Trust me, after a few squirts of lacquer and glycerine you would not want to eat it.  Here I will reveal some of my trade ideas to make food looks as appealing as possible but still remain edible.

  Tips for Photographing Food
Make more than you can eat:  invite friends over, so they can help you eat the left-overs, or take them to a neighbor.  The reason you make more, is because like snowflakes, no two pieces of your food are identical. The toasting, the juices, the skin or color...never the same.
 
 Light

Use natural light next to a large window, with a few white boards to bounce nor re-direct your light.  Also consider building a 4 x 4 Light tent out of foam boards and Parchment paper. This will allow you to control your light source and give you a larger range of high key lighting.

Setting

Before you start shooting, make sure there isn’t any distracting clutter in the background of the shot (stray people, silverware, whatever). Using a wider aperture to blur the background will help.  Choose a setting that enhances, but doesn’t distract from your food. Pick a simple, plain background or tablecloth. Use dishes and flatware with color  that either contrasts  or complimentary to the food, this is a good time to brush up on your color wheel.

Details

The devil is in the details. Check the plates and glasses for food, and smudges. Use sauces and garnishes to add color to drab shots (i.e. adding a lemon wedge to iced tea).  I promised I would share some secrets; If you want something to glisten - use oil from an orange peel. Simply peel the rind like and apple- this releases the oil, them use a small brush or Q-tip to apply. Put Olive oil in a small spritzers bottle and add moisture without getting your food wet.  Are you garnishes wilting? Stick them in the freezers for a few minutes wrapped in a paper towel. Looking for the perfect toast?  Use a butane torch lighter and paint it on - but be careful it, too can burn.


This is the time to PLAY with your food. Go ahead! Have fun! And afterwards, you can eat it...Don't forget to share!