Premium Members, click here to access this interview in the premium area Welcome to part one of a two-part series, where we dive into everything you need to know about buying or leasing a photography studio. Whether you're considering owning a space or working from one, this episode will guide you through the essential considerations before making that big decision of signing a lease and paying rent or taking out a loan to purchase your studio space. I'm thrilled to have three incredible guests joining us today, all from different genres of photography. We have Alex Cearns from Houndstooth Studio in Western Australia. Alex is a highly accomplished pet photographer, published author, and successful studio operator with extensive experience in multiple studio spaces. You may remember her from episodes 290 and 524 of the PBX podcast. We also welcome Elle Payne, a newborn photography business owner and mother of two. Elle is one of the biggest sponges when it comes to taking in business concepts and ideas and, more importantly, her skill in quickly implementing, testing, and refining those ideas to see what works. Elle was featured in episode 429 of the PhotoBizX podcast. Finally, the incredibly talented Michael Anthony is joining us from the USA. Michael is an experienced wedding and portrait photographer who is building a new studio from scratch after leasing and working from his first studio. He was previously featured in episode 446 of the podcast. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or just starting to consider your own studio space, this episode is packed with valuable insights from some of the best in the business. Let’s get started with this photography studio special on buying and leasing advice for photographers. Here's some more of what we covered in the interview: Alex Cearns You can really just make it fit what you need. Look at your business practices. If you are doing online purchase appointments on Zoom or you know different mechanism, you don't need a room for that…So I think just make sure that it meets your needs really clearly. And I think if I could do it differently, I would just really look at streamlining business practices before I went got a whole house that was costing me $4,000 a month that I didn't really use. – Alex Cearns If you're going to invest money in your business, your business has to be making you that money to invest in the first place. – Alex Cearns I think it's important to specify that a studio to me is just this empty room. If I just need a shooting space like what Elle said, you can have a backdrop stand with a backdrop on it, some paper roll and a light on the stand and you know, maybe one or two other lights, that's all you need at the bare minimum. – Alex Cearns A business only runs as fast as you put your foot on that accelerator. – Alex Cearns Houndstooth Studio