Today we’d like to introduce you to Fred Parks.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
In the late 80’s I was working as a Supervisor at Union Carbide and lost my job as the company was downsizing. I was interested in starting my own business. I went to a franchise show in Chicago and found a Sports Photography Franchise that I was interested in. I invested in what was then, The Sports Section. I was trained in sales and photography and started signing leagues, baseball, hockey, basketball, park districts, etc. Through trial and error, I learned to be a photographer. The sales were easier to me than learning photography. Back then it was film photography, nothing like today’s digital photography. You could shoot a league on multiple rolls of film and not know what you have until it’s processed. A camera problem or over or underexposed pictures meant you had to retake them. As I became more confident in photography, the sales became even easier. I found out from many of my clients that many of the photographers they used never took care of problems, so I concentrated on fixing problems immediately.
I worked my franchise for three years and was offered a position at the corporate office in Atlanta. I accepted the job, moved my family, and worked in Atlanta training new and existing franchisees in sales. After three years of training others, with travel every other week, I decided to go back to working my own business. I found a photo lab in Spokane, Group Photographers Association, GPA, that I felt was the best photo lab in the sports industry. I started signing leagues in Atlanta and using their lab. A few weeks later the GPA owner, John McLaughlin, contacted me about becoming a Legends Photography owner. He was in the early stages of starting Legends. I agreed, and worked a Legends office in Atlanta for a year, then decided to move back to Illinois to take over a struggling Legends office in Arlington Heights. Eventually, I moved the office back to Orland Park.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Starting a business with a family adds to the stress. My wife is a nurse and was managing a labor and delivery department. My son was young and my daughter was born about a year after I started the business. It was more difficult because my hours could change at any time, with photo shoots added at the last minute, or having to change picture dates due to uniforms not ready or other circumstances.
At first, everything is new when you start a business. Everything falls on you. It’s yours to figure out and yours to fix. You will make mistakes, but you will also learn from your mistakes. Building a client base and knowing the amount of income you can expect each month takes years. Having to make calls to customers to tell them you messed up are not easy calls, but the alternative of not fixing mistakes is much worse and will cost you future business.
Overcoming your completion can be a challenge. Every business has competition, and learning about your competition is vital to your business. Learn what they are good at, and what they are not so good at. You can expose them even more by being better at something they are not so good at, like keeping your picture day on schedule. Never bash your competition to your customers.
After doing this business for so many years, it is much easier now. I still will sometimes lose a league, but I always try to replace them with two. During the busiest seasons, like baseball, it seems like there are not enough hours in the day.
Legends Photography – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Having a really good photo lab is vital. My lab makes very few mistakes, and their picture quality is excellent. They offer an extensive product line and provide great customer service for me. Many of our leagues are in the 100’s, so that’s 100’s of individual orders, the largest over 1,000, usually the mistakes on my end or the labs, are less than 1%. They also print and deliver pictures within a few days, so customers get them in a couple of weeks.
Our picture days are always on time. It is important to have enough staff to stay on time. Parents are busy and don’t need to be waiting longer than the scheduled time of our picture day.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I think the definition successful business is being the best you can be at whatever you do. Doing what you like to do and making a good living. Honesty and integrity are vital to the success of your business. Never stop trying to be better.
Contact Info:
- Address: 16308 S. 107th Ave
Suite 3 Orland Park, IL 60467 - Website: legendsorlandpark.com
- Phone: 708-995-7097
- Email: legendsop@yahoo.com
- Facebook: legends photography of orland park
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