The Christmas business has been greater than ever before - more photographers have been advertising than ever before, and more people have been having pictures made. They have been reminded by almost every magazine they have looked over for Christmas suggestions that photographs make very desirable presents and that there is a photographer in their town. Naturally, the photographer who advertised got the bulk of this business.

There is but one logical thing to do to keep up this business and that is to keep up the advertising. That is what we are doing, because we have confidence in the results that will come from more advertising. If you have followed up our work and had a good business, keep it up.

For the hundreds of pictures your customers have received for Christmas, hundreds will be made to give in return, and you have only skimmed the surface of the business that is as yet untouched.

Nothing but persistent advertising will bring this business to you. We have a lot of attractive illustrated copy we will use during the coming year, and the same strong class of arguments will be used as in our 1912 copy, which was hard to beat.

The copy shown on page 5 will appear as full pages in the January number of Ainslee's, Century, Everybody's and Harper's. February Cosmopolitan, issued January 10th, will carry the same copy, and it is sure to appeal to the fathers and mothers who have growing boys.

It is your advertising but you must do your part to get the benefit of it. If you have been using our copy or following it up with copy of your own, you have undoubtedly been benefited the same as hundreds of others.

As we have said before, this advertising is not a hundred yard dash - it's a marathon and we have only started.

If you make a $100.00 appropriation for 1913 advertising and use it all up in one month, you are out of the running. It is better to set aside an allowance for twelve months, even if it is smaller for each month, and keep it up.

From An Etching Black Platinum Print By The Misses Selby New York, N. Y.

Where Do You Stand? The Importance Of Knowing Your Business

If you were asked a number of questions about your 1912 business, would you be able to answer them correctly? For example : how much did you make during the past year by taking advantage of your cash discounts, what has been the depreciation on your furniture, fixtures and working apparatus, how much has your general expense amounted to, how many bad accounts have been charged to profit and loss, and how much have your actual profits increased or decreased during the past year?

These and many other things should be known by you the first of every year, and In order that they may be known, it is necessary that you should have some simple system of keeping your books, taking an inventory the first of every year and knowing how to close your books so these facts may all be brought to light, even if they are rather startling to you.

It is impossible for anyone to change a condition of affairs until he knows what is wrong, and nothing will throw so much light on one's business as an inventory and trial balance. You may think your business is an exception and that these things are not important, but they are if you wish to better conditions.

You say roughly that your business is worth so much, but you don't know how far off you are until you want to sell it, or have a fire and an insurance adjuster puts a value on your loss. If for no other reason, an inventory is of a great deal of value to you for just such an emergency, for then you know just what you owned at a given time, and if you keep up your stock, you can always have a fair idea of where you stand.

Possibly you are not familiar with accounting, but the smaller your business the more simple it will be, and any bookkeeper will, for a few dollars, be willing to start you right and drop in once in a while to help you out when you are in trouble.

If you have never had a systematic method of doing business, begin right by not cheating yourself on your inventory. If a thing is worthless to you, throw it away and make room for fresh stock, and if it has merely decreased in value, be sure you allow liberally for depreciation. If you will allow ten per cent. a year for depreciation on furniture and accessories, you will find that in ten years, they have been paid for and you can throw them away or sell them for a small amount, which can be credited to this account.

"He may be President." That is the proud privilege of every American born boy.

But, whether or no, he is your son and photographs that preserve his boyhood and youth will mean everything to you in after years.

What he means to you now, he will also mean to others some day, and the little collection - "taken at" various ages - will be a priceless treasure for generations to come.

There s a photographer in your town. Eastman Kodak Company, Rochester, N. Y.

This depreciation is a part of the cost of every dozen pictures you turn out of your studio, and it is useless to try to figure costs and profits unless all these things are taken into consideration.

Hopelessly bad accounts are also a part of your cost of doing business and should be charged to profit and loss, but they are not so apt to accumulate if an orderly set of books is kept and statements sent each month. Bills are much more quickly paid when the customer is promptly reminded of the indebtedness, and you will work harder to collect poor accounts when you are reminded each month that they are still on your books. Many of the disputes regarding accounts are due to the fact that the photographer has never sent the customer a statement.

Pay your own bills by check, not only as a means of simplifying your bookkeeping and giving you a receipt for each payment when the cancelled checks are returned, but because it gives you more prestige with the people you buy from. It is not good business to go down in your pocket for the rent money or your stock bill.

Pay yourself a salary the same as you do your help, and if you have to use your business capital for personal expenses, charge it up to yourself and see that your business is credited with the amount. Business is business and you can only keep out of the woods by conducting the affairs of your studio as other people conduct their business. You may have some surprises in store for yourself when you learn what you really own, how much it costs you to make a dozen pictures and what your percentage of profit really is, but it will do you good to know these things and you will profit by the knowledge.

Begin the New Year with an Eastman Studio Register System, a record system which takes care of all sittings, orders, payments, deliveries, duplicate orders and is a permanent record or register of all negatives. Complete outfit, including desk box, transfer box, complete set of cards and instructions for use, $6.50.

From An Etching Black Platinum Print. By The Misses Set by New York, N. Y.

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