Small Business Nightmare: My Career Almost Went Up in Smoke!
ANGELA TAGUE
Every small business person dreams of the project that will catapult them to the next level in their career. For me, it was an assignment for Time magazine. Yes, that Time magazine. What I never anticipated was nearly burning down the set and making a claim on my small business insurance.
Sometimes Things Go Wrong
It was a warm, windy day. I carefully unloaded a car full of portable studio lighting equipment, reflectors and my power box to illuminate the portrait. I was thrilled to photograph a local award winner at our beautiful cancer treatment facility. The photograph would run as part of an advertisement in an upcoming issue of the magazine with my name proudly printed in the byline.
After setting up a place to create the portrait, I decided to give my equipment a quick test. I fired off some test shots and everything synced beautifully. Each strobe illuminated on cue. I was feeling confident.
A few minutes before go-time I tested my gear once more. I grabbed my camera, took a few test shots of the room and was pleased with the exposure. Everything was perfect. Then I smelled a faint burning odor. I looked around, wondering what was going on, and gasped when I saw my power box shrouded in a cloud of smoke.
I quickly unplugged everything and examined the box. There were no flames. But if there had been, they would have quickly reached the curtains and caused a terrible accident. After ensuring there was no fire, I alerted the cancer center staff and asked for help to air out the smoky room. As I opened doors to let fresh air flood the room, all I could think about was the expensive equipment I had just lost and how I would complete the assignment that was scheduled to start in mere minutes.
The Decision That Saved My Business
When I decided to take photography from hobby status to my full-time career, I talked to my insurance agent. She told me that once the value of my photography gear exceeded the maximum allowances for hobby equipment on my homeowner’s insurance policy, I would need to consider getting small business insurance.
My new policy covered everything I feared: liability and medical payments if someone should trip over my equipment, business interruption coverage if I were unable to work and coverage on my cameras and lenses. I knew even a small situation could quickly put me out of business. With a specific small business insurance policy behind my photography business, I could grow my client base with confidence. Read Full Story
