Photo editing software
No matter what editing software you choose, in a world of digital photography you will need some sort of software. Whether that is Lightroom/Photoshop, Capture One, Nik, Luminar, Affinity, On1. As you can see there plenty to choose from and even more which aren't quite as good as these listed. If you want to take photography to a higher level you should be shooting in RAW. This essentially gives you all the light information the camera captures and doesn't adjust it in any way like a JPEG file does. So it can initially look a little flat but this gives you SO much more flexibility to edit the photo the way you want. You absolutely need photo editing software to do this. It could be small changes or more drastic, that is up to you.
Computer
If you intend on running these demanding photo editing programs you have to have a computer that is up to the task. Most of the companies who make the programs suggest having 8gb RAM or more to run these programs. I found having more definitely preferable. At 8gb when running Lightroom and Photoshop at the same time the programs would randomly close down. So I sent my laptop out to be upgraded. I contacted Deans Computer Repairs and Dean upgraded it good. Doubled the RAM to 16gb, swapped the hard drive out for a SSD and solved an over heating issue. If I had bought a new computer with the same specs I would have spent 2 or even 3 time the amount I spent. Also I use it a lot for research and learning and marketing and graphic design and finances and everything else you have to know, all done on my computer. It is one of the most important things other than my camera.
Insurance
So you bought your expensive camera and your probably even more expensive camera lenses. You look after it really well treating it like it's made out of porcelain. However, other people may not value your gear the same way and may not be so careful. Or what if you do accidentally drop it. Or maybe nip into the shop and leave your branded camera bag in the car which a thief sees and after buying that quick pint of milk you find it's no longer in your car. Insurance is something that you will need to cover the unforeseeable. Just like you cover your car and house.
Other additional types which depending on what type of photography you do will be more applicable and if shooting at venues; some will require you be covered by these to even be allowed to shoot there. These are - Public Liability and Professional Liability.
Public will cover you for things like if someone falls over your bag because you left it in a walkway and injures themselves. Or your tripod falls over and damages something in a venue or you scratch someones car, stuff like that.
Professional will cover you for things like if you turn up to a shoot and forget to charge your batteries so can't do the shoot or forget to put your SD card in or if your computer hardrive becomes corrupted and you lose the important photos of what could be a busy month and done multiple weddings.
Car
As much as I currently dislike my car, without it there is no way I would be able to actually do what I do. I don't have great public transport where I live and where a client lives or where I am shooting may have no public transport. Even if public transport wasn't an issue sometimes I have too much gear to carry onto a bus and I am not paying a fortune for taxis as over the period of a year that would undoubtedly come to more than a car. So until I have enough money to change my car, I need it as much as all my other gear and it is definitely cemented on this list.
Time
Slightly conceptual with this one. But there is never enough time. As a photographer this is what you base your business on. How much is my time worth?
Well it is not just about the however many hours you spend with a customer photographing them. It is also about time that has already passed and future time that is yet to pass. How much time passed that you have invested in yourself to learn and practice to hone your photographic skills. Also the continued learning process and the time that you will need in the future to help your business grow to its full potential. Also the not so fun stuff like marketing, financing and general running of the business.
There are of course things that no-one ever sees, which are needed to obtain the results you desire; like travel time, time scouting a destination for good photo opps, the countless hours editing the photos, time spent compiling an album or time printing out high quality prints.
All of that will take up a lot especially if you are getting lot of work coming to your door. So much so you may forget what it is like to photograph other things you have interests in. Take time for you, do a personal project every so often. It only has to be one every other month. I have posted a number of these which talk about this exact issue. Just put a lot of your efforts into each personal project that way you will have a high quality result that you can really be proud of. It will really genuinely feel worth while and feed your artistic side.
That is it for now. Thanks for reading and see you again.