DATE: Monday, July 14, 1997                 TAG: 9707120600

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Small Business Q & A  

SOURCE: BY MELISSA GUNDEL, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   72 lines

PHOTOGRAPHER PICTURES AN EXPANDING MARKET

Jeff Kaiser, 35, has been shooting pictures since he was 12 years old. So perhaps it's not surprising that he and his wife, Lyn, would purchase a franchise from The Sports Section, a Georgia-based company that specializes in youth and sport photography. Kaiser, a former insurance agent, has owned the franchise, located in Chesapeake, for a little over four years.

How did you get your business going?

I was looking for something where I could use photography and sales experience and after doing a lot of research on best home-based franchises and low cost, I came across The Sports Section.

What kinds of things should people look for when purchasing a franchise?

Mainly for company support. Make sure the company has been around, has stability, and make sure they support you. Also, look for expanding product line. You have to keep up with the times.

What happened next?

They sent a representative out here to check out the viability of the territory and the competition and to see if it would be a good match for The Sports Section and myself.

How many employees do you have?

We use independent contractors. We call photographers and assistants to provide services depending on the need of the particular shoot.

What kinds of services do you provide?

We have 28 specific sport magazine covers from lacrosse to in-line hockey and from baseball to football. We do wallets all the way to poster size. We are also getting more into digital products in addition to sports cards and full-color magazine covers.

Do you have any competitors?

There's probably a dozen local independents who use the sports photography as a supplement to their other photography business. However, this is the only thing we do. We also have the only lab dedicated just to sports section photography. And anything sports photography we're going to have. Buttons, plaques, key chains, penants. . . .

How do you get the word out?

Getting information out of the newspaper and the local parks and recreation services. Each community has their own sports association. I call the president of each sports association. In some leagues, the board chooses the association's photographer and others have each individual coach choose their own. I call the person in charge of the association and set up a personal or board presentation to get them to use us and show them our products and background.

What is your biggest challenge right now?

The biggest challenge is to get in front of the people who make the photography decision.

What are your future plans?

Try to expand our customer base. We handle all South Hampton Roads out to Franklin and Newport News. We'd like to increase our market penetration.

What are some of the difficulties you encounter?

Things change every year. Every year, the board of directors of different associations change. You have to establish new contacts with the people in charge. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

Jeff Kaiser

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