In both Part 1 and Part 2, your company's name was mentioned. As stated, if you stick with using your name with a modifier, such as "Majel Barrett Photography" or "James Kirk Images," you'll have less paperwork than if you adopted a DBA like "Phaser Photography." Most solo photographers, such as wedding photographers, go this way, and it makes good sense for that.
Naming and future growth.
However, note the word "solo" above. If your business plan ever includes expanding and bringing in additional photographers (not assistants or post-processing crew), you might want to rethink that. After all, if your associate were to go to a shoot, there is a great chance that everyone there will the that he (or she) is you, the owner, as they're professing to be with "Jimmy Doohan Photography," so naturally people will think that this associate, is, in fact, Jimmy.
Herein lies the problem of using your name as the company's name: you may be hindering future growth of your fledgling enterprise. I'd highly advise keeping this in mind with you determine your company's name.
Oh, one other thing about naming your company after yourself: if you were to ever sell the business, your name would be associated with something that you, personally, would no longer have any say over. Just a thought.
Logos, colors, and brands: oh my!
After you've determined your company's name (or perhaps, once you've narrowed it down to a few qualified candidates), you need to think about the next step: branding. Branding consists of tying all the parts of the company (image, products, and the general "feel") together in one whole unit. Branding consists of a color scheme, logo, watermark, packaging, website, advertisements, fliers and handouts, postcards, or anything that you want to associate your company with, or associate with your company. And to do this properly, you need to work with professionals. And I don't mean you.
As a professional (or desiring professional) photographer, you most likely cringe when you see people and businesses doing their own photography at a mediocre level; I can't tell you how many times I've looked through local advertising magazines and could see the bad color, bad shadows, or other unprofessional looks to these ads, and I wonder if the company realizes that by saving money doing their own photography, they're most likely causing themselves to lose money. Just like that, I believe that logo and branding design shouldn't be done by one's self, but by a professional graphic designer. Find a local (or even remote) designer, and work with her to establish a logo and color scheme that you can integrate with your website, packaging, and other company presence. Let her know what your niche is and tailor this brand to your company and its goals. Ask for a watermark for your online photos as well.
Working with a professional graphic designer to create your brand is something that will pay off much more dividends than it is likely to cost, so please: don't do it yourself.
A dirty word.
Both the graphic design world and the photography world share a common foe, something that has been gaining in popularity even though it does nothing but suck the life from both sources. This word is a dirty word in both circles. In fact, I hesitate to say it, but I must, in order to educate you better on this heinous issue:
SPEC
There, I said it; please forgive me.
Spec is short for "speculative," which simply means working and creating a product with the hope of getting paid. Would you spend hours shooting something in the hopes that your customer would pay you, especially when there were other photographers doing the same thing, competing for the same customer? I didn't think so. So please, don't play the spec game at some of the graphic design "competitions" out there. For just a bit more money, you'll get to personally work with a graphic design who can work with you to develop your brand, as opposed to a fishing expedition. I mean, if you were spending your time competing with just a possibility of getting paid, how much time and effort would you put into it? Right, I thought so.
So spend some time with a real graphic designer. Don't know any? Ask around at other local companies and other photographers. Get some references and perhaps contact one or two asking for samples. This is definitely one of those things that pays dividends, trust me.
You've made the choice to start your own photography-based company. You've determined which niche to set up in (see Part 1), so now it's time to hang out your sign and go shoot, right?
Wrong.
There are some very important steps to be taken before you press the shutter for the first time professionally--some very important legal steps.
Licenses, legalities, and other "L" words.
Do you know what it takes to start a legal business in your community? Just declaring yourself as a business does not a business make. First, your city and/or county will most likely require you to register with them. If you're using your name as your business like "John Smith Photography," there will probably be less paperwork. Using a business name that isn't your own name like "Small Time Shots" will require additional paperwork known as a DBA, or Doing Business As. Your city and/or county clerk will have the paperwork for you and can walk you through these very easily. Generally there is a small fee (possibly at both levels) for the paperwork; mine was only $5, plus the few dollars for the Notary Public, so it was relatively painless.
Have you ever seen those sections of "Legal Notices" in the newspaper and wondered what they were for? Most likely you're going to have to make your own listing in the newspaper as a good-faith attempt at making sure no one objects to your starting a business! I can already hear your astonishment: you mean random people can object? Yes, they can! They'll have to make a formal objection to the city or county about your business and offer proof of why it is objectionable. The good news is, it rarely happens. The bad news is, when it does, it's generally a neighbor who doesn't want a home-based business being next door. If you feel you might have one of those neighbors, it might be good to be upfront with them ahead of time and let them know what you're planning on doing. They'll probably be worried of deliveries or customers visiting your home, so make sure you assure them about the low impact before your file.
In addition to the city and/or county, you'll have to file with your state as well. Most likely this will be limited to just a Sales Tax license. My state required proof that I had a county license prior to a Sales Tax license, so make sure you file for the approvals in the correct order. Your city and/or county clerk may also be able to help you with this.
City, county, state. Next step is federal. While a sole-proprietorship can operate without a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN) and use their Social Security Number, I highly recommend getting a FEIN anyway, if for no other reason than to lessen the usage of your SSN. You can apply for a FEIN online here.
Protecting Yourself (and Others).
Now that you're legal, the next thing you need to do is protect yourself legally. No, not a lawyer (that will come later), but that other most hideous thing: insurance.
Insurance is not a luxury. Let me repeat that: Insurance is NOT a luxury.
Let's go back to the example in Part 1 of being an outdoors child portraiture photographer. Sounds easy, right? You meet the parents and the child at some location and shoot away! But you need to have some fill light or key light (overpowering the sun), so you bring your strobe and battery system. It's all set up, and the shoot is progressing nicely. A gust comes from behind you, knocking down your strobe and sending it into your subject! Using sandbags could have prevented that, but you didn't think you'd need them for such a short shoot so you left them in the car (they're way heavy to carry too far). Now you have an injured child, and parents that aren't so happy with you anymore. You can definitely count on their insurance (if they have any) or them suing YOU to cover the costs. Can you afford the medical costs? I didn't think so.
Not only do you need liability insurance (as shown in the example above), but loss/theft of equipment must also be taken into consideration.
If you're a wedding photographer, you may need another type of insurance called Errors and Omissions (E&O) insurance, that pays to completely re-shoot a gig: renting the facility and wardrobe, travel for participants, etc. This would cover causes such as lost/stolen photos (your CF card wallet was stolen) and other reasons that would necessitate a do-over.
And I'm not even going to talk about health insurance!
There are several choices for business insurance, from dedicated photographer insurance companies to your big nation-wide insurance companies. Membership in some professional societies includes insurance coverage or the ability to join (for less money) a group policy.
Finances et al.
Another key part of getting ready legally is your finances. A good bank is a necessity; make sure you check out the small business accounts at both the large branches and your local, town banks. Most banks charge monthly maintenance fees for business accounts, but will waive them for certain reasons. Shopping around can save your fledgling business up to several hundred dollars a year, so don't just pick a bank randomly. Make sure you go in and talk to a business account manager and tell her what your business is about. She should be able to help you tailor your account to your needs. I always advise letting people know you're shopping around, as they're more likely to point out key features that their bank can offer; it helps me get a good feel for what the bank's strong and weak points are.
Lastly, you should look into an accountant. For my first two years, I handled the finances personally, including income and sales taxes. Now, as I prepare to file my federal income taxes once again, I'm dreading the required work. Here is one of those points where I should practice what I preach, and get myself an accountant. I highly recommend getting one as soon as you can; ask other small businesses in your local community who they use, and ask your banker as well. Good referrals go a long way in small business accounting, just as they go a long way in photography as well.
Most photographers start their photography-based company shooting everything and anything they like to shoot. While admirable, they risk the chance to fall into the basic trap of starting off in an over-saturated market, which is almost guaranteed to fail unless they can unseat the established professionals already entrenched in the local market.
Instead, I recommend finding your niche: that specialty where no one else (or hardly anyone else) is, where you can excel and carve out your own market.
Picking your niche.
For example, if you enjoy taking portraits of children, look to see who in the local market is offering child portraiture, and what they're offering. If most everyone is offering in-studio photo shoots, offer on-site or outdoors portraiture. If the market seems to have mostly indoor portraits, perhaps environmental portraits could be your niche.
Now, a quick warning about going where other people haven't: there may be a reason you haven't seen. Offering outdoor portraiture in Minnesota means you're going to be doing most of your shooting between May through September due to the cold weather.
Another thing is that these other niches may require special equipment (often read as expensive special equipment) or perhaps special abilities. Safety is also paramount; shooting at a client's home may create personal safety issues that should make you think about bringing an assistant who, if nothing else, is able to watch out for you.
If you like to shoot landscapes, perhaps specializing in a theme (autumn colors, urban/rural juxtaposition, etc.) could be your niche.
Find your niche, but don't pigeon-hole yourself there immediately. For example, I started out shooting field sports (soccer, baseball, football), but have since changed my niche to gymnastics and cheer-leading for several reasons (which I will expound upon in a later article). Do I still shoot soccer? Yes, as it's still lucrative enough for me to pursue, but I concentrate on getting gymnastics and cheer meets more often.
Niche photographer yet generalist.
Should you just shoot within your niche? Heck no! As I stated above, niches can translate from one to another. Perhaps you start shooting outdoor child portraiture, but get an opportunity to shoot head shots for a law firm in your town. Provided you have the ability and equipment necessary to pull it off--and more especially the desire--I'd advise considering the chance to expand. After all, if this firm is asking you, the outdoor child portrait photographer, to provide commercial-usage photography, perhaps there is an opening in your local market for a photographer in this niche.
So, choose a niche, but don't be too attached to it. Things have a tendency to change when you're least expecting it.
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