name for photography

[caoless]

I've been looking into company name but i can't seem to get any ideas.. want something catchy but i'm barely starting out so i think its a better idea if i just stick to name + photography to build my portfolio at least.

If i do Name + photography do i have to file for a business name still since i wont be making much or any at all for now will it matter?

also does last name + studio or studios work the same way as name + photography? looking for some insight on this. thanks!

[YORCHI]

:lol:

dejavu?

I just asked pretty close to the exact same question not too long ago...let me share what I learned

if you're in california, you need to go to your county clerk office and register for a DBA. it's inexpensive and a pretty easy process.

If you're going to be using your full legal name in your business, then you don't need to. for example "john smith photography" would not require a dba because you are still doing business as your legal name. if you're using "john's photography or photography by john" then you would need to file a DBA.

I'll be filing mine as soon as I get back to California...

don't bother trademarking it unless you have the money and the patience to do it...and unless you have a second business owner or something along the lines, don't bother with an LLC because being the sole owner of a business is the same as a DBA.

I did lots of google searching and asked lots of my self employed friends who run their own businesses. I hope that helps.

[BobbyM]

:lol:

.... don't bother with an LLC because being the sole owner of a business is the same as a DBA. ....


careful about what people tell you on that subject, because what you wrote is untrue...

An LLC is limited liability corp; if your company (LLC) gets sued the most they can go after is what you have in the business, your personal assets are separate from the company.

[hypertech]

I was originally going to do a DBA until I found out that in my state you have to publish in the newspaper to do it. The publishing and the fee was almost the same as filing an LLC, so I just went ahead and did that.

A single owner LLC is pretty easy to manage - in a lot of ways, I think the fact that it is an LLC is ignored and it is handled like a sole proprieter. To keep the limited liability though, you do need to be careful with intermingling of personal/business assets, etc.

Picking a name is really hard - best of luck to you.