Type of license?

DDCSD wrote in post #5754914
The only ship that won't sail is a partnership....

Why is that?

DDCSD wrote in post #5754918
Whomever you are advertising with? I don't understand your question?

Two people operating under the same business name but keeping separate business licenses. On a paid project, only one person can have the business name, thus having a bank account with that business name. So.. I shoot a wedding...under xyz photography, everyone knows my business as xyz photography...

When it comes time for the customer to write the check, who do they make it out to? xyz photography? or your separate company name? I am just saying that with advertising, it can get really confusing for customers...especially if a customer was mailing in a deposit to xyz photography that you cant cash...

Then there is the issues with tax write offs...How does one split up writes offs if your working together but have separate businesses? I am sure it can be done, but it gets really tricky..

cory1848 wrote in post #5762696
Why is that?

I personally think that partnerships are a terrible idea. I have rarely seen one that worked out in the long term. It usually ends up that one person is doing more work or putting in more personal time/money/gear and both get payed the same, or one thinks that they are doing all the work (even if they aren't) and that they should get paid more than the other person. I've seen people that were best friends and worked together for years start up a business together. They split up after a couple years and still don't talk, and that was five years ago. And they actually ran a very succesful business. The resentment got terrible.

Then there is the liability factor. Let's say your partner gets injured, what happens then? Do you have to buy them out? Or your partner's 16 year old daughter gets in a car accident and kills someone and they get sued for everything they have. LLC's and S-Corps don't protect people nearly as much as they think.

I actually have refused to become a partner in my family's business. It keeps everything much cleaner if there is one owner/boss, and everyone else is an employee. I am just a well payed employee.

cory1848 wrote in post #5762722
Two people operating under the same business name but keeping separate business licenses. On a paid project, only one person can have the business name, thus having a bank account with that business name. So.. I shoot a wedding...under xyz photography, everyone knows my business as xyz photography...

When it comes time for the customer to write the check, who do they make it out to? xyz photography? or your separate company name? I am just saying that with advertising, it can get really confusing for customers...especially if a customer was mailing in a deposit to xyz photography that you cant cash...

Then there is the issues with tax write offs...How does one split up writes offs if your working together but have separate businesses? I am sure it can be done, but it gets really tricky..

You should have a business account (whether or not it is a partnership) and run every bit of income/expense through that account. Your customers would write checks to that account (made out to xyz photography), and any expenses (camera gear/advertising/print​ing/etc...) would come out of that account. Never use that account for any type of personal expense. This makes it very easy to make up profit/loss statements. You would write paychecks to yourselves from this account also. Running everything that is business related through this account makes tax time much easier.

If you are concerned about being able to cash a check written to "xyz photography", the bank will have all of the people authorized to conduct transactions on that account on file. Anyone with an authorized signature on file at the bank will be able to write checks/make deposits/etc... from that account.

In my family business, three people are authorized to sign for transactions on thier own. In a non-profit group I am involved with, we have five board members that are authorized. However, on that account, there must be two signatures on every check as a measure of security.

You can also get debit cards for everyone that operate from the business account, which is nice because then you don't have to remember to carry the business check book with you all the time.

DDCSD wrote in post #5764186
I personally think that partnerships are a terrible idea. I have rarely seen one that worked out in the long term. It usually ends up that one person is doing more work or putting in more personal time/money/gear and both get payed the same, or one thinks that they are doing all the work (even if they aren't) and that they should get paid more than the other person. I've seen people that were best friends and worked together for years start up a business together. They split up after a couple years and still don't talk, and that was five years ago. And they actually ran a very succesful business. The resentment got terrible.

Then there is the liability factor. Let's say your partner gets injured, what happens then? Do you have to buy them out? Or your partner's 16 year old daughter gets in a car accident and kills someone and they get sued for everything they have. LLC's and S-Corps don't protect people nearly as much as they think.

I actually have refused to become a partner in my family's business. It keeps everything much cleaner if there is one owner/boss, and everyone else is an employee. I am just a well payed employee.

I see what your saying, they say never go into business with your friends... It has worked for me in the past though...but it was mainly for record keeping as there wasnt much profit.

I understand, but in this case, two people are operating under the same business name... I was trying to point out having two difference business entities under the same name and the pitfalls of that..