Getting into the Photography Biz, I have ??'s

I work a typical 9-5 and make a decent living at it. The thought of going into business for myself had never crossed my mind until just recently and I'm not sure where to start.

I have several people asking me to do some side projects but the catch is I need to be paid as a contract worker. I've looked into a DBA and an LLC but I'm not sure which would be best for a small business that just brings in play money. Should I prepare for this turning into more?

What did those of you that operate small business do? Set up a simple DBA or go the LLC route and pay the high annual fees (potentially wiping out the first years profits)? Will I need a California Sellers Permit if I decide to sell some of my work to other parents or via the interweb? Who do you use for printing and merchant services?

I've already purchased the domain name and have been looking for sites and hosting, recommendations here would be helpful as well.

Thanks in advance,
Robert Green

Fortunately, or unfortunately depending how you look at it, you don't have to have a DBA or LLC to shoot and get paid for it to an extent. You can report the income as side income up to a certain amount and pay taxes on it with your regular tax returns. Ask the person who does your taxes about it or at least a tax expert to give you advice if you do them yourself or some service online or in a box.

Personally, I use exposure manager to sell online but also use Richmond Pro Lab a lot for T&I. Each has a lot of products but Richmond has cheaper novelty products (keychains, magnets, etc). You do not need a sellers permit I would think if reporting it as side income and you're not wholesaling products (buying and selling merchandise since you'd probably be using a 3rd party to do that). Of course California may have different state laws but doing it in the past without an LLC it was always reported as side in NY and didn't need to - even the limited products I bought and re-sold were just side expenses and income.

I don't know California laws, but you should look into them. As for whether or not to be a DBA, LLC or a Corporation, well, a DBA means if something goes wrong, you are fully liable, and LLC or Corporation means if something goes wrong, your business is fully liable and not you (although, you may be partially liable regardless, but it does help separate you from the business and therefore may not lose your house and things like that). Right after I set up an LLC for my company (I went through LegalZoom and didn't have to pay too much), I found out that there were better tax advantages if I had set up as a Corporation. Oh well. As for the LLC, I don't have to pay anything extra to the state each year until I become very successful. So that has not been an issue. You will want to look into your Seller's Permit, you may need to get one if you will be selling over a certain $ amount each year.

I use Yahoo's web hosting services. The reason I decided on them is because I wanted a hosting service that would let me use PHP and MySQL (having had a programming background, I like to do all my own web design). I just recently programmed my own online shopping cart and am loving it. Have already had some out-of-town relatives make additional purchases on my sessions.

Thanks guys!

I was hoping I did not have to set up an LLC. I read that it will cost me a min. of $800.00 per year regardless of how much business I do and that's beyond the set-up cost. I do like the idea of limited liability but seriously doubt I will be exposing myself to anything that would warrant it.

At the very least I will have to set up a DBA so that companies can pay me but that's no sweat! I guess I wanted to make sure everything was kosher. I want to make sure I present my self professionally and have the paperwork to back it all up.

My plan is to get my site together, get some business cards printed, set up my DBA and I'm done!

I'll be doing contract work on the side while hopefully selling some of my work via the site to generate enough money to pay for my hobby. If it turns into something bigger... great!!

Robert~

$800/year?? It's that for a set up through a lawyer but not a year...

I have 6 llc's. They only cost a few hundred bucks extra for tax accounting.(total)

Are you are marketer? If you wish to go into the self-employed route, can you sell yourself? Or your product?

Saying that, I'm a person that cannot work for someone else, working for yourself has a ton of advantages, but there are negatives. As long as you're settled (married?!?), go for it! Single.... you may be destined to a life of singledom! (my word).

You don't need pieces of paper to make it

MJPhotos24 wrote in post #8998478
$800/year?? It's that for a set up through a lawyer but not a year...

tomd wrote in post #8998525
I have 6 llc's. They only cost a few hundred bucks extra for tax accounting.(total)

I'm just starting to do the research on LLC's so I dont know much at all. So far I've come across the following statement on several information sources.

Courtesy of www.nolo.com

"In addition, some states impose an annual LLC fee that is not income-related. This may be called a "franchise tax," an "annual registration fee" or a "renewal fee." In most states, the fee is about $100, but California exacts a hefty $800 "minimum franchise tax" per year from LLCs."

duckiller01 wrote in post #8998831
but California exacts a hefty $800 "minimum franchise tax" per year from LLCs."

I guess that is another California "benefit"

tomd wrote in post #8998904
I guess that is another California "benefit"

Thank you Arnold!

J/K Arnold did not put us in the situation we are in...

800 bucks a year fee? In WA it's $59, and there's a small business tax credit so you don't actually start paying our B&O tax (~income tax) until you've actually done some real revenue. Ouch.

GPR1 wrote in post #8999477
800 bucks a year fee?.... . Ouch.

Arnold has to buy gas for his Hummer

Move to FL, it's easier...Sabres owner saved 5 million a year just by moving his offices down there because of the different tax situation. NY and CA suck! CA seems to be winning the race though for sucking

MJPhotos24 wrote in post #8999607
NY and CA suck! CA seems to be winning the race though for sucking

Screw it... California cant win baseball games so we might as well be good at sucking! Especially if it means beating out New York.

I've got another question for you guys while I have your ears.

I have purchased a domain name and am getting ready to use it as soon as I find a site and a host but I'm wondering if I should I be concerned with someone taking my name. Being I'm going DBA... anyone can use the name.

Also, do you use the name of your business or your name on your photos or the website name? I would think you would want people that see an image of yours directed to your site...

Lastly... should I add the copyright blah blah blah under the item mentioned above?

Robert