Choosing a business name - LEGAL ISSUES?

Hello. I'm looking into starting my own photography business (looks like there are quite a few of you out there!) I'm pretty set on the name I'm going to use, but it's not my own name. I want to make sure it's legal to use this name I have in mind, so where should I start?

What country are you in. Trust me it makes a diference.

N

I'm in the United States.

Depends on how serious and "legal" you intend to be. You didn't say where your from - just guessing the U.S.
Each state has different laws on registering a business name - you are generally charged for a basic research to avoid conflicts.
There are corporation fees, are you going to be a company, corporation, limited corporation, proprietorship, partnership, etc.
After all that, you have local Taxes, State taxes, Fed taxes,

Lets not forget liability and equipment insurance-

Oh yes - don't plan on making a living at it for quite some time!!

Lay out some details and you will get better answers.

I will be working alone - at least to start. My husband might help me with some small things, but for the most part, it will just be me. So what kind of company do you think I should be (corporation, proprietorship, etc.)?

I'm not sure if the US is the same, but, here in Australia there are really two issues. Please note that I am not a lawyer, so you should not take this as legal advice.

Business name is a name that you register with the State Government and enables you to trade under the particular name. But also relevant and considerably more complicated, is the issue of trademarks. You might want to do some trademark searches on your proposed business name.

For example, under trademark law (at least here in Australia anyway) both logos and names can be registered as tademarks. You register the trademark in various classes (for the goods/services that you wish to market). This will mean that if another businesses from uses your name/logo and in some cases a similar name/logo for operating a business in classes for which you have registered then you will have legal remedies available to you.

Anyway, there is more information about trademark law in the US at the US Patent and Trademarks Office website.

I hope this is of assistance.

Type of business depends on how far you intend to take things.
It really has most to do with liability and tax base issues.

If it is just a name issue right now. You can't beat using your own name. A simple fileing of (in michigan) of what is known as a DBA (Doing Business As) form. $10.00 for 5 years.

Generally you are quite safe using your own name in the title. Ex: "MRSCOLL Fine Photography"
Keep it simple, this way if you change direction, say from portraits to sports or some other venue down the way, you do not have to go back and rename your business and possibly lose whatever good will you have built previously.
People have a basic trust in someone who uses their name to proclaim their business intent.

The first place to start is at you local city hall ( or county) to get a business license. They can direct you to the other necessary agencies. Usually you will need to file your business name, file for a state sales tax number, and possibly get a zoning variance if you will be working out of your house There is a great book on starting a small business called "Small Time Operator" by Bernard Kamaroff.

In PA an attorney charged me a few hundred dollars to establish an alias (and some other documents) to setup a business. As mentioned above it is a “doing business as” type of documentation.

You also should get a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) from the federal and state government, You can do this yourself, and you don’t want to be handing out your Social Security Number to everyone who thinks they have,or have a right to it, it also helps when setting up bank accounts and adds some creditability.

For the record, I have found that incorporating may not afford you the protection that you may think, the first thing an attorney, who is coming after you, will do is try to establish that the corporation is a shell setup to protect the owners and try to come at you on a personal level.

I am not an attorney and these are just random thought based on life’s experiences.