so you're taking great pictures... | post three

so you're taking and printing great photographs and you're wondering if it's time to start a photography business...time to start making some money with those great photographs you're consistently producing.  if you're still wondering if your photography is at the level it should be, you can check out the previous posts in this series here and here. so let's talk... BUSINESS what will be the name of your business? do you have a business license? have you filed your DBA (business name)? do you have your resellers license? have you written out your business plan? have you determined cost of goods? do you have a separate business checking and or savings account? do you have a separate business credit card? have you thought about sole-proprietorship versus LLC? are you going to accept credit cards (if so, through what merchant service)? begin thinking about your branding (you want to be consistent throughout your business). are you a member of any professional organizations? how will you do your book keeping? do you have a plan for proper image and document backup?

and this is only the beginning--only the beginning thoughts in having a successful photography business. we haven't even begun to talk about such things as pricing, sales, organization, forms, marketing, website | portfolio, etc. i'm saving those topics for future blog posts.

something that i will continue to stress throughout this series is how much work having a professional photography business really is...when you do it right. it is a BUSINESS, just like any other small business out there. and working from home doesn't really make managing that small business any easier; sometimes it's even more difficult.

one thing you shouldn't do is one day decide that you're tired of shooting for free, develop some form of pricing and start charging clients. for one thing, my first guess would be that that is illegal--to pose yourself as a business and accept payment from clients, without really being a formal business.  i truly am amazed at the number of new photographers that do this.  if you're tired of shooting for free AND you're truly ready to go into business (i.e. you work is at business-ready caliber / quality) then do it right--formally and completely start a small (professional photography) business.  

sharing a shot from last week of michael flor and his family and where the magic of his business happens.