Topic: Business Formation
Time Investment: 8 Minutes
Suggested Product: BizRevamp®
We get a lot of questions into our Facebook community, TheLawTog® – the go-to legal resource for photographers, and email contact form about LLCs. We've pulled together all the information we’ve got to help you get started with your knowledge about LLC formation.
Here are the top 7 answers to the most common LLC Questions here at TheLawTog
Should my photography business be an LLC?
You’ve got mad skills with your camera and you’re ready to start your own photography business.
How hard can it be? Just start charging a fee for pictures right? Not so fast.
The formation of a business has liability and tax consequences that continue for years to come. It pays to be thoughtful about your business structure from the outset to prevent unnecessary cost and headaches. While the specifics will vary from state to state, there are some generalities that you can consider. Read more here.
5 reasons your photo biz needs to be an LLC
Running a photography business can be overwhelming, scary, and down-right frustrating sometimes.
The goal here, at TheLawTog, is to help you protect yourself so you don’t have to be sucked into frightening and resource-sucking issues.
One of the biggest ways you can protect your photography business, and yourself personally, is through the formation of your business. Becoming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) is a perfect business structure for small to medium sized photography businesses to choose in order to gain liability protection and demonstrate professionalism to clients. Read more here.
5 reasons not to be a sole proprietorship
Many times people start out in the creative field part time or with great uncertainty as to whether they are going to “make it” in business. For these reasons, many of you may be sitting on a dangerous risk pile of sole proprietorship (SP) formation.
Yes, because I will undoubtedly get emails saying there is a time and place for SP businesses. You are correct, however, I don’t feel comfortable recommending such a risky formation even with iron-clad contracts and insurance contracts. I present this article with the understanding that not each of you has the money or know-how to be a Limited Liability Company (LLC) or a Corporation, but I want to encourage the understanding into the risks of being a SP so that you can make a game plan to grow out of that formation. Read more here.
Why photographers should care about business entity formation
When launching a new photography business (or wanting more protection in your existing one), it is important (and cost-effective) to spend time establishing a solid infrastructure for your business. This means understanding applicable laws, identifying risks, and setting policies and procedures. A qualified business attorney can advise you on best practices for your business. There are several types of business entities which are commonly used for photography business formation.
The choice of entity depends on your objectives and the tax and legal aspects of the entity – set aside some time (and funds) to review your goals with your legal and tax teams before launching and you will set your business up for success! Read more here.
How to start a photography business – the right way!
Starting a photography business is exciting, but setting up business is so super important!
We need to make sure you’re on the right path!
This high-level checklist is great for EVERYONE -
- The hobbyist considering going legal
- The newbie wanting a guide
- The advanced photographer running their yearly audit
These are the steps you need to make sure you have on lock-down to have a professional and protected photography business. Read more here.
Do I have to use “LLC” in my photography marketing?
Everything in life is black or white, wrong or right, delicious or disgusting, no?
Well, maybe if you are my five-year old son.
As adults however, we are reminded almost daily that the solution to so many of the issues we encounter falls somewhere in that oft referred to gray area. This so called gray area is defined by ambiguity, uncertainty, and confusion. In other words, the answers that fall into this category are what my relations like to refer to as “clear as mud.” It really does sound dreadful, but take heart, we can dig our way out, and in order to do so we get to use our hard earned judgment! By combining our judgment with due diligence and a mindset of being better safe than sorry we can ensure our business is protected while also creating graphically pleasing marketing materials! Yay! Read more here.
How to open a business bank account for your photography LLC
Now that you’ve taken the plunge and created your photography LLC, you’ll need a place to keep all those dollar bills that will be rolling in! It’s important that you open a bank account for your LLC separate from your personal accounts and use the new bank account solely for the business. Setting up a separate business bank account helps prevent the appearance of commingling of funds and adds a layer of liability protection for you as a member of the LLC – that’s the biggest advantage of forming an LLC!
The importance of keeping your business funds separate from your personal finances can’t be overstated, and setting up a business bank account early in the life of your company can help make accounting and managing cash flow much easier – not to mention fewer headaches at tax time. Read more here.
Do you want an in-depth business structure course?
BizRevamp® is the ONLY legal & business web course for photographers!
Whether you’re new or have been in business for a while – we can all use a little revamp! This course goes over the legal, biz, pricing, and planning that your photography business needs.
You will learn the following:
- Business Formation
- Taxes
- Insurance & Retirement
- Legal Direction
- Business Planning
- Pricing & Sales
- Copyright
- Marketing