So let's talk about making your business official. Now this is a lot of stuff that a lot of people are interested in and we want to get you as much information and as much advice as we possibly can, everybody's situation is going to be different per your city, your state, your province, your country, your region. Um So we're gonna give you as much advice and resources as we can to help you figure out how to make your business official like business official like official business where you live. And again you are capable of starting to shoot and make money without doing any of this. But I wouldn't recommend it because this is this is something that's going to protect you legally. Um It's gonna help you with your accounting, it's going to make things very straightforward and it's going to make sure that you're doing everything right legally for your sort of region, country state or city. And I just wanted to pop in here really quickly and add that when I started my own business. I know ...

this is so confusing when you're starting out and to do it yourself can be, can be really confusing. So my best advice is to heed our advice and really find an accountant in your local area that knows the laws and knows the steps and has helped other businesses get formed because they can really help you work through this process. I found a friend who had started a business and he referred me to his accountant and it was the best decision to kind of outsource this process and get the help so that I knew um and and could trust that everything was done the right way. So just wanted to pop in here and really say it might be best to after you go through this lesson in this course to actually go out there and find an accountant who can help you. And of course that's going to be beneficial in the long run for someone who can help you with taxes and accounting and stuff like that too. Thanks Phil All right, let's get going. There's a lot of steps so we need to get going. The first step is choosing a business structure. So business structure. Now we make this course available worldwide and a lot of people are joining it. So we want to make it available to everyone, which is why we don't go into specifics about each region. So for my region, the different business structures are sole proprietorship and that means you can use your own name and it's just you a partnership, an LLC or a corporation in a sole proprietorship. You can get going right away. Now that's just you as a single person doing a business. William. Carnahan, Photography. There's not a lot you have to do to get going and you can use your own name and people can just pay you with your name without the photography on the end. Pro of a sole proprietorship is that you get going right away. Um you can use your name to really just carry you further without doing a lot of the paperwork, but the liability is there you as a sole proprietor are fully solely responsible for everything that you do as a business and entity. Which is why you would choose one of the other things for a little bit more legal protection. A partnership is a business with more than one person. Typically this is basically like to sole proprietors kind of coming together. My original wedding photography business that I started when I was 19 was a partnership and it was just two photographers. Typically, most of people that are watching this class are not going to be in a partnership. You're going to be running your own single photography business. But just so you know, now again like sole proprietorship in this case, anyone in the partnership is legally responsible for your actions. You're counting your money, your business, it's just the two of you as individuals. An LLC. Or a limited liability company is a way of creating your business as its own identity. In my region, an LLC has issued an E. I. N. Number. So it basically has its own tax I. D. Versus a personal tax id. So this is really the easiest way to start a sort of company structured business outside of sole proprietorship by starting your own entity. The LLC is now liable for pretty much everything. It's liable for its own accounting, its own responsibility. And it's a way of sort of separating you as a person from the company in case the company gets in trouble, The company will be at risk and responsibility versus you as a person. A corporation is similar to an LLC and that is a separate entity than the person you are as a sole proprietor. Um It also has some tax benefits in certain regions that you're independent on where you are. Um So it might be another step or a different step that you take from an L. C. It's a little bit more complicated to set up um And requires a little bit more work on the back end. But depending on your region, this could be a benefit for you um or you know, just being a sole proprietor or an L. C. Might be a benefit for you. Again, all this depends on where you are in the world. When it comes down to choosing your business structure, the L. L. C. And the corporation that are available to us in my region are what protect you as a business basically. They are responsible versus you if for some reason you were to get sued, the business would get sued and not yourself, so you can sort of separate that. So because of that we recommend actually starting a business structure as a business, whether that's an LLC or a corporation. Again, this is dependent on where you are and what you can start Um And what you're capable of doing in certain States and regions, LLCS and corporations may cost extra money. They may benefit you or not benefit you for taxes depending on where you are. Um So the big thing for us is the protection, the legal protection that you have is better served in a corporation or an actually official business with its own sort of I. D. And an entity. Again, I cannot recommend this enough. You need to talk to a lawyer, an accountant that's in your region and know your laws to decide what you want to get set up as another good tip is to find other photographers, sit down with them and see what they're structured as and see if you can get their advice. This is all very general advice on how what we do works for us, but it's very different for where you are.

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Philip Ebiner

Professional video & course creator, photographer & teacher to 1mil+ students; 10+ years experience with 1000+ videos.

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Will Carnahan

11+ years experience as a cinematographer, camera operator, and photographer. Working with Disney, Nike, ESPN, PredPol and many others.

2,000+ classes ranging from fundamentals to advanced techniques.

Choose Your Business Structure

Choose Your Business Structure

Lesson Info

9. Choose Your Business Structure

Lessons

Welcome

Why Do You Want to Start a Photography Business

What Kind of Photography Business Do You Want to Start

Important Personal Note from Instructor Will

Case Study Starting a Photography Business

Quiz - Chapter 1

Introduction to Basics of Starting a Photography Business

Choose Your Business Name

Choose Your Business Structure

Register Your Business Name

Get Your Federal Tax ID

Get Your Business License

Get Your Business Bank Account

Register Your Online Accounts

Branding Your Business

Set Your Prices

The Photography Gear You Need to Start a Business

Case Study - Business Basics

Case Study - Equipment

Quiz - Chapter 2

Intro to Getting Your First Paying Clients

You Need to Prove Yourself

The Best Place to Find Your First Clients

What to Charge for Your First Clients

On Set - Partnering with Other Creatives

On Set - Getting Work in a Competitive Environment

Use Your First Shoot Wisely

Case Study - Getting Your First Clients

Quiz - Chapter 3

Introduction to Create Your Photography Business Website

Why You Need a Website and Platform Options

What Needs to Be On Your Website

Design the Perfect Portfolio

Case Study - Looking at Photography Websites

Quiz - Chapter 4

Introduction to Expanding Your Online Presence

Use Instagram to Grow Your Business

Use Facebook to Grow Your Business

Get Listed on Google

Get Listed on Yelp

Get Listed on Review Sites

Using Craigslist to Get Work

Case Study - Expanding Your Online Presence

Quiz - Chapter 5

Introduction to the Photography Business Workflow

Step 1 - Meeting Your Client

Step 2 - Booking Your Client

Step 3 - The Shoot

Step 4 - Editing Your Photos

Step 5 - Delivering Your Photos

Case Study - Business Workflow

On Set - the Shoot

On Set - Backdrop Placement

On Set - Paper Backdrop Rolls

On Set - The Back Light

On Set - Interacting with Clients

Quiz - Chapter 6

Intro to Business Infrastructure and Continued Growth

Productivity Tools to Make Your More Efficient

Get Business Insurance

Accounting Tools & Tips

Business Tax Tips

Scaling Your Prices Up

Use Conventions and Meet Ups to Grow Your Business

Case Study - Business Growth

Quiz - Chapter 7

Intro to the Selling Prints Section

Why Should You Sell Your Prints

Choose a Printer

How to Price Your Prints

Selling Your Prints Online

Selling Your Prints in Person

Wrapping up This Section

Quiz - Chapter 8