 Lori Hohenstein |
Incorporating I take photos mostly as a hobby...as my clients increase...at what point do I need to incorporate my business. What is the best and easiest way to do this? WHEN should I do it? Do I need to earn a certain minimum each year to justify the expense of incorporating?
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Jeffrey R. Whitmoyer |
At this point in time it doesn't sound like you are any where close to needing to incorporate. Somewhere down the line, if you become successful you might consider a LLC or LLP. For a very small business, corporate protections are pretty much mythical. Regardless of having the corporate entity you will be expected to make personal guarantees for any loans or credit cards you take out on behalf of the corporation. Been there, done that. If you decide to incorporate establish an S Corp. Your best bet overall is to establish yourself as a sole proprietership. Jeff
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Monnie Ryan |
If you want expert help with the business end of photography (now or down the line), I strongly suggest connecting with one of the volunteer counselors from SCORE (www.score.org). There's lots of start-up info on the Web site, and you can locate a chapter near you to meet with a counselor in person. The counselors all are successful small business owners (typically retired), and their advice and assistance is free!
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Jeffrey R. Whitmoyer |
Monnie is right about consulting with SCORE, their counselors can provide a tremendous amount of help. Also, take a look at the SBA website. I haven't looked at it in some time, but they used to have some good info available there as well. There should also be a book titled "Starting A Small Business In (name of your state) that will take you through a lot of the steps involved in start up. Jeff
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Clayton T. Williams |
I am not sure if this is just a North Carolina thing but I am in the same boat with getting more and more clients but I am not ready to incorporate. I have a CPA that is guiding me through what I should do. What I have done is filed through my county as a Sole Proprietor. My understanding is this shows that you have a small business so you are able to write certain things off on taxes but you don't have to file the business taxes separately from your personal taxes. Also as a Sole Proprietor you have I believe 5 years to show a "loss" on your business meaning you don't have to show any sort of monetary gain because the government gives you this 5 years to "build" your business. Hope this makes sense. Travis
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Lori Hohenstein |
Thanks everyone!!
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