While there are many more things involved in running a business, you can set foot on much more stable ground if you have these five things in place before you start to collect money for your services. I've been surprised to find that even people who have been in business for up to 2 years don't actually have some of these business basics taken care of yet (I may or may not be talking about myself as well when I started over 10 years ago.) If you want to call yourself a professional, than you need to operate as a professional by answering all of these questions first:
1. Do you have a Federal Employer Identification Number?
http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Apply-for-an-Employer-Identification-Number-(EIN)-Online
2. Do you have a business bank or credit union account with your DBA name?
http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2013/05/07/doing-business-as/
3. Do you have Business Liability & Equipment Insurance?
http://www.sba.gov/content/types-business-insurance
4. Have you contacted your local small business agency or chamber of commerce to understand your local business laws regarding operating, employment, benefits, and promotions in your city and state?
http://www.sba.gov
5. Do you have a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to advise you on your bookkeeping, expense tracking, sales tax, and income tax reporting?
http://accountantsworld.com/
... also, while there are many resources available online for contracts and legal documents, you will also want to make an appointment with a local small business lawyer to look over any documents which you use as agreements with your clients in order to make sure you've covered all of your bases to protect yourself and comply with any local laws regarding your offerings.
1. Do you have a Federal Employer Identification Number?
http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Apply-for-an-Employer-Identification-Number-(EIN)-Online
2. Do you have a business bank or credit union account with your DBA name?
http://www.freshbooks.com/blog/2013/05/07/doing-business-as/
3. Do you have Business Liability & Equipment Insurance?
http://www.sba.gov/content/types-business-insurance
4. Have you contacted your local small business agency or chamber of commerce to understand your local business laws regarding operating, employment, benefits, and promotions in your city and state?
http://www.sba.gov
5. Do you have a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) to advise you on your bookkeeping, expense tracking, sales tax, and income tax reporting?
http://accountantsworld.com/
... also, while there are many resources available online for contracts and legal documents, you will also want to make an appointment with a local small business lawyer to look over any documents which you use as agreements with your clients in order to make sure you've covered all of your bases to protect yourself and comply with any local laws regarding your offerings.
Anne Ruthmann is an editorial & event photographer in New York City. She spent 10 years practicing marketing & management in corporate and non-profit businesses before pursuing her passion for photography in 2004 as an independent small business. She loves helping others find smart solutions to business problems. Stay in touch on Twitter or Facebook.
Just the info I need to start my home based portrait studio business in 2015. Thanks for putting it all in a very useful post.
ReplyDelete