Starting a small business is no easy venture, especially for those of us who do not come from a business background. My formal education is in journalism and political science--the only business classes I ever took were basic economics (can I get a refresher, please?).
But I'm here to tell you that it can be done, and I would like to highlight and thank the folks at SCORE, a nonprofit organization that educates and counsels small business owners and those who are trying to figure it all out (that would be yours truly). The tasks and decisions can seem overwhelming from the very beginning, the very reason many of you are hesitating to start your own business and why I never thought I was cut out to realize mine. SCORE is a great resource and most of the information is sitting out there for the taking, so why not stop by and beef up your knowledge? Come on, you know it's tempting! Check it out now!
Today's lesson on my path to photography business bliss is legal structure. C-corps, S-corps and LLPs, oh my! Where do I even begin? Suffice it to say that most photography businesses do not openly advertise their legal structure on the website (how many of us have ever looked for it?), so this form of research proved not quite successful for me. The folks at SCORE put together an online tutorial that explains the basic differences and options. I'm still doing more research, but at least I have an idea of what my priorities and concerns are, and that's the first step in making such a major decision.
