Starting My own Photography Business

dj_myk

dj_myk

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Mike Guthrie
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hi there

i am looking to start my own business doing photography. Looking to do it part time, and when I can squeeze clients in during my other job.

just looking for some advise or websites on how to go about starting up and registering my name. Looking to do it all above board to make it safe.

this comes on the back of my second wedding shoot that I done at the weekend. i already have orders for my photographs.

:)

much help would be great

Mike
 
sweeet
thank you

i am a bit clueless when it comes to all of this. I just do the practical stuff and the techie stuff

Mike
 
Get in touch with your local Business Link, you really need to get clued up on the business side of things if you want to make a success of it.
 
Definately second the advice to brush up on your business skills.

I can recommend "Heart Internet" for hosting and web domain registration. One piece of advice I would give is when it comes to building a website make sure you get a .co.uk and host it in the UK - it makes it easier to get a good position in the UK version of google (over 70% of net users in the UK use www.google.co.uk - based on stats published in PC Pro magazine, 20 % use www.google.com and rest >10% use other search engines). Also on the internet front I'd strongly suggest you research Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and use some form of analytic solution e.g. Google Analytics

I would also suggest that you get some good quality business cards; photography is a luxury product so your image needs to be portray luxury too (cheap flimsy cards or worse ones with a "business cards are free at www.xxx.com" on the back just won't give the right impression.
 
Don't forget that whatever money you make from your second income will be taxed at 30%.
Oh the joy of our government.

If you want to be taken seriously in this very competitive market you need to sort your site. Paying someone to do it professionally will bring in more trade than the outlay.

There's other things you need to think about too.
Budgets for advertising, insurance (equipment and public liability), an accountant, new equipment, etc etc.
 
SimonTALM said:
I would give is when it comes to building a website make sure you get a .co.uk and host it in the UK - it makes it easier to get a good position in the UK version of google
Click to expand...

We have one websites (to do with Airedale Terriers) on a .com only and hosted in The US, yet it is (normally) the first result for these keywords in a search of the web in google.co.uk :shrug:
 
All of the above and a LOT more.

Success is probably about 80% business/marketing skills (includes not making expensive business mistakes) and 20% photography skills.

In other words, being a good photographer is nowhere near enough, and being mediocre doesn't necessarily stop people from being successful.

This introductory course in making a start in professional photography may help, although there doesn't seem to be one very local to you
 
Garry that link doesnt seem to work. Some really good advice here.

Matt
 
You need to register with the Tax office as a sole trader.

This is a status that allows you to earn income up to a certain limit (It's 67K turnover) without having to be regisited for VAT. For tax and NI you will be OK to earn money alongside your existing income but you will need to pay tax and NI on any earnings.

For full info on how to register.

http://www.bytestart.co.uk/content/19/19_1/what-is-a-sole-trader.shtml

One point of note is that as a sole trader you would also be liable for any debt your company incurred. So if you go off buying £20K worth of gear on the company books, ultimately it's your debt. If you get sued, it's your liablility so make sure you have the necessary insurances, don't skimp on that one. A limited company allows you more leeway in terms of debt and bankruptcy but then you have to do the VAT stuff.

A good accountant is worth every penny as there will be a tax return to do each year so you will have to keep records of all your income and expenditure.

That's what we mean about the business side, then there is sales and marketing to take into account. :)
 
A note AliB - a limited company does not necessarily have to be VAT registered.......the same VAT rules apply as per a sole trader.

The difference (with regard to paperwork) is the need to keep accurate accounts which are filed to Companies house annually, usually incurring the cost of an accountant which a sole trader won't need to do.
 
wingnut said:
Don't forget that whatever money you make from your second income will be taxed at 30%.
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30%

Do you have any proof of this figure?
 
Thanks APkent.

From what I can see you would be taxed at whatever rate your income dictates.

If you are in the 40% you would be taxed at 40%.

If you are paying 20% on your earnings from your 9-5 job and you earn extra income from photography it's classed as self employed income but surely it's added to your existing income and could push up your tax bracket?

I'm no expert on tax (hence I have an accountant :)) but I'd summise your second income would be added to your primary for tax purposes.

Anyone able to clarify that one?
 
Go and have a chat with an accountant it could be classed as a paying hobby.
Unitl you start earning regular decent money an accountant can give youall the info you need.
 
Sorry jolsterj but there is no such thing as a paying hobby as far as the tax man is concerned. Income is income and if you are providing services (ie. photography) and charging money then it's income. You have three months to declare it or face a fine.
 
AliB said:
Thanks APkent.

From what I can see you would be taxed at whatever rate your income dictates.

If you are in the 40% you would be taxed at 40%.

If you are paying 20% on your earnings from your 9-5 job and you earn extra income from photography it's classed as self employed income but surely it's added to your existing income and could push up your tax bracket?

I'm no expert on tax (hence I have an accountant :)) but I'd summise your second income would be added to your primary for tax purposes.

Anyone able to clarify that one?
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AliB, you are of course correct!

All your earned income is pooled and taxed at an increasing percentage in relation to the final figure earned.
 
jolsterj said:
Go and have a chat with an accountant it could be classed as a paying hobby.
Unitl you start earning regular decent money an accountant can give youall the info you need.
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Paying hobby! :lol::lol::lol:

Note to self, must tell accountant I'm still in the 'paying hobby' stage!
 
Im going to go against the advice, and say FORGET the government until you know you want to make a SERIOUS go at it. You do not have to register immediatly as self employed, just keep a track of costs, and make sure before your first year of trading is up, you have put plenty aside for tax, and have a good accountant.

There is absolutely no need to get lost in the maze of so called "advice". You know what you want to do, you know how to do it, get on with out and as long as your careful, with the help of a half decent accountant, you can FORGET about the business side of it.

By the way, have never run a photography business, but have started 4 other business, 3 of them successful and 1 very successful, and they all started like this. I hated the paperwork side of it, so got a cheap accountant to do it (£200 a year I paid to them!).

Gary.
 
I still say get a good accountant and he or she will sort you out.

thank you edinburgh gary that is spot on.

dont make it complicated keep a record of what you get paid and what you spend out and give it to an accountant. easy
 
jolsterj said:
I still say get a good accountant and he or she will sort you out.

thank you edinburgh gary that is spot on.

dont make it complicated keep a record of what you get paid and what you spend out and give it to an accountant. easy
Click to expand...


Agree, let them deal with the headaches and you enjoy what you do best.
It will all fall into place.

Gary.
 
Basically, if you are working a 9-5 job you will pay your tax through PAYE etc. If you also setup your own business then either as a sole trader or as a ltd company you will submit a self assessment (being the owner or director). If you use the online version it will automatically work out your tax liability for you as you complete the form. Obviously there are certain items which can be offset in full or partial amounts.

You can have a second income added to your PAYE but only up to an extra £2,500 per year. Any over that is self assessment time.

Usually, if you put your second income through a seperate PAYE system then chances are it will be taxed in full at either the standard or higher rate - depending on how much you earn because your allowances will have already been used.

But as Andrew says, it's not quite that simple! :)
 
EdinburghGary said:
Agree, let them deal with the headaches and you enjoy what you do best.
It will all fall into place.

Gary.
Click to expand...

:thumbs:

Best way to start if you aren't anticipating a huge turnover:


Decide with yourself when you want your business to start (I'd advise 6th Apil)
Buy a box file
Buy an A4 NotePad and keep basic notes of income in this
Stick all receipts related to business in box file
Stick a copy of all utility bills in box file (inc. mortgage/rent + rates)

Come tax time give the box to an accountant. You'll probably have to pay around £300+ depending on how much work there is.
 
gman said:
:thumbs:

Best way to start if you aren't anticipating a huge turnover:


Decide with yourself when you want your business to start (I'd advice 6th Apil)
Buy a box file
Buy an A4 NotePad and keep basic notes of income in this
Stick all receipts related to business in box file
Stick a copy of all utility bills in box file (inc. mortgage/rent + rates)

Come tax time give the box to an accountant. You'll probably have to pay around £300+ depending on how much work there is.
Click to expand...



Haha, thats EXACTLY how I did it for 4 years :)

He used to find receipts for snickers, DVD's, erm....girly clothes from la Senza was the most ackward!

He was actually a ***** and would bust my balls over it, but still, job done in the end.

G.
 
Don't forget though you have to register as a sole trader or limited company within three months of starting trading or you could face a fine.

My approach is to at least learn the basic rules before I start breaking them :)
 
AliB said:
Don't forget though you have to register as a sole trader or limited company within three months of starting trading or you could face a fine.

My approach is to at least learn the basic rules before I start breaking them :)
Click to expand...

^^ Listen to Ali, sensible. Registering is the easy bit though.

G.
 
I've had to do my homework on this because I've found myself in the enviable position of people actually wanting to pay me for pics. (SHOCK HORROR!):thinking:

I'm fortunate that I already have an accountant and I already have to keep on top of tax returns every year so a little bit of extra work is not going to kill him!:D
 
dj_myk said:
hi there

i am looking to start my own business doing photography. Looking to do it part time, and when I can squeeze clients in during my other job.

just looking for some advise or websites on how to go about starting up and registering my name. Looking to do it all above board to make it safe.

this comes on the back of my second wedding shoot that I done at the weekend. i already have orders for my photographs.

:)

much help would be great

Mike
Click to expand...



Hi i feel like going down this route to.

Garry Edwards said:
All of the above and a LOT more.

Success is probably about 80% business/marketing skills (includes not making expensive business mistakes) and 20% photography skills.

In other words, being a good photographer is nowhere near enough, and being mediocre doesn't necessarily stop people from being successful.

This introductory course in making a start in professional photography may help, although there doesn't seem to be one very local to you
Click to expand...


Hi Totally agree what you need is a nice shop front on a precinct, live in a place where people have more money than sense, with tree lined avenues covered in Bentley's, porches, aston martins, and Kids, sound like where i live :clap: feel a job coming on. Venture anyone ;)

Regards Mark
 
I registered as a sole trader just this week and reading through all the lit on it, you can't actually register until self employed until you have started the 'business' anyway, and then have 3 months to do so (otherwise fines apply starting at £100). So basically, wait until you have your first paid job out of the way and then register.

If you are not going to be earning more that £4600 or there abouts you can apply for NI excemption too, otherwise it's around £2.50 a month.

Depending on how big you want the company to grow, and how many expenses you think you will have, you may as well stay as a sole trader for a while. Once (if) it becomes a larger business, where you wish to take out loans, set up a seperate bank account, not take on any debt to you personally, then set it up as a limited company. As many have said, it adds to the paperwork! For both this option and sole trader you don't need to VAT register until earning £67k or more. It does mean you pay VAT on everything you buy though and cannot reclaim.

My accountant said keep all receipts from past equipment you have bought and value your car too... you can offset this against your first year. Or at least a percentage of your car! And also you can offset depreciation charges for any future years. Plus little things like business card, print paper, petrol (business not personal) batteries!!! You can offset this against your profits too! Just KEEP RECEIPTS. This has pretty much lead me to believe that in my first year I will pretty much make no profit whatso ever! lol.

In terms of marketing... Google ads are a good start. Pay per click, where you can set the amount you pay per month. Obviously the lower the amount, the less times your ad will appear on the right hand side of google. If you haven't already set up a website, do so. If you are no good at design yourself, there are plenty of hosts out there. I use Microsoft office live at the moment until I have my own design up and running. I think it cost me about £30 to set it up initinally, but can't remember... and buy a good domain name.

Get some business cards... Vista are okay for a start up card... and you don't have to go for the free ones... otherwise you get their ad on the back.... design one youself and pay that little bit extra for it. They are still dirt cheap! Or see if your local print company can do you a good deal.

I know this has probably all been said in the previous posts, I just hope I have summarised it into one for you!
 
A point to bear in mind which is often disregarded with incorporating a company is that as a Director you are not immune from any debts that the company may incur. There are fairly strict regulations in place that a Director must comply with and you do have responsibilities to act accordingly with the general view being honesty and fairness. This is the B&W side of it and in practice it's not really as strict unless it's at plc level or you upset HMR&C - mainly because they are quite aggressive with debt collection now and pretty much have unlimited funds to chase it through the legal process and their lawyers are pretty bad at negotiating with.

Back on track to the debts, if you have not acted responsibiliy as a Director then you can be liable for company debts and you will always be liable for your personal tax regardless unless you have a very very good reason. HMR&C are a nightmare at the moment.

Setting up a limited company will not suddenly open up doors to take on loads of unsecure debt, many places won't touch a new company unless you have assets that a floating charge can be assigned to and this will crystalise should they call in the debt or the company liquidates upon which the assets belongs to them to be sold etc. The most common form of securing borrowing for a new company is for the Director to put a personal guarantee against it, upon which you are then personally liable and subsequently it's no different from being a sole trader!

Hope this helps throw even more light on it! :)
 
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