cadre

I'm sure I'm not the only member here who runs their own business, so this is a thread for entrepreneurs to discuss business and all the fun things that go with it.

I'm a professional photographer and I run FlipSide Studios which I am currently registering as an LLC. I've been doing pro photography for years and I've accumulated a lot of knowledge about business law, marketing and the important aspects of running a business that you won't learn in photo classes. My hope is that the studio will pull in at least 100k a year by 2012 and I will setting up a big studio in the next couple years.

Any other entrepreneurs out there? What is your business? What form are you registered as? Any goals that you're working towards or that you've already achieved?

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Halx

My goal is to own my own business one day. I'll be watching this thread for advice and stories of people starting up from scratch.

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cadre

Well if you have any questions, post 'em up.

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Cynthetiq

LLC corp here.

Currently in R&D and planning stages to open some sort of food business. Have been doing many years of research in the Food Industry learning about food manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and sales.

We can't launch the key product I invented is on hold until we're worked out some of the line cooking issues for large orders and automated manufacturing. Doing it by hand, it works, but it is much more costly and time consuming than it should be.

The business is also trying a few other low cost, low attention ventures online. The development of those products has been slow due to lack of time.

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ratbastid

S-Corporation.

Web development. Since 2004.

I love being my own boss, but I'm getting to the point that a steady job with a regular paycheck is looking mighty attractive. I could maintain some relatively passive income by keeping just my hosting business running on the side even after getting a day job, though.

ASU2003

I have a few ideas. There is one I would like to implement pretty soon actually.

I have one question actually, and you may think I am getting way ahead of myself... But, this company would be a software company with developers all over the world. There would be no office in the Real World (maybe in something like Second Life (I've never played it though)). So, where would the company have to pay taxes? If I make enough money and live a nomadic lifestyle in random countries for a while as the money in the bank account grows, where would the company have to pay taxes? Do you need to license an on-line virtual company? Would it be best to license it in the Cayman Islands or Nevada or someplace like that? What benefits are there from getting a business license in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana or Pennsylvania compared to the other ones? Could you start it in your home state and then move it offshore? I wonder if any business has tried to get away with the solely on-line business model selling software and paying no taxes because they don't have a country?

Where do you find this information out at? Did you read any good books when you were starting your business?

Baraka_Guru

The closest I've gotten is my recent foray into freelancing as an editor. I'm not registered, but I don't think I'll be concerned with that, as my income isn't enough to worry about collecting taxes or anything. Not yet at least.

I've always wanted to run my own business or work as a partnership with someone talented. I tend to work better on my own, and I don't like following instructions. I think I was made to be an entrepreneur, except risk is a bit foreign to me.

My problem is I have the know-how, the skills, the talent, but no ideas. My creativity got zapped somewhere along the way, and I'm still figuring out how to reclaim it.

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Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

jorgelito

Not working well on your own and not liking following directions is a tough combo. Maybe you could try to get into it slowly by freelancing part-time while you get used to running your own business. Come down to to the US and I will give you a hand.

Also, you may want to explore changing your environment to kick start your creativity. Maybe a few months abroad or something would be good for you.

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curiousbear

So you gonna be a venture capitalist then?
-----Added 26/9/2008 at 12 : 08 : 47-----
Cadre, sorry your profile picture is very distracting. Is that you? Or did you take that picture?
-----Added 26/9/2008 at 12 : 10 : 26-----
+1, me too!
I want to run or invest/run Dairy Farm, Poultry
Also I am interested in Animal Breeding and Farming for Meat, Leather, etc.

But not in near future

cadre

That's a tough question. I'm sure that if you're making money, eventually some government's going to expect you to be paying taxes and then it will be a big issue. Better to go ahead and register, have a mailing address and submit taxes to somewhere so at least you're covered on that front. Consult a lawyer though, they'll be able to tell you how an online company would need to be set up.

Have you thought about a partnership?

I like working with other people on occasion, but being in charge at the same time. Eventually I hope to bring in a photographer to work with me who specializes in fashion or something else that I lack so that we can have a wider market. I get to be the boss but I also get to work with someone. Even working as an independent photographer though, I work with a lot of creative directors and such.

Curiousbear - My avatar is both a picture that I took and a picture of me. I realize it's pretty distracting, but hey I like it. There's a whole thread in tilted exhibition with a bigger version.

Question: Do any of you guys know of a good program that combines database-like abilities to track jobs and customers while also serving as an accounting and invoicing program? Would Microsoft Access be my best bet?

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My life is one of those 'you had to be there' jokes.

dlish

i had my own construction business back home before i came to Dubai. it turned over anywhere between 500K-1M dollars a year. i can honestly say that those few years taught me a lot about people, money, law and everyday interaction with others. it was tough going and very stressful. maybe i was too young to start something up at that age, but at least i had the balls to take a risk and run with it.

the stress killed the desire to run my own business. i was working crazy hours and basically ran myself into the ground. the stress was unbearable. i then was offered a job here in the UAE, and things have been pretty cool after that. i have no regrets closing it down.

i have no regrets starting the construction company up because i learnt so much about so many different aspects of the construction industry, but ive never looked back since moving here. will i ever think about starting my own business again? yes, but not in construction and not in Australia.

i have no plans to go back to oz and work my butt off again.

on the subject of tax laws - they differ from country to country. im not sure about the US. aussies must pay tax if they are residents of australia. if you are not a resident you are not obliged to pay tax on money earnt overseas as a non resident. i currently am not obliged to pay tax since the UAE has no income tax laws. ASU, id be checking with a tax proffessional.

and yes, how can we forget cadres TE thread.. worth its weight in gold i tell you!

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jorgelito

MS Access is good but Excel may be sufficient. Excel is an excellent and versatile program. Give it a shot.

__________________
"The race is not always to the swift, nor battle to the strong, but
to the one that endures to the end."

"Demand more from yourself, more than anyone else could ever ask!"

- My recruiter

inBOIL

Your business has to be based somewhere. Nevada and Delaware are popular choices because they don't have state corporate income tax (you still have to pay federal taxes, though). You will need an official business address in whatever state you're incorporated in, but you can rent one for fairly cheap, under $200/yr. If you don't establish a business address, every jurisdiction that thinks you're doing business there will assume you are, and they will pursue you for taxes, fees, and fines for doing business without a license.

You also need a business license for every state in which you conduct business. You'll need a lawyer to explain what constitutes doing business in a particular state. If you do business in several states, you'll probably end up paying taxes in all of those states, so this is best avoided if possible. If you're doing business in multiple countries, there are treaties that allow you to avoid double taxation, so you only have to pay U.S. tax on your earnings. These depend on the specific countries involved, but your company does have to be certified by the IRS as a U.S. company before you get the exemption from foreign tax. This gets pretty complex, so consulting a lawyer or accountant about your specific situation is well worth the expense.

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cadre

Well, Excel doesn't allow me to easily pull up all the info on a client without opening the spreadsheet they're in right? It doesn't really seem to function as a database very well. Can you reference cells from one sheet on another sheet? Excel is what I'm currently using but maybe I just don't know how to take full advantage of it.

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dlish

cadre

yes you can. but access is probably better at what you are looking at doing.

theres other business/accounting software available for small businesses like yours. in australia i used MYOB (mind your own business)for a little while. it lets you manage your own business. since you are only looking at turning over 100K, i think a simple accounting software similar to this would be ideal.

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- Filthy

cadre

Well, I'm looking at turning over 100k after I'm officially set up and doing it full time. Gotta relocate and finish up my degree first ya know? But I don't want to have to transfer things as the business grows..how far can you get with a program like MYOB?

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ASU2003

With Visual Basic and Excel, you can do quite a bit. (Can you believe a 100% Linux guy said that?)

You can make a search button to look up a bunch of info in a second sheet. On the second sheet, you would just have a list of your client information. A new row for each of them. The downside is that there is a limit of ~65,536 rows in Excel (and OpenOffice).

jewels

You can do it with Access and Excel, but why work so hard to set it up?

My ex and I had a somewhat successful business (we were an "s" corp) and I opted for QuickBooks. Inexpensive and bank statements were automatically integrated into the books, invoicing was instantaneous. Payroll taxes, inventories and balance sheets were a breeze. And this was close to 10 years ago. Surely it's even more advanced by now.

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ratbastid

I use QuickBooks. I don't like it. But I use it.

Poppinjay

I prefer Access. Totally maleable. The only thing I never got it to do was randomly schedule underwriting announcements.

I was self employed for three months. Abject failure was my result. I'm very good at managing communications as long as I go somewhere other than my house to do it.

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Baraka_Guru

Have you looked at Filemaker Pro? You can integrate its use with Excel spreadsheets.

__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

CandleInTheDark

I am planning on owning my own business. I plan on focusing on the forestry sector, and hope to start a new consultancy within a couple of years. On a shorter time frame I believe I would be able to start a small business as a consulting arborist in the spring.

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cadre

I will look into everyone's suggestions, thanks!

I don't think there's anything wrong with QuickBooks, it just seems like a standard and from what I've been told it's not all that flexible. My business model functions differently than many others...maybe I need to look for a program designed for photographers.

See, I like the flexibility of Access too. It's pretty strong as database programs go.

There's a lot of money in consulting, best of luck to you.

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Cynthetiq

we have forresters on the NYC payrolll now.... in charge of planting 1 million tree project here in NYC.

http://www.nycgovparks.org/sub_oppor..._II_-11658.pdf

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I don't care if you are black, white, purple, green, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, hippie, cop, bum, admin, user, English, Irish, French, Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Buddhist, Muslim, indian, cowboy, tall, short, fat, skinny, emo, punk, mod, rocker, straight, gay, lesbian, jock, nerd, geek, Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Independent, driver, pedestrian, or bicyclist, either you're an asshole or you're not.

cadre

Any other female entrepreneurs out there? I saw jewels responded already but is she it? If elected, Obama wants to expand the programs for female and minority business owners to make it easier for them to get funding. Thoughts?

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PonyPotato

I work for a small business (consulting) and would like to start my own eventually (or just work for myself). I haven't done so yet, though.

My position for the company I work for now is teaching me the ins and outs of owning and managing a business (and the huge amount of paperwork that goes with it! Sheesh!), as well as the process of government contracting. I think in a few years when I have more education and a greater skillset under my belt it will be difficult to keep me from striking out on my own, at least part time. The difficulty in affording benefits just for myself makes that idea more daunting, though.

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Dammitall

I have the perfect location for my own business, an awesome multi-use space downtown near where I live... just no actual business yet.

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anti fishstick

I'm with hal. would LOVE to own my own business some day either selling my art, photography, web design, graphic design or a mixture of all these. :P i can't decide.

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dlish

if it was me, i'd make it my business now by renting out prime office location! thats money right there!

cadre - MYOB is similar to quickbooks. ive never used quickbooks, so im not so sure about the ins and outs. MYOB is a stock standard accounting software that is used for small business. could easily handle a turnover of a few million. its been a few years since i last used it, but its a little malleable. it all depends on how far you want to make it into a photography orientated software.

i know with Access you can do a lot, but you iwll need to get someone to come in and design it for you. would cost you less with off the shelf software.

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- Filthy

cadre

Well, I feel like I could manage access on my own but I haven't tried to use it for something like this yet. I'll have to see if I can get a copy for a decent price and try it. If not, I'll try something else, but yeah I won't hire someone to design it.

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