Make the Darn Decisions Already

Dear Jasmine,
I decided to take the plunge and turn my love of photography into a career. Initially my planning focused on the creative and marketing elements, but the more I learned about starting a business as a photographer, the more I realized I didn't know. I'm a bit overwhelmed by things like; developing a pricing structure, obtaining business licenses, resale certificates, the type of insurance needed, developing/obtaining contracts, deciding on a type of business formation (sole proprietor, LLC or corp?), what kind of business systems do I need (invoicing and book keeping software)? deciding on a website provider, selecting a lab to partner with… etc, etc, etc.
I want to make things as efficient and scalable as possible, but I'm afraid I'm becoming paralyzed in this planning process. I'm caught between “just get out there and do it” and “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”. So I would LOVE some advice on what to focus on and what you did in your first years and what you would do differently looking back.
Thanks in advance,
The Planner

Dear Planner,
Oh, I feel you, boo. I really do. I'm an analyzer, a researcher, a plan-for-my-plan-should-it-go-wrong type of person. And while I love it, there are times in life when it does more harm than good. I blogged about What I Wish I Knew When I Started My Photo Business (which addresses decision paralysis), but today I want to focus on action, namely taking it.

I want to keep this as easy as possible: Just make the darn decisions.

So often as entrepreneurs we want to create a structure that will last our business for decades to come. While noble, it's also wildly unrealistic. You must make decisions knowing they'll like change as your business matures…this will take the pressure off of agonizing over, say, what print lab you'll use. Trust me, it'll change over the years.

I've changed my pricing structure three times since I started my business.
I've switched my print lab.
I've switched my website provider three times.
I've changed my bookkeeping software.
I've updated my insurance to reflect my business growth.

Everything changes.

In light of this, just create your price list (here's a sample of how I created my first price list). If it doesn't work, change it to reflect what clients want in your neck of the woods. What works for my business may not work for yours. And that's okay, but just create it already! This applies to almost everything in your business. Really.

I'll, however, close with a practical starting point if you're feeling overwhelmed:
1. Go the County Recorder's Office and file for a Doing Business As (DBA) or Fictitious Business Name – this will be the name of your business
    I filed for my first DBA as “Jasmine Star Photography” but have since changed it to “Jasmine Star”
2. Chat with a CPA about how you should structure your business. Each state has varying considerations, so figure out what's best for you. If you need to change it in the future, you can.
3. Figure out the tax rates for your county and file proper state tax filing.
    I didn't know I had to charge tax on my services, so my first year of business I was stuck paying over $1,000 in additional taxes. I was crushed. But I lived through it and realized it was part of the growing process. I survived this mistake and many others…I have all the faith you will too.

If you'd like to read a more in depth account of how I started my business, you can find the full story in Exposed Magazine and other business related blog posts on the FAQ page of this blog.

Allow Grace for Growth,
j*