I'm starting a photography and personal DVD business. What are the licenses and stuff that i need?

Question

I don't know what is required to start my buisnesses.

Answer 1

Contact your local chamber of commerce, they will tell you the license/s you need, at least a DBA..you may also want to set yourself up as an LLC (Limited Liability Company) this will afford you a lot of legal protections from potential lawsuits, you can set them up yourself with help from the chamber of commerce, and the public library for research, or a lawyer can do it for a nominal fee.

Answer 2

You will need a local Biz License, you will also need to apply for a Federal Tax Payer ID number, as well as a Sales Tax account number.  Being that you are selling a product and not just services you must collect sales tax and deal with all the hassle that comes with it.  In today's economy you will want to be taking credit cards, so you will need a merchant account, go to BJ's Cosco, or Sams.. they can get you the best deal on setting one up.  You will also want to set up accounts with a Photographic Lab like HS or Desktop Darkroom.. unless you are doing all your stuff at Sams or Walmart.. a Professional Lab will give you access to printing larger prints.  Depending on who you are photographing and where you may also want to take out a general business liability insurance policy, specialized for photographers, it will cover stolen equipment, and cover you if someone trips over an extension cord, or sues you because your employee  touched their child wrong.  You may also want to look into Incorporating your business to save you tons of taxes and protect yourself from lawsuits...

Answer 3

local business license, maybe have to publish in newspaper Fictitious Name statement if not using your real name, state sales tax license

Answer 4

Contact the business licensing department at city hall of the city you live in. That's where you start.

Answer 5

standard bisiness license is probably all you need

Answer 6

It probably depends on what state you live in. I live in Texas, and you just have to go to the county tax assessor and get your DBA (doing business as). It only costs around $15.

I'm just not sure if it works the same in all states.