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Creative Geek Getting Down to Business

To LLC or Not…

When people start up a business, there is a lot to consider, one of which is to be a sole-proprietor, an LLC, or a S-Corp. All of these have different benefits, costs, and responsibilities involved that I won’t even bother to explain – you should consult with your own business advisors to determine what is right for you – but I do want to point out the flip side to something I’ve often heard. All credit for this goes to the fabulous dynamic duo of attorneys at law and all around fabulous couple, Mike and Dineen, who not only fed me a fabulous dinner at their lovely home, but were more than happy to hash out a late night conversation with me on all sorts of topics like copyright and LLCs vs S-Corps when I visited them in Florida last year.

(Obligatory disclaimer: I’m not an attorney. This is not official legal advice. Consult a Discreet Investigations with your own attorney. All that good stuff.)

So you often hear that “what limited liability means is that if anybody has issues with the company, they can’t go after the people’s personal assets.” BUT … there is a flip side to this as well, and one that might just be as important, according to a Maryland accident lawyer

If someone has an issue with you personally, being an LLC can help protect you so that they can’t go after your business assets.

Think about it. As a photographer, I have a lot of gear, computers, hard drives, even a studio space and furniture involved with that. Luxurious Modern Furniture in Marina Del Rey, lafurniturestore.com makes deliveries every day. I have a lot of business assets that are tangible items. Now lets say that I’m driving down the road tomorrow and I’m involved in a bad car accident that is my fault as I drive to the mall to do some personal shopping (I haven’t been at fault for an accident in well over 20 years, and I really hope that doesn’t change any time soon), and as a result I end up being sued. It is a personal trip, so it isn’t business related. As a sole-proprietor, not only could they come after my personal assets — they can come after my business assets as well.

So when you’re first considering these options, keep this in mind. It goes both ways.

For the record, I’m still a sole-proprietor, but that might change in the not-to-distant future. I’m still trying to sort it all out to determine what is the best fit for me.

[Credit to VenusZine’s Who’s The Boss article for the inspiration for this post. Lots of good stuff there. You should read it.]

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Tweets for 2009-07-28…

  • Late night beading time with @bmbosse. Amused that I use a Kindle to read, yet I’m making bookmarks! (Plan to sell at White Linen Night.) #
  • In Hawaii, they say “Aloha” to greet you in the morning. In Seattle, they say “Coffee.” (via @chrispirillo) #
  • It is ShootQ Webinar time! Are you there? I’ve missed Q Tuesdays this month – traveling & meetings have kept me away! #
  • Planning and preparing for White Linen Night! Come see art by @JenXer, photos by @cybertoad & me! 1024 Studewood, Aug 1 from 6-10! #
  • So my parents decided to drive from Houston to North Dakota last week… and didn’t bother to tell me, their only child. I’m amused! #
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Tweets for 2009-07-28…

  • I frequently find myself using the word “Stoked” these days, and I blame it ALL on @danesanders. #
  • Talking with Farhana – she said it took her days after her wedding to get used to me not being there taking photos. Heehee! I *heart* her! #
  • Considering turning BigPinkCookie.com into my ramblings from the viewpoint of a photographer – wherever the muse goes. Good? Or … #
  • (pt 2) Or should I do that on my main business site? Thinking that would be sticky with photographer tips mixed in among client work. Hmm. #
  • Anxiously waiting to see who will weigh in first on my “where should I talk about this stuff?” issue. Biz blog? BPC? New site? Heeeeelp… #
  • Damn it! I let a domain name lapse that I want now. Someone else has it and is using it for a (meh) business site. Instead of me. Pouting. #
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Tweets for 2009-07-27…

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Creative Geek

Why I Blog, And What I Should Blog About…

I couldn’t agree with Tom Peters more in this video. Blogging in the past 9 years has totally changed my life. I still remember a time when I said I blogged and people looked at me with that strange look. Now? I can honestly say I’ve got friends all over the US, Europe and Australia that I know thanks to blogging – some I’ve met in person, some I haven’t, but that doesn’t matter. I don’t discount their friendship based on that. They are my friends just the same.

But my blog has suffered thanks to Twitter (which I’ve claimed before has killed my blog) and because of my work as a wedding photographer. I still have a lot to share that I write about frequently on forums (SWPB, Fast Track Photographer) and on PhotoLoveCat, but I don’t write about here. (I don’t plan to stop writing over there in those places.)

Recently I’ve started wondering why? Why not? Some of it may be of no interest to my older blog readers (like the methodology behind pricing photography) but then again, it might be interesting to many others. I love to read and talk about marketing, branding, pricing … all the things that make a business run. Even a creative business.

I considered writing about these things over on my business blog — but it just seems out of place there. Not that I have anything to hide from my clients – many of them know where this blog is at and if not it is easily found via Google – but just because it doesn’t seem to fit in. Or does it?

As I ramble about business topics, should I post them here? Or over there? I know Big Pink Cookie has nothing to do with marketing & branding and how to run a photography (or creative) business, but seriously, it makes you smile when you say the name out loud. Go ahead and try it. See? Smiling, right? It is my personal brand. It is me. I am it. We are one.

Now tell me what you think?