Hi friends! I’m back today with Part 2 of “How Did You Do It?”

Today we’re talking about the technicalities of starting your own business. So, if you’re not interesting in becoming a business owner, this is going to be a pretty boring post for you! *Disclaimer: I am not an expert. I’m giving you tips & advice based on my personal experience. If you have further questions, I suggest contact your state department or area courthouse!

HOW DID YOU DO IT (PART 2)?

– – – Name your business. I could write an entire blog post on why I chose Dear Sweetheart Events (and maybe I will one day!). But, naming your business is IMPORTANT… choose wisely! This post by Katelyn is so good; it’s not the route I took with DSE, but I love her words of wisdom.

(These next 3 steps don’t have to be in this order, but they are all necessary!)

– – – Logo & Blog: I decided to work with a designer for my blog & logo. I felt that that instead of going through a huge branding process, I wanted a simple logo & WordPress blog.  Johnna was great at giving me what I asked for: a pink logo & a blog filled with pink & gold. Honestly, I decided to start with a blog because it was the cheaper way to go; I didn’t want to invest a lot of capital into my business, if it WASN’T going to work! I needed to know I could make it happen, before spending a lot of money. I also felt that blogging regularly would really help promote my business. (And it has!! I HIGHLY suggest a blog before a website for that very reason – your blog is your voice, it’s how clients & vendors get to know you & WANT to work with you!)
– – – Domain Name: I bought my domain name from Go Daddy for $10.
– – – Hosting Site: I use a WordPress blog hosted through Go Daddy. A one year hosting site was $45. (Truth: I’ve not idea the techy stuff behind this… Johnna told me I needed a Hosting Site, so I bought one:)

(These next 3 MUST be completed in this order… it’s a domino effect!)

– – – Establish an LLC or Sole Proprietorship: It took about 6 weeks to get my blog up & running. During that time, I started doing research on all the legal stuff and figured out my own package pricing, etc. First things first, you need to establish an LLC or Sole Proprietorship. I strongly suggest LLC since it separates your personal & business assets (I was a business major in college, so I do understand this side of things! I wanted to make sure my business assetss & personal assets were seperate in case I am ever sued. This way, if a client sues me, they can’t go after things Matt & I own; or if we are sued personally, they can’t go after DSE). I’ve also been told that an LLC gets more tax breaks, too so we’ll see if that happens this year! You can go to the VA State Corporate Commission and register your LCC. It’s a one-time $100 fee.
– – – Tax ID Number: After you have an LLC (or Sole Proprietorship) go to the IRS website and get a Tax ID number. (I’ve heard that if you’re making under 10K this isn’t necessary; but it’s free to get one, and I wanted to be “better safe than sorry”!)
– – – Business License in Your Area: Contact your local courthouse and see what the business license regulations are. For me, since I’m an “in home” business, I’m not required to have a business license. But, I did have to “register my LLC name” with the courthouse: filled out a short application & paid a $5 fee.

I waiting to complete all of these steps before starting my Business Facebook Page & really promoting my business. I know other creatives who start a Facebook page while working on their blog/website… and that’s great! For me, I wanted them to “launch” at the same time, since I planned on using my blog as my main source of marketing.

Since I’ve seen a lot of growth in DSE the last few months, I’m taking a step back and investing a lot more into my brand & web presence. I announced yesterday that I’m working with this woman & this woman on a new logo, website, client experience & amazing collateral material (among other things!). For me, I needed to start the way I did to really get my voice out there. I wanted to see if I could do it, and I needed to be immersed in the industry before knowing more of what I want out of my brand, the clients I want to attract & even the way I want my website to look/run. I feel like I have a much better idea of what I want vs. what’s popular right now. And I’m excited to make both cosmetic & heart-changes to DSE.

I hope this post was helpful! And, if you missed it, you can view Part 1 here!

xo! kat

(( Photo Credit: Annamarie Akins Photography ))