please help me...ive been restoring photos for myself and family for years. stupidly, i didnt realize theres a market for this till recently. i have lots of editing software but not much money to start up...couldnt i just put it in the paper under "services offered" and restore for the locals? could i do that without it being considered an actual business? where do i start? any info would be great.

ty...jamminlady :depressed

welcome to RetouchPRO, jammin.

i'm moving this to a more appropriate forum. you'll get better responses there.

Answers to questions like that are best answered by legal type folks that reside in whatever place you live.

This is really not a good place to ask for legal advice, we do retouching.

If you are in the US, most of the states have web sites that will explain exactly what you have to do in order to get the proper paper work to be a legal business. An accountant will be able to tell you what kind of taxes etc you need to be aware of.

Trying to set up and run a business without the proper permits etc is usually frowned on and will get you into some serious trouble. Where I live the cost to set up a business was under $25.

Guess the whole thing comes down to "be careful", most of the taxing folks do not like to play games.

thank you. $25? dang that is cheap. i have another question now though...my two best programs for resoration are adobe photoshop 7.0 and photoexplostion se...do you think that those two will suffice for actually making money at this (at least for a while)? if not, can you suggest something cheaper than adobe photoshop cs2? any info will be much appreciated. thanx
jamminlady

My two best programs for resoration are adobe photoshop 7.0 and photoexplostion se...do you think that those two will suffice for actually making money at this (at least for a while)? if not, can you suggest something cheaper than adobe photoshop cs2? any info will be much appreciated. thanx
jamminlady


Use Gimp... it's absolutelly free!!!... AND you can use all .8bf filters.

thank you. $25? dang that is cheap. i have another question now though...my two best programs for resoration are adobe photoshop 7.0 and photoexplostion se...do you think that those two will suffice for actually making money at this (at least for a while)? if not, can you suggest something cheaper than adobe photoshop cs2? any info will be much appreciated. thanx
jamminlady


If you have Photoshop 7 you should be OK, I made a lot of $'s using that. I upgraded to get the RAW ability and for a few other things, but then I do more portraits than I do retouching work. So you should be OK with that I would think.

The other software you mentioned I have never heard of, what does it do?

Manta mentioned using GIMP. I tried that some time ago and found it had nothing over the version of Photoshop that I was using at the time. Maybe it has changed by now? But then again its free so the price appears to be close to right :classic:

thanx for the advice everyone...yes, ill try to find gimp and see if maybe it does have an advancement on what i use...ill let you know my findings...
jamminlady

ok...heres the thing....i think gimp is a neat little program, but i hate how the small tools window closes every time you do something so i would rather use my other programs. thanx for the suggestion tho

jammin :o:

Jamminlady,
There are many ways people do business. Some of them legal and some of them are not. Many people have businesses and don't even know it.

I'm getting ahead of myself. Whether to create a legitimate business or not is up to you. Legitimate businesses pay taxes. This is important to remember. They also are able to write off expenses (like the purchase of CS2). You can also depreciate much of the equipment you use and take a certain percentage off on your taxes to offset any income you may earn. Paying taxes takes 2 forms. State sales tax / State Use tax and federal income tax.

Additionally, if you go the legitimate way, determine if your state or county or city has any licensing requirements? Most businesses have to have a license of some type.

Lastly, If you decide to go legit, you will want to look at the different types of company you can set up and whether or not you need insurance. There are a lot of people out there that will try to convey the worst stories possible in order to get you to incorporate. Most small businesses are sole proprieterships.

There is a lot to figure out in this area just so you can make the right decision for you. If you have any specific questions, let me know. I would suggest testing the waters with your business idea and if things go well, then make it official.
Thanks
Howard