[PixiePirate]

Hello all,

I recently quit my job because after a year of working there i only did 1 restoration and a handful of retouches! The rest of my time was spent as secretary, packing/shipping, errand girl, ect. My previous employment situation was no better-in 4 years I only got 2 raises, I was constantly swamped with difficult restorations that I had to do very, very quickly because they charged by the hour and the other girls always underestimated the time! Yes, you guessed it-I was also the only restoration artist.

I really don't want to do the work for someone else anymore. I would really love to be my own boss. I have all the equipment to do restoraton and retouch from home as a freelancer. I need advice on how to get started. I need everything from how to get clients to advertising, websites, ect. !!!!! I am pretty much clueless.....

I live just outside of Philly. I don't know if that is a advantage or disadvantage due to all of the other competition in the market-most of whom are probably way better than myself!

Thank you in advance for all the advice.

-Mindy

[Mike]

Look into taking a class at your local community collage. Out here they are always running classes on how to start your own business. They go into all the business stuff like taxes, permits, how much $ to have in the bank before you start, then on into advertizing, how to hold an opening etc etc etc.

Also check with your local governments to see if they have anything on how to do this. My state has a packet they will send out the explains all the local taxes you are responsiable for. Sometimes you can get such information from Chambers of Commerce and or banks. Check all their websites.

The most important thing to remember is that you have to follow the rules that apply in your community, the ones in mine are most likely quite different so do not apply to you back there. You are going to have quite a time explaining to the tax auditer that the reason you did not pay a Philly tax was because someone located in another state said they did not have to pay that so you thought you didn't have to either.....

So be careful, there are sharks and shoals to sail thru, but it can be done and you can have a long and succesful trip.

Bon Voyage

Mike

[PixiePirate]

Mike,

That is a great idea to take a class, I hadn't thought of that! And thanks a million for the advice about taxes and such. There is definitly a lot more to consider than I had imagined......whew!

Thank you again, now at least I have a better idea where to start!

Regards,

-Mindy

[FrannyMae]

Mindy, you may want to check out SCORE as well...it is a volunteer organization that has counseling, training and workshops for upstart or established small businesses. There are over 300 chapters in the country. They also have what appears to be a very comprehensive website: score.org

Good luck!

[cisco]

Good luck on your startup!

In addition to your restoration/retouching services (and you may already have planned on this), I would recommend you buy a "pro-sumer" grade inkjet (or "giclee" if you reproduce artwork ) printer, like an Epson 4000, and print the finished product yourself. Use acid free inks and acid free paper and you can market the prints as "archival".

Once the time has been put into the restoration, the prints are pure profit.

I'm in the middle of trying to start a new business, but have recently become a single Dad, lots o' stuff going on- just a word, don't take on more work than you can handle, or the business will start off with a bad rep.

Cisco

[PixiePirate]

Thank you FrannyMae and Cisco......great advice from both of you, and lots more to consider!

Good luck on your business as well Cisco.....