That is it. That is as far as you got. You bought your camera and told your friends and people at church. You love taking pictures and think you are pretty good. In fact, you may have even gone to college for photography and worked for a local paper. Who knows. All I know is that 95% of the time when I talk to wedding photographers their business started with that statement and nothing more. "I am a wedding photographer."

I am all for positive visualization, but we all know that a week later that we had done a little more planning. A year later we all wish we had gone to business college instead because you are pimping out your golden retriever to the kennel and your raiding your kids paper route money to put gas in the car.

Well.. I have done a few posts on what you can do to improve your business but lets look at what you should do to SET up your business. Because lets face it, almost all of us started working at home. Wedding photography almost always starts out as a grass roots business. It is a true chase of the American Dream of one man and an idea.

So what advice do I have for you starting out and established HOME BASED business photographers? Nothing totally new, but 99% of what I say isn't innovative, just reaffirmations of things you should already know. And when I am not around, you should always take some time every year and recharge your spirit and soul like those crappy NiMH batteries that run your flash.

So lets talk about what you are living through, and should know but might not be seeing the trees for the forest. When you work from home, you have decided to take on the battle. The battle for identities. From 9-5, you used to clock in and be SUPER WORKER! When I am at work I am a department head. When I say something my word is law. People fear and respect me. I am the subject matter expert and no one would ever think of questioning me on my expertise. In fact they rely on it.

But at home, I am husband and dad. My daughter questions EVERYTHING I do. My wife thinks I am a loveable idiot that is too lazy to do the dishes. If I put my foot down, the only one that listens is my dog, Lucky.

At the office, I have everything organized. There is a system everyone has to adhere to and forms & memos are done a certain way to efficiency. At home, bills are thrown on a desk. You can't fire your family if they can't get on board and put the green invoices in the left pile.

At the office, you have an office that no one would ever walk into without knocking. At home, your office is probably just a corner or spare bedroom that everyone feels is still part of the home. They rape and pillage your office for paper, pens and staplers. Your work phone has just as many calls from clients as it does friends of your daughter.

Does this sound familiar? Did you do the google search and find all those "helpful" hints on how to be better at working at home? Did you get the Oprah/Dr. Phil ten second answers on how to deal with your family? Well Montel never solved anyone's problems in thirty minutes and no self-help book will ever help you make that home office metamorphosis.

When you work from home, your entire life changes, including those around you. Your house. Your work life has spillover to your personal life. Your seven year old is answering business calls. Your clients call while you are watching Desperate Housewives. If your clients come to your house they have to see how well you dust.

One book I read said, "In deciding to work at home, you should understand that your personal or home life could intrude on your work." Wow, thanks for the heads up Sherlock!

You want to know how to do it and feel like you are in control. You don't want to feel embarrassed having clients climb over barbie dolls to get to your office. You don't want to explain why a first grader is your secretary. You want to feel professional. And Dr. Josh has his answers. Yup, my little tips on how to make working at home work for you. Or at least what works for me.

1. Get over it!
The glory of the Republican/Post 9/11 economy, there are more and more home businesses that are working on a shoe string budget. You can not be embarrassed by your office being in the basement next to the washer and dryer. Because you need to remember that your business isn't your office. YOU are your business. My studio fits into two large pieces of luggage. I go on location and set up. Occasionally I get a funny look, until they see results on my laptop.

2. Positive Spin
Are you like me and do most of your client meetings at Barnes&Noble and Starbucks? You originally did this because you didn't want your dog to hump a clients leg in the meeting of writing a contract. But you have to believe in your decisions are good ones. Especially to clients. I tell them that it is always best to be in a comfortable neutrals space. It saves them drive time, and they can make an impartial decision instead of being wowed by large poster photos I took ten years ago. I also get to buy them a coffee and have great music.

It works. And what is more, when a fancier photographer brings him to his office and shows him the pictorial bling bling, the clients automatically goes, "Josh warned me about being intimidated by those pretty pics."

In other words, your attitude is important. You have to believe that your decisions are the right ones. Sell your self as well as others.

3. Kick the family out
You need WORK time. I made a contract with my family. There is Daddy time when no one can come into my office. I might not be able to get a straight eight hours or even four. But deals that trump strikes in the board room to make compromises and deals work with family members. Get a way to ensure that no one is in your office.

If you spend that time editing photos or chatting on FM is up to you. But good work habits also apply to the family. Now my daughter is bidding for HER time when no one is allowed to bother her.

4. SPACE
The thing about an office, is that it has to be an office. You can not make it a corner of you bed room. or half of the dinning room. You need privacy to make that mental jump from being home and being at work. It is sanctuary, and important for organization.

5. WORK FOR FOOD
One of the biggest downfalls with self-employment is that people don't separate their paycheck from their business money. You are an employee. Ed Asner just doesn't spend whatever Disney makes, he gets his paycheck and that is it. Well, at the end of every week, how much did you work? Did you end up adding an extra twenty hours for free? Don't do it. Would you work for a boss that didn't pay you for overtime?

Now the problem is that you ARE the boss. So you need to find ways to make that time more productive. You need to stop investing in gucci lenses and in ways to cut down your workload time. Time efficiency is a bosses #1 priority. Because in business you have only two ways to make a profit: You either raise prices or increase productivity.

So log your time. Bust heads if that worker (you) is lazy and not doing his work on time. Strike if that boss (also you) is making you work unreasonable hours.

6. BENIFITS

What is NOT part of your paycheck, but part of your employment are benefits. Nothing is worse in the world to make your business work, but you are worried about your kids braces. Family isn't just a distractions when they are bugging you to take out the trash or turn the MTV up too loud. How can you concentrate on work if you are worried about their health care or other normal work benefits. Make sure that you take care of that out of your business profits. Also make sure that you share a portion of benefits and a portion of your paycheck for your 401K. Those fees need to be paid first.

7. TIME MANAGEMENT
I have already put something down on time management, but it isn't near last for anything. I want you to remember it. It is the number one thing that will cut down your work time, keep you on time, keep clients happy and give you time to remember you have a family.

8. BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
The last thing you need is someone to treat you like your a just a hobbyist because you are home based or part-time. The only advice I can give you is the "actors' mind set." You see them work twenty years as a waitress, and only get one speaking roll every ten years--- but ask them what they are. The answer is never waiter, which is where 95% of their income is from, but actor. Why is that? Because there is a mind set is they ARE WHAT THEY ARE AND NOT WHAT PAYS THE BILLS. In the Navy for two decades, I was always a photographer in the Navy-- not the other way around. But when I would work in the press pool, other photographers would see me the other way around. They couldn't get past the uniform. That was until they saw my work and my attitude.

Don't measure your identity by your income.

Finally, I like to end these things quotes. I think that quotes are great, because somewhere in the world someone has said what we all think so eloquently that it really hits home.

It is your attitude, not your aptitude, that determines your altitude in this life ---- Jesse Jackson