So lots of people have been asking me lately – “How did you start your business at such a young age?”

My reply to that is simple – you just go and do it! It doesn’t matter about your age.
I started taking on clients a year before setting up my business. There was a lot of people that knew of my work on the internet in the local area and they’d commission me for a photoshoot, not all of them were models either.. some people just wanted some nice images of themselves.
I admit that I wasn’t ‘all in the know’ then. I had a Interfit tungsten light kit and thought it would work for everything. I still favor using natural light over everything – like how I used to shoot at 16 and I’m still pretty much doing everything i used to just with more knowledge of the industry.

To set up a business you need a plan, a name, an accountant (quite helpful) and confidence. You also need to know that you’re going to get work but in the beginning this isn’t a big thing. Most businesses don’t see a return for a few years. This is quite a hard thing to realise at a young age because you need money to invest in equipment.
One thing I can say is I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth, my family brought me up in a modest and caring household but it doesn’t mean to say money was handed out to me everytime I asked for it. My first camera was partly paid as a christmas present and I paid for the other half.. same with my lenses. Any work I got I invested into further equipment. It takes a while to see a return but if you stick at something and push yourself in the right direction, chances are your going to see something from it.

If you’re thinking of starting a business in photography then here’s a few links that may help you on your way..

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/startingup/

http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/static/html/failover.html