Start Your Video Business Over the Weekend

There may come a time when you decide to flip the switch from shooting videos as a hobby to getting paid as a business owner. I cannot express thoroughly enough all of the benefits you’ll experience when getting paid to do something you love, but I am convinced you’ll find the leap rewarding at the very least. You’ll get to build something you can’t be fired from, choose projects that bring you energy, and get paid to do what you’re likely doing already. For some, this might be a few extra hundred dollars a month. For others, this might mean replacing the income of your fulltime job. Whatever your video goals are, they become much more realistic once you start building a brand of your own.

Before we can start taking on clients, though, there is a foundation you’ll want to set in place, upon which all else will be built. These are not the most exciting things, but necessary if you want to build something that lasts and gives you total control over the creative direction. The great thing is, you only need to do each of these things once! So where do you begin? Well, you’ve got to come up with a name, and the best way to do that is to…

#1 - Start a website 

The very first thing you need to do when starting a business of any kind, is to secure your place on the world wide web. Now, you may have a long list of potential business names that describe you or your production style, but you’ll want to do some research to figure out what’s available. For example, Guided Productions was not my first choice of company names. In fact, I spent hours sifting through names that I felt best described my business, but none of them had the availability I was looking for. So what is it that you should be looking for?

In order to build a strong brand, you’ll want to choose a name with the following characteristics:

• It’s short (1-3 words)
• Describes what you do
• It’s not geographically limiting
• Has an available URL
• Hasn’t been used on social media - specifically YouTube and Meta

I originally started my business under the name Gulf Coast Media, but the URL was already taken so I had to settle for www.gulfcoastmediaswfl.com which isn’t nearly as clean. It also limited me to business near the gulf coast, which wouldn’t appeal to someone in, say San Francisco, despite my company being internet-based, serving people all over the world. I also felt like the word ‘media’ could be misconstrued to be a news outlet, and so I pivoted to Guided Productions, a name that meets all of the criteria above.

The last thing I’ll say here is that there are so many affordable (and free) website hosting providers that’ll get you up and running in no time. There’s no need to spend thousands working with developers to create some ultra-custom website with no evidence to prove that your clients need or even want. Start small, secure your domain name, and scale later.

Okay, so now that we have our name, what’s next?

#2 - Start a Youtube channel

Steps 1 and 2 really should be completed simultaneously. What we’re trying to accomplish here is consistent branding across all platforms. What good is a website URL, if the name isn’t available on social media. It will look unprofessional and frankly, make it more difficult for people to find you. While you’re Googling company names, open another tab and start searching your names within YouTube. Once you find a name that’s not been used, and the domain is available, activate your account before it’s too late!

Here’s the beauty of YouTube: it’s 100% FREE – at least at the time I write in March of 2026. You also don’t need to worry about posting any content yet. All you need to do is activate a free account under your new company name, and you can sit on it until you’re ready for the next phase. In the meantime, if you are still filming hobby videos or starting client work, you now have access to a library of royalty free music and sound effects built exclusively for video creators. Just click on your profile image and follow this path: YouTube Studio > Audio Library. Even if you never post a video, it’s worth setting up a free account just for the audio library.

Eventually you’ll want to add your logo and customize the banner image to match your branding. You’ll also want to create a description of your channel and include any helpful links (such as a link to your newly created website). You may now begin using YouTube to post your portfolio of client work, your own educational content, or anything that aligns with your brand that will serve the audience you are attempting to connect with.

Now that we have a website and a YouTube channel, we can start doing business under our new company name, right? Not quite. Next we’re going to make it official with the state.

#3 - Register your DBA or Fictitious Name

As a business owner, you’ve got to start thinking about taxes. And the best time to do so is right at the beginning. Quick disclaimer here: I am not a tax professional, so if you have questions, please consult with a CPA. I can only share with you my experience as a general guide, but when it comes to taxes, there’s not a one-size-fits-all option, so please do your research and make choices that best suit your business.

I know a handful of people who started a small business and immediately went the route of registering as a Limited Liability Company, or LLC for short. This certainly isn’t a bad way to go as there are several benefits to owning an LLC. One of them being the ability to transfer any risk or ‘liability’ to your business entity and away from you as a person. That said, it can cost a few hundred dollars to register an LLC and there are some ongoing fees associated with that as well. For small businesses starting out, an LLC might not be the best fit, especially if you are the only employee at your company. In this scenario, it might make more sense to operate as a Sole Proprietor. There are no registration fees or tax forms to fill out as a Sole Proprietor, as any income you make from your business will simply be taxed on your normal return. Chances are, you’ve already operated as a Sole Proprietorship and didn’t even know it, congratulations! Knowing that, however, I am going to make one recommendation…

Should you decide to run your business as a Sole Proprietorship, I will suggest (again, I’m not a tax pro) that you register your company name with your state as a DBA (which stands for ‘Doing Business As’) or as it’s called here in the state of Florida, a Fictitious Name. This can usually be achieved by filling out a single form on your state’s website and paying a registration fee of less than $100. It’s important to note that a DBA or Fictitious Name does not offer any tax benefit, as you will still be considered a Sole Proprietorship, but it claims your company name on a state document, and allows you to open a separate bank account where you may receive checks written out to your company name rather your personal name. You can always convert your DBA to an LLC as your business grows and it makes more sense but my business coach, Graham Cochrane, suggests that this transition shouldn’t even be considered until you’re making at least $50,000/year from your business.

Graham did a fantastic video comparing LLCs and Sole Proprietorships which you can view here: LLC vs Sole Proprietor: Which is best for YOUR business?

Open your (proverbial) doors!

Friend, if you follow these steps and lay the groundwork now, you will be well on your way to realizing your dream of owning your creative business in no time. Once the foundation is in place, the only other thing you need to do is make connections and film amazing content! Sure there is some heavy lifting upfront, but the internet has made all of this so accessible that you can literally start a new business over the weekend.

If you’re still reading at this point, my guess is that you’ve wanted to do this for a long, long time, but you’ve bought into the lie that it’s too difficult or too expensive to get started. Maybe you’re dealing with some ‘imposter syndrome’ and feel like since you’re a creative, you couldn’t possibly run a business. Don’t sell yourself short. Would you be willing to give up one weekend if it meant kickstarting your dream? If you still need help believing this can be done, send an email to [email protected] and I’ll be happy to answer your questions and provide some encouragement. We’re in this together, my friend. Let’s start making these dreams come true.