Expert: Ed McFarland - 8/31/2006

Question
Hello, and thank you for your help.

I am a commercial advertising photographer, and I have been in
business for 10 years.  I have recently gone into a partnership
with another photographer (the structure of that partnership is
as yet undefinded, but will most likely end up as a corporation
between the two of us)  The two of us have our own client base,
which we would like to keep seperate, at least for now, from the
partnership.  What we need to figure out is how to distrubute
money that comes in from jobs that we get under this
partnership.
The variables include:  What happens if a job comes in that only  
needs one photographer, and not the both of us?  Does the
shooter get compensated more? What happens if one
photographer is not available to shoot the job, and the other is -
again, will the shooter get more, just because he is there? We
have one full time employee, and the rest are freelance (from
other photographers, to assistants and stylists)  These would be
expenses that come off the total money for the job.  
The only clear thought that I have is that the money left over
after paying all the expenses is our profit.  For the most part, all
of our dealings have been on a 50/50 split.  The best case
scenario is that we are both shooting on the job, and we split it
down the middle.
There are other issues involved, such as time spent marketing,
working on the studio, etc...  If one photographer is working,
should these other factors weigh in (i.e. do a 50/50 split but
require the other partner to spend "billable time" doing
marketing or whatever needs to be done)?
We are looking for some sort of business model to put in place -
it could be a one size fits all, or it could be flexible and change
with the size and scope of each job.
Thank you for any suggestions you may have.
ted

Answer
First, determine why this is a good idea in the first place. You are not merging your businesses, just sharing expenses based on what you've told me.

Second, determine your common expenses, overhead, staff and the rest.

While you are getting this started, each of you make a monthly contribution to to cover the expenses.

When you are comforatble that you can work together and develop the business so that it is greater than the sum of its parts, sit down with expert counsel and draft an agreement go from there.

Good luck