http://www.artisthelpnetwork.com

Lynne wrote in article
. ..
I'm a woodturner in Tucson, Arizona, who is just starting out with
creating my business, and I'm hoping some of you can offer some
advice. I will be operating as a sole proprietorship, but I'm
wondering if I should operate only under my own name or also under a
registered business name ("doing business as"). Do vendors and banks
and such attach more legitimacy to businesses with a registered
business name? It seems to me that as an artist, I should be promoting
my own name, but at the same time, I want to appear as professional as
possible. This basic question is holding me up as far as applying for
a tax license and also setting up a web site--again, do I use my own
name or a business name or a more-generic identifier as a domain name?

Also, how do you begin approaching galleries without an established
track record? Should I have a complete portfolio, a bio, and such
prepared before I make first contact? I have designed business cards
and have created a rudimentary web site through my ISP.
(http://home.comcast.net/~myturn for anyone who's interested. I plan
to register a domain name and set up with another web host as soon as
I finalize my choice of a domain name.) I've also designed a card to
go with each vessel that identifies the wood the vessel is made of and
also has a personal statement and contact info (basically an expanded
business card). I've heard that some galleries prefer that customers
get no contact info for artists, however, so that the gallery won't
lose any sales. Should I remove such info from the card? Print two
versions? Wait till I see what individual galleries prefer?

What is the best way to approach galleries? Should I phone to make
appointments to show my work, or should I go in person, with samples
of my work, in case whoever makes such decisions is available on the
spot? Should I write with photos or slides of my work?

Any other thoughts on getting started?

Thanks, you all. I welcome any suggestions.