Through the miracle of the interwebs (and some Facebook stalking), I found out a friend of mine from high school had similarly been bitten by the entrepreneurial bug. So of course, I had to make a visit, because who needs an excuse to have human interaction more than a photographer editing away in his fortress of solitude. 

A couple weeks back when I had another shoot in the area, I decided to drop by and catch up with Alessandra in her studio in DC where she, along with her two partners, run the super cool letterpress company Typecase Industries. 

They make anything from invitations, to thank-you cards and coasters, with the classic feel and production process of letterpress printing that's palpable—an art quickly fading in this everything-digital age. If you love design, the smell of freshly dried ink, or human interaction, definitely check them out!

Partly because it's only been a little over a week since Easter, and partly because it's getting a little long in the tooth, but it's high time I update my About Me section. 

But before I do, here's one last easter egg hunt for you: 

In the text is a subtle message symbolizing another part of me that I didn't want outright enunciated. I must have been reading The Da Vinci Code that week or something.

What's in it for you, riddle-solving savants? 

Happiness. And maybe some bunny-shaped chocolates. 

To try and sum up the past year of business in words would be futile—so, I'll use photos since just one is supposedly worth about a thousand.

*With a minor caveat—being that the first half of the year was really spent birthing this new venture, it's difficult separating what was solely business-related versus personal. Still, everything here ended up impacting the business in one way or another. So, yea.

Spent the first few weeks of January in Chicago during Abbie's residency interviews

And while there, took family photos with the Reyes family

Adorable nephew Devon

Fractured my clavicle while snowboarding which sidelined me for all of February

After three months of interviews and coffee shops, got awesome news that Abbie matched here in MD!

Took portraits of some of the youth group later in March

And promo material for these little singers' fundraiser

Shot my first maternity session in April

Then headed to the Philippines

Where we got surprised with a wedding shower by Abbie's sister and closest friends

Got married on 5/12/13, two days after I turned 26!

Made the most out of the trip with a stop in Boracay with the brother and cousins

Finalized the paperwork and moved into our condo in Baltimore end of May

And wrapped up the month with an engagement session in DC

More engagement action through June

As well as a calendar shoot with the Miss Vietnam DC organization

Even squeezed in my first infant shoots to round out June

Played a bit through July

August saw the first wedding since being back

And where I had my first mechanical bull encounter

Spent a chilly September morning with the talented Culture Shock DC peeps

Along with my brother, completed the Nikon Holy Trinity

October was the perfect time for a Fall engagement session

And family portraits

More love and colorful trees through November

Registered as an LLC at 9:10am on 11/12/13!

Joined the PPA beginning of December

And then reconnected with these two growing families

Saw an old friend tie the knot

And on the last weekend of December, covered my first out-of-state wedding in the Windy City, the same place where I started out the year!

Talk about going full circle. 

All in all, quite the eventful year, and however cliché, look forward to bigger and better things for 2014!

A week ago, for no other reason than it being a numerologically significant day, I headed downtown to officially register as an LLC.

Well, that's not entirely true.

For most, the distinction between LLC/LLP vs. S-/C-corp vs. sole-proprietorship can be somewhat foreign. Even after four years of business and accounting classes, I had to brush up on each of their subtle differences. And while the textbook definition remained vaguely familiar in my mind, its actual execution when starting a company wasn't something we were taught.

But nowadays, with a simple Google search, anything is possible. The entire process ended up being fairly straightforward and minimally expensive. Even the acquisition of an IRS-issued EIN was done online with approval given in minutes. 

So what are the benefits of being a limited liability company?

Google it.

Seriously, there are plenty of resources available that can explain it better than I ever could. However, personally, it's a (federally recognized) gesture of commitment to sustaining my business. Many may decide to make money on the side with the DSLR they got for their birthday, and there's certainly nothing wrong with that. Far be it from me to all of a sudden have a "holier than thou" mentality because of this filing. Simply, registering your business with the state is that next step to legitimizing a foothold in the industry. Also, it's illegal not to declare income whether it be from a hobby or freelancing (hello, getting audited!). 

Although I'd grasped the concepts in business school, I never thought I'd need it other than to pass a midterm. So I'm more than happy, perhaps even lucky, to get to apply that knowledge in something I'm passionate about. There are still a number of items on my checklist as I alluded in my midyear post—this is certainly one of those milestones. And on a date difficult to forget at that.