Full Version: Online Business
My friend is wantning to start an online business. He does not want to have a physical store and just wants to run it out of his house. I guess he need an EIN? What about a business license? How can you get one if you do not have a actual store? Anything else I am missing?
EIN = IRS can get it over the phone in 10 min
Business license = specific county in your state.
Business license = specific county in your state.
You don't have to get INC though do you? Can't you just be a sole-propreitor without any INC or LLC?
Yes, you can do all of this as a sole prop. the thing that inc or llc gives you that sole p doesn't is some legal liability insulation. Although as evidenced lately in the news even co. presidents can be held personally liable for actions of the corporation.
If you have an accountant or attorney they can set up and keep the corp documents for you as that can be quite a pain.
We started in '90 as a sole p but as we grew we incorporated in '93 as a sub chapter "s".
All the info you receive here will be good but you really need to speak with either an accountant or attorney where they can outline all of the benefits and problems with incorporation. Do get one of those incorporate yourself in Delaware kits.
Regards,
Pete
If you have an accountant or attorney they can set up and keep the corp documents for you as that can be quite a pain.
We started in '90 as a sole p but as we grew we incorporated in '93 as a sub chapter "s".
All the info you receive here will be good but you really need to speak with either an accountant or attorney where they can outline all of the benefits and problems with incorporation. Do get one of those incorporate yourself in Delaware kits.
Regards,
Pete
If you're going to be a sole proprietorship, it's just as easy to form an LLC or S-corp. Read this thread:
http://forums.monstersmallbusiness.com/ind...p?showtopic=681
BASIC STEPS (may differ slightly from state to state)
Wizard has a very important caveat in his post - check with your CITY first if you are going to be working out of your house. I had to file for a special permit for home occupation and get approval through both the planning and zoning boards before opening. No yard signs allowed. No foot traffic. I also had to have a water meter installed.
Don't ask. If you live outside of a CITY, check with your TOWN to see if they have any home occupation requirements.
If you go the sole proprietor route, go to the COUNTY office to apply for a DBA.
If you go the LLC or S-Corp route, probably best to consult with an accountant and/or attorney if you're not familiar with tax entities. I found alot of useful information at bizfilings.com and actually used them to form my LLC. If you'd rather not pay for an accountant or attorney at first, call bizfilings and they'll answer your questions about incorporating for free (just tell them you're interested in using their services and have some questions - worked for me and I went with them).
And then the wonderful resale certificate. Check with the STATE to see if you need to collect sales tax and/or how to go about applying for the certificate. (If you're going to get an EIN - see below - get that first before filing for this certificate and use that number instead of your SSN).
The IRS does not require an EIN if you are going to file your business income on your personal tax return. However, 99% of your suppliers and the bank (and anyone else that you will come in contact with re: your business) will ask for it. It's free, so why not get one. As Krazy said, you can call the IRS and get it in 10 minutes.
That pretty much covers the basics. Good luck!
http://forums.monstersmallbusiness.com/ind...p?showtopic=681
BASIC STEPS (may differ slightly from state to state)
Wizard has a very important caveat in his post - check with your CITY first if you are going to be working out of your house. I had to file for a special permit for home occupation and get approval through both the planning and zoning boards before opening. No yard signs allowed. No foot traffic. I also had to have a water meter installed.
Don't ask. If you live outside of a CITY, check with your TOWN to see if they have any home occupation requirements.If you go the sole proprietor route, go to the COUNTY office to apply for a DBA.
If you go the LLC or S-Corp route, probably best to consult with an accountant and/or attorney if you're not familiar with tax entities. I found alot of useful information at bizfilings.com and actually used them to form my LLC. If you'd rather not pay for an accountant or attorney at first, call bizfilings and they'll answer your questions about incorporating for free (just tell them you're interested in using their services and have some questions - worked for me and I went with them).
And then the wonderful resale certificate. Check with the STATE to see if you need to collect sales tax and/or how to go about applying for the certificate. (If you're going to get an EIN - see below - get that first before filing for this certificate and use that number instead of your SSN).
The IRS does not require an EIN if you are going to file your business income on your personal tax return. However, 99% of your suppliers and the bank (and anyone else that you will come in contact with re: your business) will ask for it. It's free, so why not get one. As Krazy said, you can call the IRS and get it in 10 minutes.
That pretty much covers the basics. Good luck!
| QUOTE (pzaring @ Apr 21 2004, 09:51 AM) |
| Although as evidenced lately in the news even co. presidents can be held personally liable for actions of the corporation. |
If you're referring to Enron, et al., they are being held personally responsible because they committed fraud.
If your company tanks, you didn't commit fraud, and you have shareholders that lose their shirts, you cannot be held personally responsible if you are incorporated. That's the limited liability protection. Of course, there are always little exceptions that I'd be happy to discuss if anyone is interested.
Since this thread is about creating a new business does anyone know about trademarks, copyrights, etc... Lets say I wanted to start a company and have the name copyrighted and the designs trademark. Best example I can think of is Disney, where no matter what they sell, t-shirt, coffee mug, stuffed animal, etc... they are protected. Even to the point of someone using their name. According to the United States Patent office you can use the TM symbol right away without registering with them, (of course registration offers more protection the way I read it), but you must register the use of copyright. Anyone have any experience with this. If I am not mistaken the fine people here at 
have experience in this.
Doing some research,
have experience in this.Doing some research,
Hi, theredzone.
Here are some sites that I have used in the past that work well - http://www.ss.ca.gov/business/bpd_service_companies.htm (Florida Registered Agents), http://www.incnow.com (only one I know of for series LLC), http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/ (EXCELLENT resource).
in2nascar - there are many sites out there specializing in logo design, maintenance, etc. (too many sites to name .. just type "logo" into http://www.google.com .
~Chris
Here are some sites that I have used in the past that work well - http://www.ss.ca.gov/business/bpd_service_companies.htm (Florida Registered Agents), http://www.incnow.com (only one I know of for series LLC), http://smallbusiness.findlaw.com/ (EXCELLENT resource).
in2nascar - there are many sites out there specializing in logo design, maintenance, etc. (too many sites to name .. just type "logo" into http://www.google.com .
~Chris
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