Becoming a small business

[Ambersafghans]

Any one know how to go about becoming a state recognized small business?

Amber

[Julie]

Check with Michigan's (in your case) Secretary of State website (http://www.michigan.gov/sos), it should be loaded with details on how to get started. We found everything we needed in the S.O.S. website for Georgia. Good luck!! :clap

[kariholtz]

Well, Julie just said everything I was going to.

Good Luck!!!!

[Ambersafghans]

I'm checking it out, but what I'm finding is mostly on vehicle sales. ?? :think

oh boy. I really need things spelled out very simply.
Amber

[Ambersafghans]

Anyone know of a recognized crochet business? Do you think it's worth it?


Amber

[Stacey]

Julie said exactly what I was going to :)

If you don't find the info you need on the website, you could try calling them and asking what you need to do. If you're going to run your business as a sole proprietorship (i.e. not a partnership, corporation, etc.), in most states you need to 1) get a vendor's license (in Ohio this is issued on a county level for the most part but the Secretary of State's office told us which license we needed) and 2) register your business name (unless the business will be using just your legal name. Also, for a sole proprietorship, you'll file a Schedule C or Schedule C-EZ on your federal income tax return, so once you're squared away with the rest of it you might want to read up on that on the IRS site. (I'm not a tax expert but if you have general questions about that I can probably answer them--I do all the taxes for our business.)

[Stacey]

Anyone know of a recognized crochet business? Do you think it's worth it?
Didn't see this until after I posted :)

If you're selling items routinely, you should probably get a business license/vendor's license in order to be legal. Especially if you're selling much stuff locally, since you may (can't say for sure, don't know what the sales tax situation is in Michigan) be obligated to collect sales tax and then pay it to the state. (With very small businesses, most states that I'm familiar with only require that you make the payment twice a year, so that's not as scary as it sounds...)

[mudpie]

In CA, SOS need only get involved if you are going to incorporate. You must check with SOS to see if the name is available in your state. You can do this by fax or mail in CA. You should submit three choices of business name in order of preference in case one is not available, as well as Articles of Incorporation for filing with SOS. Otherwise, at the county level you can get a fictitious business license (this sounds more like what you would be doing). After acquiring the fictitious bus license, you must also publish in a newspaper. And as others said, you should get a city license (sometimes for every city you do business in, sometimes a county). It's not worth the fine if you get caught without it, and in some cities the cost of the license is figured as a percentage of your yearly sales (an extremely small percentage, very reasonable).

[Ambersafghans]

"Do you think it's worth it?"

For now, no. Thanks everyone, but I'm not going to pursue it right now. It's too much for me!

Amber

[diamond]

In addition to what everyone else has stated, (in Florida anyways) you have to run an ad in the local newspaper for 30 days stating the company name. You must do a name search as well. This will prevent you from legal problems down the line if someone else has registered a name that you are planning to use. Incorporating yourself as a Small Business has many benefits but you must follow the rules. I am incorporated as a Small Business and due to that fact, many of my purchases are tax write-offs. All office supplies, yarns, needlework supplies, etc. These are tools of my trade and necessary to keep my crochet business in business. I am also incorporated as a computer tech so all my computer supplies are also a tax write-off. My husband & I own an advertising agency (one of our many businesses and our first business) therefore my camera equipment/film/cards (which we use in photo shoots, video equipment (which we use for video taping commercials), computers/programs/equipment (which we use to produce ads/layouts/prototypes/etc) are write-offs. I can even write-off a certain percentage of the clothes/accessories I buy due to photo shoots/business expenses. Our cars get a percentage of write-offs. Lunches, office supplies, just about everything can be classified for business use if you are registered as a small business owner. Those tax write-offs can make a HUGE difference each quarter when you file your quarterly tax returns. So it's definately something to think about.

[Raquel]

Hi there. Had to put my oar in since I'm in the middle of doing this myself. In California, you have to have a seller's permit from the state board of equalization (which is actually free to obtain) and a business license for the city you will sell from (which is not free but usually under $100). This is all, of course, so that the state and the city can collect taxes from you. A book that I found REALLY helpful was "Your Crafts Business" by Richard Stim, an attorney. Also, I contacted an organization called SCORE, a group of retired business people who give business advice for free! They were very nice and helpful; try www.score.org (http://www.score.org) to see if they are in your area.

Hope that helps!
:book Raquel

[Ambersafghans]

Thanks for the info gals!
I don't want to get into taxes yet, but when I have to anyway I'll look back into this. ;)

Amber