TwistedMinis
+1y
Just go to your local city office, and apply for a business license. It cost me about $25. You need to get a DBA first, unless you want your business to be called Chris Allred. I got this done at the County Clerk's office, and it cost something like $16. Then you are required to publish a statement in a local paper for two weeks. Once I registered my DBA I got a few letters int he mail from local papers. I made sure they where on the list, and picked the one I liked best. They wrote everything for me, and ran it for $22. The obscure papers are the cheapest, and it doesn't matter which you run it in.
You have to pay for these every year. You only have to republish your DBA statements if you make any changes.
Thats technically all you need for a business license.
You can also apply for a Tax ID number and a sellers permit. The Tax ID number comes from the IRS. I have the form number at the shop if you want it. Pretty easy to fill out, then you sign it and send it to them, and they send you a Tax ID number back. Its free, they just want your money at the end of the year.
Sellers permit is easy too, and some wholesale places require it to set up an account. I registered with the BOE of California, and they had my a sellers permit within a month, along with all the info I need for filing with them at the end of the year. This is just for sales tax you collect, but it doesn't cost you anything to get either.
Once you file these things you will be under the radar, because everyone will now know you are a business. The fire department came to inspect my shop shortly after I registered, before I was even finished building it. They are easy to deal with though, and gave me a few weeks to straighten everything out and they came back to check.
Also, how are my parts coming?