I'll start...

[Sandra Dee]

I'm in the process of establishing a WAHMBiz...

My DH is an attorney, and uber conservative, and thinks I need to establish an LLC and incorporate in order to start doing business.

What do you think?

How did you go about getting your business license?

How much did it cost?

Thanks for any info!

[sweetfeet]

Wow Sandi 4 views and no posts! FORUM KILLER:LOL I would get a biz license so you can co-op for us.

[momto11]

I think it really varies from State to State, and even from City to City. You can contact your dept of labor and industries, and they should be able to tell you who to contact, for your city and state, and also what type of licensing you need.

[HeatherSanders]

SD - hey, this board is JUST getting started and I guarantee it'll grow in leaps and bounds b/c there has been an expressed need for it for a good while.

This thread is probably going to move to the main discussion forum - WAHM WELL - in the a.m. b/c we are going to most probably organize these subforums for actual 'resources' drawn from the main board.

But of course, as first poster - that was VERY confusing to sort of 'see.' There will be descriptions underneath the subforums describing better each purpose.

I'll get back over here in the a.m. - - - >> there are many that can answer your questions and I'll give it a read and get back to it myself!

You are NOT a thread killer!

[neveryoumindthere]

i was wondering about the business license issue too..i dont get why u'd have to if ur choosing to sell some items from home..i'd be interested in finding out...


and *so* offtopic..but momto11 do u really have 11 kids?? that's soo awesome!

[Sandra Dee]

See - now I'm a thread killer AND I can't post right!!!

:LOL

JUST KIDDING!! - that's fine, Heather!!!

Meghan!!

[HeatherSanders]

Re: I'll start...

Originally posted by Sandra Dee
I'm in the process of establishing a WAHMBiz...
What do you think?

What's your business going to be?

How did you go about getting your business license?

If you want to file sole proprietorship - like most first-start small WAHM businesses do . . . you can use your social security number and you don't need to get a business license.

I don't know many that start out as your dh suggests. I realize that is for your protection, but I did not start out that way. We may be moving to that soon, but for the past 2+ years we haven't.

How much did it cost?

0.00 --->> Already had it. Not sure about LLC and incorporating.

What takes a while is the resale tax id#. It took me 6 weeks to get mine once they received my paperwork here in GA! :

[Mamaste]

I am going "backwards" on this issue, myself ... Started out with a DBA and a business account and all that, 'bout 10 years ago. Now I've decided to let the DBA lapse/abandon, and I'm just billing out under my own name and depositing to our personal account. Fits my new low-key style, taking only the occasional work and doing more private projects (writer/editor). Nice and simple.

I'd say to start simple and build up as you are comfortable with the direction things are taking!

[grisandole]

I'm doing the sole-prop, social-security number route as well. I will eventually move to the LLC. HTH

Kristi

[momto11]

and *so* offtopic..but momto11 do u really have 11 kids?? that's soo awesome!


Yup, I have 11 kids They range in age from 26 yrs to 3yrs.

I have a sole proprietorship. I have had it for a few years, when I was doing local craft shows and needed a biz license. It's also great, too, because then you can order supplies wholesale.

[LaLa]

getting a resale number is easy and inexpensive.
getting a name is also easy and inexpensive.

When you don't knwo where to go, call your local Small business burreau and they can direct you to the proper locations to activate those things.

How you set up your business is up to you and will depend on what type of business you run.

If there is any liability at all, you would not want to run a sole proprietership without paying for insurance.
I was able to aquire insurance for aprox $350 a year in IA, but they would not cover items such as slings so I need to make sure any sling product I carry is well covered by the manufacturer and not make my own at this time.
That may seem cheaper and easier then starting a corporation, but you can start your business as a corporation for roughly the same cost of one year of insurance if you are including lawyer fees etc.
You can incorporate yourself by yourself if you do some reading and leg work as well.

I found the Small Business Book for Dummies to be a helpful starting point.

What are you planning to sell?
If it is just diaepers, you won't be likely tohave liability issues unless you are selling diapers with plastic choking hazard pieces sewn onto them!
:LOL
(which you wouldn't be!)

[HeatherSanders]

Originally posted by LaLa
What are you planning to sell?
If it is just diaepers, you won't be likely tohave liability issues unless you are selling diapers with plastic choking hazard pieces sewn onto them!
:LOL
(which you wouldn't be!)

:LOL

[maddysmommy]

My acct told me that filing a sales tax # was all I needed and that by filing a dba I would open myself up to zoning issues. I did get a rider on my home insurance to cover any possible accidents (because I have a kiln in my basement - I don't know if you'd need one for a sewing machine.) HTH!

Leah

[merpk]

I do the same as mamaste; just work under my own name and deposit checks into my personal account.

Don't make enough to feel the need to get all business-like about this stuff. Always seems like more hassle than it's worth.

Though maybe I'm wrong? Would love to know what purpose would be served by incorporating? sole-proprietorshiping? IYKWIM.

Or is this a new thread? :

[wildthing]

In CA, and San Diego, specifically, a family day care does not need a biz license, so I never had one.
~What I am relating now is only what I know to be my experience in the city of San Diego. I happen to know another person in a nearby city who had different rules to follow than I did. Same county, different city. ~
For my diaper biz, I did get a re-sale certificate, which means I also have to file a sales tax return every quarter, whether I have taxable sales or not. This causes a cross-check with the city, which requires me to have a biz license to operate in the city limits.....If you do not have a biz license with the city when you start doing business, you will be assesed penalties starting from the date you obtain your re-sale certificate......ask me how I know : Like I said, another person I know who lives in a neighboring city, had to get a biz license, but had different requirements than me. Check with your local small business association or your city clerk or recorders office.

[detergentdiva]

Well I just have to second Donna on the business license.

For the state of CA if you get a resale tax ID# then file your quarterlies with them, they will notify the city that you live in. If you do not have a business licence fort hat city you will receive a letter telling you that you must apply for the license or your resale id will be revoked.
You need the resale ID# in order to make most wholesale purchases from most not all companies.

I personally never got a business license in my city, because I always felt that my city tries to get all the money out of everyone possible among other things. But thanks to the state, I will be spending sometime in the city offices today taking care of what should have been done a very long time ago.

Regarding the DBA, it was explained to me by my business attorney that I only needed to get a DBA if my primary business sales were in my city/county. Since the vast majority of my sales have been out of state there was no reason for me to get the DBA. To get this in our county you have to not only file for it but also it must run in 2 or 3 local papers for I think 3 weeks. Plus you have to pay the city their cut.

For making diapers there is no need for liability insurance but for slings there is if you plan on selling whlesale. Realistically if a customer puts their child in your sling and the child falls out they can sue you. If doing slings I would also incorporate the business so that if anything does happen and you are sued they can only sue the business, not you.

I would also recommend to anyone starting out that they spend the $250 and talk with a business/patent/trademark attorney. There are lots of mis-leading bits of advice that fly through the small business world and it helps tremendously to know what yur right are legally and what you need to do in order to protect yourself and your family. You can gain valuable information from the simple dba to tm'ing/registering names to patent laws and trade dress laws. As the wahm world becomes more competitive I highly recommend this to anyone starting a business making their own products.

[MamaMonica]

I have had a simple business license for about 10 years- I have sold artwork and some hand-made stationery. I do business as my own name, so haven't done a dba- although I did when I started. I took that off when I branched into yoga teaching as well as art and the license was just to pay state taxes.

If you have an umbrella liability policy (we have one through State Farm), you can attach a business rider to that for a small expense depending on the nature of the business.

[Knittin' in the Shade]

That may seem cheaper and easier then starting a corporation, but you can start your business as a corporation for roughly the same cost of one year of insurance if you are including lawyer fees etc.

I'd say even if you incorporate, then you still need to get insruance for the corporation. Let's face it, in our lsue-happy society, you really need to be protected no matter what. Even seemingly innocuous businesses like diaper making, IMO need insurance. Who knows if a faulty snap will come off and a kid chokes on it? Or a loose thread gets wrapped around a tiny finger? Maybe it's because I was a paralegal in my *former life*, LOL, but I can find a reason someone would sue in just about anything. Yes, slings are obvious high-risk, but any baby clothing manufacturer really needs to be covered (and diapers are clothing) Back when I used to make soap, I knew so many soap-making mamas who didn't have insurance and that's just crazy!! Who knows if someone's going to have a bad reaction to one of your ingredients, get a horrible rash, and sue you?!?!

[Sandra Dee]

RE: "sue happy" - I agree.

That's why DH is so conservative in his views regarding an LLC.

He doesn't want something to happen. I said "what could happen" he said:

Case scenario #1 - let's say you are making diaper covers (I am not - this is just an example). For the sake of this, let's say you dye your own wool, then knit soakers...

Someone comes along and buys one, their child get a terrible rash. It happens again and again. You try to explain it away, suggesting micro liners or detergent build up, but it keeps happening. Heck - even worse, kids are getting sick. You have done NOTHING wrong by your own doing, but something keeps happening.

Possible problems:
wool allergy (sure - but why would they buy it then? well - maybe if they haven't tried wool before and didn't know they or their child would go into anaphylactic shock)

wool contamination - something wrong with the wool - a chemical preservative added to the processing of the fibers that could be potentially toxic (DH does almost all toxic torts - meaning - oops - we just realized a few years ago that asbestos causes a deadly form of cancer - and oops - we made toasters and Corvettes and all sorts of household stuff with it because we didn't know).

Anyway - Theresa's right - everyone needs insurance - because without it - you're screwed if something happens - even if you didn't do it. And, trust me, they CAN and WILL go after your home and cars and life insurance if you aren't covered in an LLC - because your name is out there. It's pretty scary!! It rarely happens, but when it does, the stuff goes down!

[bionicsquirrel]

Detergentdiva wrote:
"I would also recommend to anyone starting out that they spend the $250 and talk with a business/patent/trademark attorney."


This worries me. I am making and selling slings (on a very small scale, just starting out) and I barely have the money to buy the material let alone pay for a lawyer.

I have thought about this issue from the very beginning and have been reluctant to sell my slings because of it, but dh has pushed me to do it (in a good way) and always points out that there are a gazillion people making ring slings that are almost identical and no one suing.

I mainly make a pouch style sling and a back carrier, both loosely resemble other slings on the market but are tweaked to be my own creation, is this wrong?
I was under the impression that if a sling does not have a trademark on it's name than you can use it and if no patent on its design than it can be borrowed. Is this way off? Please enlighten me so I can save my tushie and feel better about my product.