Business Basics
Aside from the finances needed to start a business, you also need to get a few things going before opening your doors:
1. Get a Federal EIN (Emploment ID Number). An EIN is important, especially if you want to buy things wholesale. Some wholesalers require a Federal Tax ID number in order to get their wholesaler discount. On the IRS website, you may answer NO to all their qualifying questions under the link, “Do You Need an EIN?”, but I would still recommend applying for one. It’s free, doesn’t hurt to have one, and all it can do is help you.
2. Sales Tax Permit – Contact your state’s Department of Revenue or apply on their website for a permit. This, along with an Exemption Certificate, will allow you to buy products from wholesalers without being charged sales tax. Check with the wholesaler on their policies.
3. If you have employees, you need to also apply with your local Workforce Development or State Labor Department to be able to pay Unemployment Insurance. All employers are required to pay unemployment insurance taxes. Your tax accountant will usually not file your W-2’s and W-3 in January without it, either.
- Find a good tax accountant. Here are two that I’ve used: ProTaxCare and TD&T Financial. ProTaxCare is out of Beverly Hills, CA, but they are very good at documenting what you’ve emailed, faxed, or mailed in. TD&T Financial offers tax services as well as financial services, so you can take care of your investment and tax needs all in the same place.
5. Setup a Business Bank Account. It’s important to separate personal versus business expenses from the beginning. Get a debit card, too, if possible.
6. If you have a store-front, I recommend getting a merchant PayPal Account. Through PayPal, you can also apply for online credit, a debit card linked to your bank account, or online credit for use to purchase through PayPal. Though most people use PayPal for online transactions, you can also use it to send funds to another PayPal user, including a wholesaler or another merchant. To send money to another party, all you would have to do is get on Paypal.com and send money to their email address. I’ve done it before, it’s painless and instant.
7. Marketing:
- Check with your city office to see if you can hand out fliers or put them on windshields. If it’s just one time for a new business, they may say yes.
- Create business cards. You can get them FREE online through Vista Print. Try the car magnets, sometimes they’re free.
- Get FREE hats with logo on Vista Print. Sometimes you can get FREE t-shirts with logo, also.
- Contribute articles to the local paper or other local blogs and become an expert in your field. You’d be surprised at what you’re an expert at. If you can teach someone something they don’t know, you instantly become an expert to them.
8. Start a blog with WordPress or Blogger. I use both. Both sites are easy to use and offer a way to track visitors to your blogs. With Blogger, you can use Google Analytics to track visitors and link to your Amazon Affiliate account. Though Blogger allows you to link to Amazon, I still prefer WordPress because it’s unlimited tracking, and you don’t have to paste code anywhere to track visitors. It’s done for you. You can easily get more information about how people are finding your site and what words they’re using to search on search engines like Google. Plus, WordPress gives you a history of how many have visited your site.
9. Sign up on a few, or a lot, of affliliate programs to earn extra $$ while helping people with the content on your blog. You can use Commission Junction to find dozens of affiliate programs. They do have qualifiers, so you may not get accepted to all the affiliate programs you would like.
10. Buy a Domain Name. I’ve used GoDaddy and Doteasy. Even though GoDaddy is cheaper, I’ve stuck with Doteasy because I’ve read feedback where it’s easier to transfer out of Doteasy versus GoDaddy, in case you want to switch servers. By having a domain name, you can have a professional email address, like YourName@YourDomainName.com
11. Post your hours and fliers on your door, window, and somewhere inside where current customers can see it. The same goes whether you have an insurance office or repair shop.
These are few simple things to get your business on the right track!
