What You Need to Know About Making Your Home Into a Business
RH Business Marketing Solutions
If you've been stricken by the entrepreneurial bug, then you may be one of the tens of thousands of people who are starting a business from their home. Thanks to the convenience of the internet, home-based businesses are becoming more and more common as brick-and-mortar businesses start to fade. If you're ready to take the plunge, there are some necessary things you're going to need to know about how to make your home into a successful business.
Effective online business management is pivotal to achieving success in the digital realm, as it involves skillfully orchestrating various aspects such as inventory, customer relationships, and operational processes to ensure seamless operations.
Start With a Business License and Official Name
When it comes to the legal part of setting up a business, there are four main types of entities that can be created. These include a sole proprietorship, general partnership, LLC, and corporation. If you decide that a sole proprietorship or general partnership is right for you, your business will be defaulted to your legal name by the state.
However, if you want to have a different business name, then you'll need to register a Doing Business As form, known as a DBA for short, with your state. If you decide that you want to open an LLC or corporation, then you will need to register official paperwork with your state to start up your business. Each state has its own specific registration process that can be found on the Secretary of State's website.
Get the Necessary Licensing
Once you have your business set up, it's time to start thinking about your licensing. The specific licenses that you'll need in order to operate out of your home will depend on the state that you live in. It's best to see if your state requires home occupation permits. Some states require this type of permit in order to ensure that the business that you're going to be running out of your home doesn't add any significant noise, traffic, or harmful environmental conditions.
Apart from home occupation permits, you'll want to check on property use and zoning permits for your specific area. Certain towns may have local zoning ordinances that can restrict the type of home-based business that you may have. Checking with your local city government office can help you determine whether or not you need additional property use and zoning permits.
Apart from home occupation, property use, and zoning permits that you'll have to deal with for a home-based business, you'll also need to consider whether you need a general business license or permit. This is going to depend on the specific industry in which your business operates. Some professions or trades need to have a license in order to be legal.
Headquarter Must-Haves
If you're going to be solely operating your business out of your home, then there are some simple must-haves that you should acquire to get started. First and foremost, you need to have a dedicated space in your home exclusively for your business operations. This is an absolute necessity when it comes to claiming home office deductions on your taxes. Depending on your state requirements, this may simply be a spare bedroom in your home or it may be a free-standing shed on the property.
Next, you're going to need a dedicated phone number and phone line for your business. This needs to be separate from your home number. You'll want to look at your local state requirements to determine whether this phone line has to be a physical landline at the property or if it can be a cellular phone that you use for work purposes.
Another headquarters must-have is internet connectivity. If you plan on running a home-based business, many internet service providers will require you to purchase a business plan. This is simply due to the fact that you're going to be using more connectivity than a typical household will. Additionally, you'll want to think about beefing up your cybersecurity.
If you're going to be dealing with clients at your home business location, then it's imperative you think about your entryway and parking. You want to ensure that your customers are able to easily know where they need to park and how to get into your business. In some cases, this may require having a separate entry door just for business clients that is away from the main area of your home.
Starting a home-based business can be a great endeavor for anyone. However, setting it up will present some challenges that you'll need to overcome. With the right knowledge about properly establishing your home-based business and what to include in it, you can set yourself up for having great success in the future.
Written by Taylor McKnight, Author for Davis Business Law