Buisness License

1. Buisness License

   #1

   Let us discuss in this thread the issues behind getting a buisness license.
   
   I am going to make some phone calls and see what has to be accomplished to get a buisness license in Montgomery County. Please post any inputs you may have about things I should look for.

2. Buisness License

   #2

   I guess there are a lot of options as far as business stuff goes.
   
   Man, do we have to become lawyers. I guess we have to decide what kind of business license we need to get as well. Quite a few sites have been pointing to LLC. Go through this and then read the nature of liability link at the top.
   
   http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P12_4210.asp
   
   Confusing site, but here is another good page on the LLC
   
   http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P12_4960.asp
   
   There are some books on it to at amazon.
   
   Then again there are the Doing Business As (DBA) thing and with that you can get a bank account and stuff. I don't know how much liability we will have as a reseller. The true business account and everything may only be fully needed if we ever host our own machine.

3. Buisness License

   #3

   Talked to the webhost and asked them about the liscense. All that their state requires, and most states, is a DBA to do the reselling. She said check in your state for the requirements.
   
   So we can just get a business name, get a DBA as that name and we can get teh bank account and all that with the agreement. Depends on what advice we get too. But with the DBA we can start the reselling and then we can branch out from there perhaps.
   
   That would be a question that we should ask.

4. Buisness License

   #4

   Ok, got a book from the library. I guess a business license is seperate from the legal structure the business is operating under. License = authorized to sell stuff - Legal structure = How taxes and liability will be taken.
   
   DBA is the first step we must take. Business name is needed for everything else we are going to accomplish paperworkwise. And even if we only have a DBA, it might be all we need as we start out and can deal with the rest later.
   
   DBA notes:
   We are going to need one because we are going to use a fictitous name.
   States office of name availability to check if name is used.
   There are also DBA books at the County Clerks office.
   Gives us exclusive rights to the name.
   Steps to file for a DBA
   1. Publish name in a general circulation newspaper in the area in four consecutive editions. Get a copy of each paper and a Publication Certificate from the newspaper.
   ---Guess it is a normal procedure for newspapers. You can call them and specifically ask if the publish new DBAs and they should know what you are talking about. Some may even offer a service to file the paperwork in step 2.
   2. File with the County Clerk. File the Publication Certificate with them and recieve proof that is was recorded.
   
   
   Legal structure notes:
   
   Partnership
   Advantages
   -Ease of formation = Registering name (filing a DBA) and getting a liscense.
   Disadvantages
   -Unlimited Personal Liability = Owners personally responsible for any debt. Profits must be included on individual tax returns based on percentage in business.
   -Lack of continuity = One peson leaves the business is dissolved, would need a partnership agreement. One person wants out, must be in the agreement how to buy them out or whatever.
   -Bankrupcy, partner with most personal assets will lose more.
   
   Sounds like a bad idea
   
   Corporation
   Not even going to go into the compexities of that, I doubt we need that one.
   
   S Corporation
   Wierd one. Like a corporation exept with some taxation differences.
   
   Limited Liability Company LLC
   Operates like a partnership with the protection from personal liability provided by corporate structure.
   Advantages
   -More liberal loss deductions = Owners do not assume liability for business debts and losses can be used as tax deductions against active income.
   -Stock options = Whatever?
   -Participation restrictions = Any number/type of wonders.
   Disadvantages
   -Transfer of business restrictions = ownership interest transfer has some restrictions
   -It is new = Lack of uniform code between states perhaps.
   -Pain in the ass with all the paperwork and formalities required to run it. (Will need a lawyer.)

5. A little more on a DBA

   #5

   We still need to form a corp./LLC/inc./whatever and then a DBA. An example might be our business, rpgcom (an LLC) Doing Business As (DBA) rpgcitadel.
   
   I don’t know if you guys were seeing it this way or not, but it didn’t read like that.
   
   Dan

6. Lets get a vote on how we are going to form our company

   #6

   I vote for LLC!
   
   It looks like Strolen is for the LLC as well, but let’s make it official
   
   Then we can DBA as many other things as we want.
   
   Let’s get a vote on the company name in another posting

7. Buisness License

   #7

   You actually need a DBA before you form a LLC or whatever. The DBA gives you the name you can use and makes it ours. The LLC is simply taxes. If you don't get a DBA and just form a company, you have no way to know if the name is taken, and you have no legal claim to it. It must be filed at wherever the forms are turned in to actually be useable. Banks and such will need the DBA too for any accounts, which is something else we need for the LLC.
   
   That is the way I understand it.
   
   First step is we need to come up with a name for the company.

8. I'm back

   #8

   Sorry about being absent on this conversation the last week was hell I was forced to do about a million things that I have been putting off because of "school". all of that is taken care of.
   
   As for the buisness I have made some calls, I have been informed that to have an internet buisness in the state of Ohio. You have to get permission from the state, because the state charges taxes on the sale of Internet merchendise.
   
   I have requested an information packet from the state and they said I should get it in two to three weeks.

9. To DBA or not to DBA

   #9

   We need a name for the parent company and the company. We need to first form a company that will be the parent company so that it can DBA under a different name. The parent company will be the first name we need, if and only if we intend to DBA as another company with a different name.
   
   If we form RPGcom (as a LLC) and sell web space as RPGcom then we do not need a DBA at all. Only if we form "Three Guys Company" and resell web space as RPGcom do we need a DBA. So it would be "Three Guys Company" Doing Business As RPGcom.
   
   So I agree that we need a name to start the ball rolling. We also need to decide if we need a DBA and what type of protection we will be under.

10. Buisness License

    #10

    Interesting questions.
    
    We will probably need a DBA for every name we use. One for the main company, One for RPG Citadel (which is a definate for me anyway) and another for the other web hosting website. If we are using a name in a business, we need a DBA....my understanding anyway. If we don't have a DBA with the name we are using, somebody else can steal the name from us. The DBA is our legal proof of name ownership and branding.
    
    I am going to volunteer to be a tax counselor so maybe some training on the taxes part will help us :)

11. Questions?

    #11

    What questions?
    
    And yes. We will need a DBA for every name we use, except the parent company.

12. food for thought

    #12

    
    Limited liability companies. Like choosing a limited partnership or a corporation name, choosing a limited liability company name is a formal process. A limited liability company name has to be reserved with the secretary of state's office. The name is usually reserved when the articles of organization are filed with the secretary of state's office to register the limited liability company's existence.
    
    The name of the limited liability company must include the words "limited liability company," the letters "L.L.C." or some other phrase indicating that the entity is a limited liability company. Most state statutes specifically identify which descriptions can be used.
    
    Work Smart
    
    A limited liability company's name must be unique. If the name is already in use by another limited liability company, the articles of organization will be rejected. Save time and effort by determining whether the proposed limited liability company name is available before filing the articles of organization.
    
    You can find out if the name of your partnership is available by calling your state secretary of state's office and telling them that you want to register that name. If the name has been reserved by someone else, they'll tell you.
    

    
    
    This quote was taken from:
    http://www.toolkit.cch.com/text/P01_4800.asp
    
    
    Which brings us to the question which state will we be registering in?

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