reopening business?

quick question. a couple years back, i first started my company, filed for sole proprietorship business license with santa clara county. did some shoot for about a year and half then closed up shop because i had to relocate overseas for work and didn't want to keep paying the business license when i won't get any business from photography.

since i've been back, i've been thinking about reopening and was chatting with some of my photography friends. most of them they tell me they just have a EIN #; which for some are just their SSN#. they didn't register their company name with the local county, so i assume they didn't file for any business license.

i can see how that can benefit someone who's doing part-time, which is what i'm trying to do to get back into the game.

so my question is, how do i go about in getting back on track? my website was still up and never closed off, so the company name/ logo is still there. also, how do i make sure no one else can register the same company name as mine?

thank you all in advance. greatly appreciate your advise in helping me get my ducks in a row.

Times are tough, especially for the California government! They are going to want their piece of your pie. If talking to an attorney is cost prohibitive for you, I would at least make an appointment to talk with the local state comptrollers office. I can't imagine being able to do anything in California without a license. As a sole proprietor you may not need a EIN but you will probably need a resale tax certificate for sales tax. Obviously I'm not in California, so things could be "slightly" different than Texas.

Bob

hi bob.. thanks for the input. yea, i don't mind paying taxes and not looking to evade taxes by any means. it's just in case if i don't get that much biz (since on craiglist people are offering packages for $300.. it's just insane.), then business license fees and stuff will be a waste since i'm doing part-time.

hopefully some fellow potn'er are in california that can chime in. thanks~~

Possibly good news.

I'm not in SJ, but can tell you that in my part of CA it appears the actual business license from the city, while required, apparently has no enforcement mechanism. So I have one, but I suspect that if I didn't, nobody would know. Having one or not certainly does not keep the sec'ty of state or state & fed tax collectors from finding you though.

Personally I see it as a but of a karma thing. I'm supposed to have a license, my city needs the money - why not.

Dave

EOS mE wrote in post #12864727
how do i make sure no one else can register the same company name as mine?

It's very simple actually. All you do is file within your state DBA - Doing Business As. I believe I paid for mine $90 back in a day. Here's a link :

http://www.sba.gov …-doing-business-dba-name/


Register Your Fictitious or "Doing Business As" (DBA) Name
The legal name of a business is the name of the person or entity that owns a business. For example:

If you are the sole owner of your business, its legal name is your full name
If your business is a partnership, the legal name is the name given in your partnership agreement or the last names of the partners
For limited liability corporations (LLCs) and corporations, the business' legal name is the one that was registered with the state government

Hope this helps

Thanks, looks like I'll need to call in and check.

I guess it depends where your located. I had legal zoom figure all the mumboo jumbo for me cost $100 and they did it pretty quick. and no I'm not representing them either!!

Usually I have to just suggest folks asking this question check locally, because it varies by municipality and state.

But, I'm also in San Jose and have some basic info. You need a business license if you are doing more than $20,000 business a year. If I recall correctly, it will cost you about $125 as a sole proprietor. If you are doing less than $20,000 a year, you have to get a waiver, which will cost you about $35. San Jose is very aggressive about tracking down unlicensed businesses. They go out and troll for business cards, check them against their records, and get pretty nasty with folks they find are unlicensed.

EIN is another thing entirely. And, yes, it can be your SSN. That's used for income tax filings.

If you are doing local sales, you also need to collect sales tax and remit it on a regular basis. That's different from either of the above. (There can be exceptions, much of what I sell goes through an online printing service that collects payment, including sales tax for me.)

You'll need to decide what type of business structure to use: sole proprietorship, LLC or sCorp, for example. This has to do with taxes and liability. So you might want to discuss it with an attorney and choose carefully. Nolo Press has a lot of info about it on their website, too. Once you decide, it's easy to set up... Part of this is filing for a DBA, depending upon what's appropriate. There's some cost of course. It varies with the type of business structure you choose.

In California, everything costs a bit more and is heavily over-regulated. This is the land of Pelosi, after all.

amfoto1 wrote in post #12955329
Usually I have to just suggest folks asking this question check locally, because it varies by municipality and state.

But, I'm also in San Jose and have some basic info. You need a business license if you are doing more than $20,000 business a year. If I recall correctly, it will cost you about $125 as a sole proprietor. If you are doing less than $20,000 a year, you have to get a waiver, which will cost you about $35. San Jose is very aggressive about tracking down unlicensed businesses. They go out and troll for business cards, check them against their records, and get pretty nasty with folks they find are unlicensed.

EIN is another thing entirely. And, yes, it can be your SSN. That's used for income tax filings.

If you are doing local sales, you also need to collect sales tax and remit it on a regular basis. That's different from either of the above. (There can be exceptions, much of what I sell goes through an online printing service that collects payment, including sales tax for me.)

You'll need to decide what type of business structure to use: sole proprietorship, LLC or sCorp, for example. This has to do with taxes and liability. So you might want to discuss it with an attorney and choose carefully. Nolo Press has a lot of info about it on their website, too. Once you decide, it's easy to set up... Part of this is filing for a DBA, depending upon what's appropriate. There's some cost of course. It varies with the type of business structure you choose.

In California, everything costs a bit more and is heavily over-regulated. This is the land of Pelosi, after all.

+1 or 2 or 3

That $20,000 figure is based on the California Board of Equalization reports that you do - not earnings as reported on adjusted income taxes.

Also I believe here (San Bernardino County) where I am the license fees are automatically waived for personal sole proprietorship licenses IF any portion of your true name is in the title.

I also thought that having a business license allows one to file for L.L.C. status - which makes a huge difference in insurance - especially when separating personal from business liability.

Hillbille

awesome info! thanks guys!!