Starting a small business

banderas said:My apologies, 😉
It would probably be helpful if the person who started this thread actually checked in...

I agree,👍 at least enough to let us know if they need a hand or not.😕

Hey everyone.

Does anyone know if there’s actually a website out there that lists everything you need to get a small business up and running? I'm looking for the whole works—everything from which specific documents I'll need to where I even go to grab them, plus the actual step-by-step process for getting the whole thing started.

Thanks!

To start, I’d suggest heading over to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website and doing a little digging. They should have some decent resources on starting a business, including the necessary paperwork and procedures for setting up a sole proprietorship.

I mean, honestly, it might not even be worth the headache of starting your own small business. You could probably just check everything with your local Chamber of Commerce first.
You might actually be pretty surprised by how intense the requirements are for a sole proprietorship.🙄

It’s much the same with businesses. A tangled mess of red tape. It’s honestly staggering how bureaucratic this country has become—even a child could see it. Still, any attempt to actually start a business deserves credit. Of course, three things remain non-negotiable: hard work, more hard work, and being smart with your capital. Not going to bore you with the details...

gogy said:Yeah, it's the same deal with small businesses. Just a massive jungle of red tape. Honestly, our bureaucracy is out of control—everyone knows it. But hey, any hustle to get a startup off the ground deserves props. You just need three things: work, work, and more work. Plus, don't blow your capital too fast. I'll stop there...

It’s really not that deep though.
Just find a solid lawyer who specializes in LLCs and business consulting. Drop maybe $2k or $3k on them, and you basically just show up a few times to sign whatever they put in front of you. No running around government offices, no knocking on doors, zero stress. You’ve got a legal business ready to roll in about ten days.

Getting a sole proprietorship is even easier!

Here are two links that might help you out...

I was initially thinking about just setting up a sole proprietorship, but I'm starting to realize that forming an LLC is also a viable option for me. I just need to spend a bit more time reading through all the fine print to really wrap my head around everything 🙂 (though honestly, hiring a consulting firm seems like a much more realistic path forward)
silentpanther15, could you help me out if you happen to know whether part of that $20,000 startup capital requirement needs to be held in cash?

If you actually want to open a small business, you’re basically looking at needing a master's certification or maybe something like 15 years of experience under your belt, I guess. So, unless you happen to have that sitting around somewhere, you might just have to hire someone who does,

Dennis Lopez46 said:silentpanther15, any idea if part of that $20,000 startup capital needs to be actual cash on hand?

Honestly, I have no clue... Sorry! 😢

I put up the whole amount in cash. All I know is that if you try to use assets to cover part of that $20k, you’re just making life harder for yourself—you'll have to deal with various commissions and appraisals, but hey, that's just me talking, I haven't been there.

Hiring a small business attorney is a smart move, though.
Yeah, it adds to the cost, but let's be real: I definitely wouldn't have been able to juggle all those moving parts and paperwork without some pro help.

Emily Ortiz25 said:To open a specialized trade, you're supposed to have a master's certification or about 15 years of experience under your belt. Do you have that? Of course not, so you'd have to hire someone who does.

That rule only applies to those specific licensed trades; if you're just setting up a general sole proprietorship, you don't need any of that.

I mean, they've actually made it incredibly straightforward 🙂 maybe talk to a small business attorney? 🙂 Basically, to get things moving, you head over to the city department of economic development (in New York, that would be over on Broadway). They give you a checklist of everything you need to gather, hand you the payment slips, and within a few days, you're pretty much set. You can probably pull all the paperwork together in a single day, it takes two or three days for them to process it, and after losing another day dealing with the IRS, Social Security Administration, and local agencies, you can finally start working. 🙂 The whole procedure has been streamlined to the extreme.

And just what kind of small business openings are we actually talking about here?

Emily Ortiz25 said:What kind of "unregulated" businesses are we talking about?

Basically, any business that doesn't require a specific professional license or state certification.🙂 🙂
I think I have a book somewhere that lists which trades are regulated versus those that aren't—some categories even overlap.
But one of the most common loopholes is setting up as a "marketing agency" or something similar. A massive number of small businesses officially register as marketing firms just to bypass the red tape.

The whole issue is that the government has really tightened the leash when it comes to both freelance work and small businesses.
Instead of actually making it easy for someone to get a shop up and running, they just make everything incredibly complicated, and then they have the nerve to complain about people working under the table.
I honestly feel like the options for freelance gigs are so limited right now that it’s almost impossible to build an actual, legitimate career out of it.
I'd love to see a complete list of what's actually allowed, if such a thing even exists.

Just as the title suggests... we're talking about an 18-year-old.

I reckon any adult can start their own business or LLC whenever they want.

I suppose, but the real question is about the unconventional parts: since he’s still a student, he isn't technically employed. That raises questions about how his contributions would be calculated, or if he'd need to register for full-time hours because he doesn't have other insurance coverage... and so on.

So, he’s attending school for free, yet he's running a business?

What exactly is his legal status?

I understand he's an adult... and it's obvious what happens if he drops out (registering with the unemployment office after leaving Elementary School), but what happens if he's a full-time student who also owns a company?

Is it possible to run a business without any employees?

We’ve been debating this one...

hm...

I can't quite recall the conclusion!

It doesn't necessarily need anyone on the payroll, provided at least one director is covered under a different type of insurance. But he isn't, since he's not actually working anywhere!

?

I honestly don't know (I'd be calling out to Lord Byron right now... oh God, I'm not even that religious 🙂)

I’ll be digging through some old threads for a bit, though I can't quite recall where I left off...

Commodus said:Hmm...

I can't quite recall the conclusion here.

Technically, there's no requirement to have employees, provided at least one director is covered under some other form of insurance. However, in this case, he isn't, since he isn't actually working anywhere.

?

I honestly haven't a clue (I'd probably call out to Lord Vojky right now... oh, God, I'm really not that religious)🙂

Since we aren't living under a monarchy, there is no need to invoke God when discussing the law...

A company doesn't necessarily need to employ anyone. The only catch is that as a director, you wouldn't be able to file for unemployment benefits after finishing school. Furthermore, running a business without any staff isn't particularly advantageous from a tax perspective.