Now may be the time to start that business

By Steve Maple

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Business isn’t exactly booming right now, so why write about starting your own business? Entrepreneurs can create their own opportunities. Now may be that time. This article focuses on Web resources for the startup business, but it applies to an existing business as well. [ad#single-post] Begin with the Small Business Administration Web site (sba.gov) “Small Business Planner.” The SBA site has a checklist for starting a business and a form to help you determine if owning your own business is right for you. Not everyone wants the risk, long hours and discipline necessary to succeed. Several articles focus on every aspect of establishing a business from choosing a name, structure, financing, accounting and legal documents. You may want to buy an existing business or franchise. It’s in there. Also, the site refers you to possible mentors through its retired executives advisers (SCORE). The Indiana Secretary of State’s Web site (ai.org/sos) starts with its “Entrepreneur Guide” and provides references for the various state agencies that the new business will encounter for taxes, licenses and permits — from the Department of Revenue to Workforce Development. The site provides the basic legal documents to form a corporation (Articles of Incorporation) or Limited Liability Company (Articles of Organization). You can file online. In addition, the Indiana Web site (ai.org) has a “Business Owner’s Guide to State Government,” which provides valuable information for negotiating the maze of state government. The IRS Web site (irs.gov) provides the forms (for example, form SS4, tax ID application) and publications for the small business. The most helpful publications are “Employer’s Tax Guide,” publication 15 and “Tax Guide for Small Businesses,” publication 334; both of these guides and all the IRS forms may be downloaded. The Indiana Department of Revenue Web site (ai.org/dor) has a small business education center. The site has such basics as registering with the DOR, information on all Indiana business taxes, tax collection process and its forms. The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (ai.org/dwd) may provide you information for potential employee and has a handbook for unemployment insurance requirements. The Worker’s Compensation Board site (ai.org/wcb) has a “Worker’s Compensation Handbook” for employers that is useful in understanding the law relating to workplace injuries. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (eeoc.gov) site has articles that explain most federal employment discrimination laws and how to avoid their violation. The Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor site (dol.gov/esa/whd) discusses minimum and overtime wage laws. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission Web site (ai.org/icrc) has little to offer other that a copy of the employment discrimination statutes. If your business has a trademark that you want to protect, then you can search for similar marks and register your trademark at the U.S. Trademark office Web site (uspto.gov) and for Indiana with the Secretary of State. Your business name could be a valuable asset. Also, patent information is on the U.S. Patent Office Web site (uspto.gov) and copyright information is found at the U.S. Copyright office site (copyright.gov). After you have prepared yourself, you are now ready to sit down with your attorney, accountant and insurance agent to begin your entrepreneurship and open a new chapter in your life.

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