Always contact a Lawyer for advice as to how to set up a business if you are unsure. There is always free legal advice available through SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). If your business starts to get really lucrative in future, you can even consider moving up from a Business to a Corporation, or an LLC. You can incorporate online at www.incorporatenow.com. SCORE will tell you how and not charge you a fortune to do it! You can also check Yellow Pages under "Free Legal Aid". There are numerous agencies ready to assist you in starting a business. Call SBA (Small Business Administration) or visit their Web-Site at http://www.sba.gov. Here are following steps, posted in order of operation:1. Establish A Post Office Box.: This can either be done directly at US Post office, or through a private company such as Mail Boxes etc. To get your Business License and other paperwork processed quickly , they will need a PO Box or some type of business address. That's why you should get your PO Box first.
2. Fictitious Business Get A Name: Find out from City Hall where to go to get a "Fictitious Business Name". This is just a fancy way of saying name for your business. Before you go, you should think of a good name. Here's an example. If your last name was Ramirez, you might want to call it "Ramirez Security" or something similar. The cost for this is about $10.00.
3. Give Public Notice of Your New Business: After you get your Fictitious Business Name, you will get a receipt for this. You can bring this receipt to your local newspaper, and they will know what to do. They will charge you a modest fee, but make sure that they offer full services, including filing it with County Clerk and giving you a confirmation letter after this is complete. You need to give "Public Notice" of your DBA (Doing business As) name. This means that you will have to get it published in a paper for 4 weeks, once a week.
4. Apply For a Business License : Go to City Hall in City you live in and apply for a Business License. Different cities might have different procedures and fees. They should give you an application to fill out. This is always done after Fictitious Business Name statement, because they need to know name of your business on application. This only makes sense. It takes a few weeks to receive your license in mail once your application has been processed.
5. Open up a Business Checking Account: Go to your local bank and set up a Business Checking Account. This usually requires a deposit of $100.00 or so. Also, if you plan on accepting credit card orders, inquire about a merchant account. They will be very happy to discuss all options with you. Also, have bank make you an Endorsement stamp according to their specifications. Your first couple of hundred business checks will be mailed to you within a few weeks of ordering. The bank will explain to you how an Endorsement stamp works.