business questions

[Infinityheat]

I've got the sauce making part down and now i have questions on the business part of runing a hot sauce business

I know theres a pinned post already but i still have some more questions

such as what do i need before i actually start selling my sauce
does my business need to be registered before i start
do i need anything special to sell online?

those are all the things i can really think of right now

any help would be greatly appeciated!

 

[FuzeBox]

What you need to sell a product under a business name is a Tax Id#: http://www.sba.gov/c...fication-number

You will aslo need(if wanting to do internet business): A registered(paid for) domain name for which THIS is the cheapest way: http://www.godaddy.com/

You will also need special food ceritication: http://www.inc.com/g...-to-market.html

Once the above are obtained... you should be good to go... then once your business starts producing beyond your control you're going to additional shipping software, accounting software(to keep track of things), an AP/AR guy or you can do all of these quite inexpensively through MYOB which is a free software to help you manage such things... http://myob.com.au/m...y-1258091115997

There you go!

 

[cory_huck]

haha.... I HATE "GoBadly" dot com

 

[Joshuap2000]

Once the above are obtained... you should be good to go... then once your business starts producing beyond your control you're going to additional shipping software, accounting software(to keep track of things), an AP/AR guy or you can do all of these quite inexpensively through MYOB which is a free software to help you manage such things... http://myob.com.au/m...y-1258091115997

There you go!

Free software, they look like 30 day trails only, where are the free ones at?

 

[Infinityheat]

What you need to sell a product under a business name is a Tax Id#: http://www.sba.gov/c...fication-number

You will aslo need(if wanting to do internet business): A registered(paid for) domain name for which THIS is the cheapest way: http://www.godaddy.com/

You will also need special food ceritication: http://www.inc.com/g...-to-market.html

Once the above are obtained... you should be good to go... then once your business starts producing beyond your control you're going to additional shipping software, accounting software(to keep track of things), an AP/AR guy or you can do all of these quite inexpensively through MYOB which is a free software to help you manage such things... http://myob.com.au/m...y-1258091115997

There you go!

Is it better to get a merchant account domain
Or to just get a domain and then a paypal merchant accout
Or with paypal do i still need a merchant domain

 

[Lucky Dog Hot Sauce]

I've got the sauce making part down and now i have questions on the business part of runing a hot sauce business

I know theres a pinned post already but i still have some more questions

such as what do i need before i actually start selling my sauce

Uh, lots. lol

You need to register your business with the county. You need a tax ID. You need to make it or have it made in a safe & more importantly, authorized production kitchen. One that gets inspected. You'll likely need insurance, the type depending on whether you manufacture it or have it manufactured. There are also labeling requirements. & other considerations.

does my business need to be registered before i start

Yes, as far as I know. Any business does.

do i need anything special to sell online?

Yes - the same things you need to sell off-line. Business registered, product produced in an authorized manner.

any help would be greatly appeciated!

There's a ton of info on this site. I've posted a lot, but look for SalsaLady's posts, as she's absolutely been the best resource for info on here from what I've seen. She's been doing this for a long time and has a great body of knowledge and a passion for food sales and safe handling practices.

You can find pretty much everything you need on the business page - search around a bit. Everything you've asked in his post is available. If you can't do the work to look around, you won't be able to do the work to put it together.

You haven't even mentioned scale - that's a critical aspect of starting any business. Decide what your target market it - Farmer's Markets? Online sales? Local distribution? National? That has to be answered before you can even think about the rest of this stuff. It's going to take a hell of a lot of work and money to make a sauce hobby into a business.

Also tax ID is your social security number. You have that already I'm sure.

 

[salsalady]

thanks for the comments, LD, [sub]btw, the bottle is pretty much GONE! [/sub]

if you wish to pursue making something as a business, take it back to the basic business prospective.

Ge ahold of your state, and see what you need to do to run a food business. They should have some basic paramaters for using your own kitchennor using anohter kitchen. You need to find out what's required for YOUR area.

If you start a business as a sole proprietor (which is the most commons for small side businesses) you should get set up with the IRS. Don't let that scare you, it can work to your advantage. Check out SCORE and SBA for local resources that can help you with setting up your business plan. You'll have to do some licalized/specialized work about getting a food business going, but please remember, your local health authorities have done this before! Use their knowledge, they are the ones you'll be dealing with on an ongoing basis.

it's not as daunting as it sounds. WA state business license is $25, and my state food license is $55. add a little insurance, and you are on the way.

 

[Infinityheat]

i know i need an LLC and i know i need to make ain a commercial kitchen. im going to ask the church near me if i can rent theres because its like 3 minutes from my house.

ive seen something about registering your business by fileing your DBA which is like $99 is that what i need to do to get everything registered and tax forms and such? and do i need a federal business license and state? and is a business license the same as having thge business registered?

Im very new to all this so i thank you all for the help!

 

[Infinityheat]

Also. If i use a co packer(such as endorphin farms) do i still need an food lisence and such? Or just a business license

 

[Lucky Dog Hot Sauce]

i know i need an LLC and i know i need to make ain a commercial kitchen. im going to ask the church near me if i can rent theres because its like 3 minutes from my house.

You don't need an LLC - if it's just you it makes little sense to spend $800 a year on that. I met with a couple of folks about that & posted about the experience & decision process. Sole proprietor is totally sufficient.

ive seen something about registering your business by fileing your DBA which is like $99 is that what i need to do to get everything registered and tax forms and such? and do i need a federal business license and state? and is a business license the same as having thge business registered?

When you file your DBA and publish it (2 separate things) you're a registered business. You first send in th forms to your county with the DBA name, address and owner name. You send it to them in triplicate with whatever they charge (for me it was $40). Then you have to have it published in a newspaper in same county (preferably the city in which your business is located) at whatever the newspaper charges (for me it was $62)

 

[Matanzima]

You don't need an LLC - if it's just you it makes little sense to spend $800 a year on that. I met with a couple of folks about that & posted about the experience & decision process. Sole proprietor is totally sufficient.

I think its only $800 per year in the DPRC (Democratic Peoples Republic of California) . AFAIK almost every other state is either free or much cheaper. But point taken, you don't need to be a LLC

 

[salsalady]

Depending on where you live (in a city/county) will likely dictate what you need for a business license. For Washington state, most incorporated cities require the businesses to have a city business license. Where we live out in the county, we have a state business license. We don't have to "publish" the dba. Talk to some stores or businesses where you live. Other small business people will tell you what's needed for where you live.

The business license allows you to engage in commerce in your city/state. yuou will be required to file quarterly or yearly reports and pay any applicable sales tax or B&O tax.

If you "engage in commerce" the IRS will want their piece of the pie, and with them you will now be required to fill out Schedule C and 1040 long forms. No more 1040EZ's for you~

You do not have to "register" with the IRS, just fill out the correct forms using your SS number as your tax registration number and fill out the forms as self employed. $100 for TurboTax will be the single best software investment you can make for your business.