Online vs Offline Business?

Q: How do I setup an offline business online: How to apply for an llcense, accounting software I use, who do I go to for copyright all rights reserved for my website, terms of use who writes this,  Overall steps or a process so that I can be legal online as well as offline Maam.  Please help.

Jeffery Brown

A:  Hi Jeffery–

Setting up your online biz isn’t much different from setting up one offline.  You need to contact your local authorities (city hall or county clerk) for a business license, and fulfill any other state requirements you might have, like sales tax permits. Here’s a link to all US official state websites:  https://www.usa.gov/Agencies/State_and_Territories.shtml  For more detail about local resources on business startup, you’ll probably want to check out the Small Business Administration website, https://www.sba.gov/localresources/index.html .  And, Entrepreneur.com offers a whole host of resources for starting a business on their website, https://www.entrepreneur.com/bizstartups/index.html.

I personally recommend Quickbooks for accounting purposes, although if your have a simple sole proprietorship, you can get by with Quicken or Quicken Home and Business.  These are available in any business supply store or online.

In terms of copyright, your website material becomes yours the moment you write it, assuming that the content is all original.  However, you can file copyright paperwork with the US Government and find out more about copyrights at https://www.copyright.gov/

This is the extent of what I can provide for you without knowing more about your business.  If you’re interested in online business coaching,  you can read more about that service here: https://www.onlinebizu.com/public/department54.cfm.

Good luck in your business startup!

Donna