The Law: Making Sure Your Business Complies 3
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
If a business was operated on the property before I bought it, will I be able to run a business there, too?
Not necessarily. If the property is in a residential area, the people before you might have been operating illegally or might have had a special use permit that won't apply to your business. Other factors can also come into play. In Southern California, a horse breeder ran afoul of zoning laws after buying a ranch because he had twenty-nine horses on the ranch, and the zoning laws only permitted twenty-one. The only way you will know for sure is to check the zoning laws or have an attorney do it for you.
Where do I find out about state and federal laws affecting my business.
Local offices of the Small Business Administration (SBA), the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), or Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in your area may be able to provide the information you need or tell you where to get it . Look on the SBA web site (http://www.sba.gov), in the blue pages of your phone book under federal government for SBA and SCORE locations near you, or call the SBA automated information system at (800) 827-5722 [live person before 5PM] for the location of the nearest office. If there are any SBDCs in your area they will be under the state listings rather than the federal government listings. Still another possible source of information will be colleges or universities in your region that have small business or entrepreneurial courses or majors.
Should I use my own name or a business name?
Many people operate under their own name at least during the start-up phase of their business. Doing so lets them avoid having to open a separate bank account for the business. While this works for some businesses, others find that asking people to make checks out to them personally makes the business look small and unprofessional.
Can I add "and Associates" or "and Company" to my real name without having to register it as a business name?
Adding words to or changing your legal name in any way makes it a fictitious name and will most likely subject you to registration requirements.
What happens if I don't register my business name?
Most banks will not cash checks made out to your business name unless you have given them a copy of your DBA. Thus, if you don't register your business name and a customer gives you a check made out to that name, you either have to return the check and ask for a new one or register the name and get the DBA before cashing the check. If you try to register the business name and someone is already using a confusingly similar name, you may not be allowed to register your chosen name.
What will it cost to register my business name and get the licenses I need?
Usually the cost of a DBA is relatively insignificant. Fees quoted from different parts of the country range from $30 to $60. You may have to pay fees for other permits, licenses, or bonds, however, and those fees can be steep -- running to hundreds or maybe even thousands of dollars, depending on the nature of your business.
What do I have to do to register the business name?
You should go to the county or city clerk's office and search the records to see if there is any other business in your area using the name you want to use. If no other business is using that name, you will fill out a form, sign it, get it notarized, and pay a fee. In a few states, sole proprietorships and partnerships are registered at the state level rather than local. (Corporations are always registered at the state level, often through the Department of State.)
What can I do if someone else is using the name?
Often, the only thing you can do is choose another name. To avoid wasting time, it would be a good idea to check local phone books to see if anyone is using the business name you want before you register the name and to have several alternatives in mind if the name you prefer turns out to be already in use.
Can I use any name that isn't registered in the local area?
There may be companies that have registered national trademarks or have prior use rights to a name, which would bar you from using that name even though it is not registered locally. You couldn't call your local computer company Apple Computer, for instance, even if Apple Computer has not registered its name in your locality. You might be able to register Apple Stationery, Apple Chair Company, or other names that combined the word apple with something unrelated to computers.
What happens if I do accidentally use another business's name?
If the business sells in your area and has prior use rights to the name, they could force you to stop using the business name. You would then, have to alert your customers, change your stationery, change your phone listings and business cards, and so on.
How can I find out if businesses outside my immediate area are using the name I want to use?
If you have access to the Internet, you can do free searches for nationally registered trademarks from the U.S. Patent and Trademark office web site at http://www.uspto.gov. Trademarks don't have to be registered nationally to be valid, so it's a good idea to search other sources as well. You can quickly find web sites that may have similar names by searching for the name of the company on popular Internet portals such as Google, Yahoo, MSN, America Online, Lycos, or Dogpile. It's also a good idea to search the WhoIs registry at GoDaddy.com, NetworkSolutions.com or any of the major web site registrars to see if anyone has registered your preferred name as a website. Finally, ask your public library if they have reference books or CD-ROMs that contain trademarks that have been registered in individual states. If you can afford it and the name is very important to you, consider hiring an intellectual properties attorney to do a more complete for the name.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
