need help starting business

[rub8322]

Hello, I am planning on creating my own sole proprietorship business in Florida as an online reseller of different products. I have my finances ready and my fictitious name. I'm going to be the only person working in this business.

What other steps do I need to consider?
Should I make it llc?
Do i need to get permit with the city or only with the state?
What are good sources to buy from?
Should I get a EIN?
Is the fictitious name good enough to start?

[Harold Mansfield]

Hello, I am planning on creating my own sole proprietorship business in Florida as an online reseller of different products. I have my finances ready and my fictitious name. I'm going to be the only person working in this business.

What other steps do I need to consider?
Yes, there are a ton of other things to consider. Website. Location (if applicable). taxation. Insurance. A marketing plan to bring customers in. But not knowing much about your business model, it's hard to say.


Should I make it llc?
You could, but then that wouldn't be a sole proprietorship, it would be a corporation.


Do i need to get permit with the city or only with the state?
Can't say for sure. Is this a brick and mortar location or online? Best to check with your local government for requirements specific to your area.


What are good sources to buy from?
Buy what?


Should I get a EIN?
I would.


Is the fictitious name good enough to start?
Again, what kind of business? Online or physical? Your local resources will be able to answer that better than we can...unless someone from FL can chime in.

You can get all of that information and then some, including state specific answers on the SBA website. You'll have to navigate around, but it's a good resource and good place to start.
The U.S. Small Business Administration | SBA.gov (http://www.sba.gov/)

[rub8322]

Thank you for the prompt reply Harold. The business consist of selling online, mainly electronics.

When I went to register for the state, they have sole proprietorship llc as an option. This is why I was asking.

If I get a EIN are there any fees or payments to be made. How does it work.

What are good sources to buy electronics in bulk.

Should I create my website, What is the best way for a beginner like me.

[vangogh]

Welcome to the forum rub8322. I'll echo what Harold said and ask you a question. Could you tell us more about the products you plan on selling? Its hard for us to recommend sources or offer ideas about what you need to do unless we know more details about your business.

Like Harold said you can form an LLC, but then you wouldn't be a sole proprietor. Do you have assets you want to protect? That's one of the main reasons to form an LLC. Setting up as a sole proprietor is the quickest and easiest way to form a business. With your business name you shouldn't need anything else to get started.

Permits will be dependent on the state and will depend on what you're selling. As far as getting an EIN you don't need one. You need it if you have employees. However, it's easy to get and I can't think of a reason not to. There are advantages like being able to use the EIN on some forms instead of having to use your social security number.

[Harold Mansfield]

Thank you for the prompt reply Harold. The business consist of selling online, mainly electronics.

When I went to register for the state, they have sole proprietorship llc as an option. This is why I was asking.
I've never heard of a "Sole Proprietor LLC". I think maybe you mean "Single Member LLC":
Single Member Limited Liability Companies (http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed/Single-Member-Limited-Liability-Companies)


If I get a EIN are there any fees or payments to be made. How does it work.
No. I've never paid a fee. You just go to the IRS website and apply for one. Your personal taxes need to be order first.
Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online (http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-%26-Self-Employed/Apply-for-an-Employer-Identification-Number-%28EIN%29-Online)


What are good sources to buy electronics in bulk.
If you don't have this figured out yet, you have a long way to go. Depending on what kind of electronics, I'm pretty sure you have to be a dealer or distributor to even buy...let alone buy in bulk.


Should I create my website, What is the best way for a beginner like me.
Again, this is a huge question with many variables.

You should probably work on the other stuff first and find out what kind of product you will be selling, get your supply line or drop ship details in order, and then investigate the best ecommerce solution for it.

[vangogh]

Looks like you were posting when I was and answered one of my questions before I asked it. :)

Once again I'll agree with everything Harold said above. It sounds like you haven't really done much research yet into any of this. Before anything else I think it would be a good idea to decide more specifically what you want to sell and then figure out where you can get it and how much money you can make in the sale. I went to Google and searched "reseller electronics" and there are a ton of results. Why not do the same search and start researching. Some of the results look like information and some look like reseller programs you can join. Investigate some of the programs and see which you think would work for you.

Then figure out how you're going to make the business work. You're going to have to do more than build a website and list the products. There will probably be thousands of other sites selling the same products as part of the same reseller program. What are you going to offer to differentiate yourself.

One thought if you're willing to take the long road is to build an informational site about the kind of electronic products you would like to sell. Say you want to sell accessories for smart phones and tablets. You could start a blog about tablets and phones and build an audience around it. As you do you can introduce a shop with products. You could review new products. If you wanted to focus on tablets and phones you might find it easier to distinguish between iPhones and iPads and Android phones and tablets. Regardless of what you choose to sell keep in mind you'll likely be selling the exact same products and the exact same prices as many other businesses so you have to find some way to differentiate your site from the others since it won't be the products that differentiate you.

These are some of the things you should be thinking about.


What products do you want to sell?
How are you going to get people to your site?
How are you going to get people coming back to your site?
What are you going to do to stand out from all the other sites selling the same products


You're going to have to do more than list products on a site. Before jumping ahead to the site you probably want to spend some time planning the business and asking and answering a lot of questions about how the business will work. Once you do questions like where to get products and what's the best way to build the website will answer themselves.

[rub8322]

I plan on selling name brand electronics mainly small...., cameras, cellphones, computer accessories, etc.

[Harold Mansfield]

I plan on selling name brand electronics mainly small...., cameras, cellphones, computer accessories, etc.

And you haven't lined up any suppliers yet? How do you even know that it's viable with any decent margins?

[Fulcrum]

Brand name electronics - very, very tough market to break into.

Many manufactures of common items, if they don't have sole distribution agreements with distributors, will require that you can sell a minimum amount per year before giving you any kind of respectable discount (<10% to start which often is breakeven) or even deal with you. I've got a friendly competitor that is one of 3 distributors, in Ontario, for a global leader in sawmill supplies (band saw blades, large diameter circular saws, knives, etc) and they require that he sells $1,000,000/year of new product of each type before they will give him that respectable discount.

I'm not saying this to discourage you. I just want to make you aware of what some requirements can be. I know there are some distributors here and if I'm wrong about I posted above, please correct me.

[vangogh]

Instead of trying to sell a bunch of different types of electronics you might be better to focus on one and build a site around that topic. Again you're going to find it difficult to just put some products on a site and get people to buy from you, especially when they can get the same products at the same prices elsewhere.

Have a look at this site. It's Digital Photography School (http://digital-photography-school.com/) and it's run by Darren Rowse who also runs Pro Blogger. The DPS site is filled with information about digital cameras. There's a blog and a forum, tutorials and tips. There's a lot of great information on the site and people visit it and come back again. Darren makes money mainly (possibly entirely) through advertising and affiliate sales. For example there's an article on the site about the 10 most popular compact cameras. Every camera links to a page at Amazon selling the camera. If someone clicks and buys something from Amazon, Darren makes some money.

I don't he sells cameras directly, but there's no reason he could add a store to the site that directly sells cameras too.

You could build a site around smart phones or computer accessories or most anything else tech related. If the site gains in popularity you can add more topics. A site about smartphones could easily add information about tablets and even PCs in time.

[rub8322]

Im wondering, how do blogs get paid, I know it's based on how many people visit, but how does someone collect money?

[tallen]

(1) the blog shows advertising, for which the advertisers pay (based on traffic, clicks, affiliate kick-back scheme, or other...)
(2) the blog is open only to subscribers who have paid for a subscription (better have some really hot content that people want!)
(3) the blog is part of a larger site, with the blog being a draw for larger site or the large site gets some other value out of it, for which it pays the blogger (see also #1, and #4).
(4) the blog is selling something (e.g. it's an info-mercial; see #3)

Those are the main models I can think of.

[rub8322]

So, no one can get paid by posting a blog with lots of educational information for example and get paid with viewers clicking on website?

[tallen]

rub, in your vision, think about WHO would pay the blogger? and WHY would they pay the blogger? If you think about the answers to these questions, I think it will probably lead you to one or more of the models I suggested above.

[Harold Mansfield]

So, no one can get paid by posting a blog with lots of educational information for example and get paid with viewers clicking on website?


Sure, someone could hire you to blog for them. It pays like crap unless you have a name for yourself as an expert about something, or are a journalist working for a large media company.
It's basically a writing job...the same as for magazines and newspapers.

[rub8322]

Ok, I was able to do some research and found my sources to get products from.
My next questions would be:
when I get my reseller license, and for some reason, I don't sell at the beginning, do I have to report taxes for zero sales?
Do I have to report taxes to the state and the irs or just one?

[tallen]

In my state, we have to file a sales and use tax return every month, whether we sold anything or not. You report your sales tax to the state, and possibly your county and/or city if they have a sales tax as well as the state.

[rub8322]

In my state, we have to file a sales and use tax return every month, whether we sold anything or not. You report your sales tax to the state, and possibly your county and/or city if they have a sales tax as well as the state.

Please pardon my noobie questions,

Does the tax return part mean that i have to report to the irs every month?

Is there any monthly or annual fee after getting the license for the state or county.

[Harold Mansfield]

Does the tax return part mean that i have to report to the irs every month?
No. Quarterly or yearly, depending on your business structure.
All of the information you need is here:
Small Businesses & Self Employed (http://www.irs.gov/Businesses/Small-Businesses-&-Self-Employed)

Choosing your business structure: Choose Your Business Structure | SBA.gov (http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/choose-your-business-stru)


Is there any monthly or annual fee after getting the license for the state or county.
Yes, business licenses typically cost something. You'll need to check with your local or state agencies to see how much.
Obtain Business Licenses & Permits | SBA.gov (http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/obtain-business-licenses-)

[rub8322]

Should I register under LLC, would that be better for taxes?

[Harold Mansfield]

Should I register under LLC, would that be better for taxes?
You really need to check out the links that I've been posting for you. The information you are seeking is right there. You are asking questions that you need to decide for yourself once you've understood the information. We can't make these decisions for you. Each option is better for different people based on their situation.

[vangogh]

Before you get ahead of yourself and worry about what kind of business entity to form (LLC, sole proprietor, etc.) or taxes, think about your business model. I suggested a site like Digital Photography School (DPS) is because it has the kind of business model you'd likely want to follow. Yes you can use WordPress. That's what DPS uses. If you want to sell other people's products you need to give people a reason to visit your site and buy from you. A good way to do that is to provide information and build a community. Get people coming to your site for the information and community. When they're ready to buy something, they'll be more likely to buy through you because they trust your advice and want to help support you.

[rebeccajyo]

Hi, do you have interest in selling fashion clothing and accessories online? You can start from drop ship which is more safe and less cost. Usually the fashion things are easily to promote and expand through social media.

[FlyPizzaGuy]

Welcome to the forum rub8322. I'll echo what Harold said and ask you a question. Could you tell us more about the products you plan on selling? Its hard for us to recommend sources or offer ideas about what you need to do unless we know more details about your business.

Like Harold said you can form an LLC, but then you wouldn't be a sole proprietor. Do you have assets you want to protect? That's one of the main reasons to form an LLC. Setting up as a sole proprietor is the quickest and easiest way to form a business. With your business name you shouldn't need anything else to get started.

Permits will be dependent on the state and will depend on what you're selling. As far as getting an EIN you don't need one. You need it if you have employees. However, it's easy to get and I can't think of a reason not to. There are advantages like being able to use the EIN on some forms instead of having to use your social security number.

Very helpful information thanks a bunch!!

[FlyPizzaGuy]

I don't suggest drop shipping unless you have a lot of time on your hands and follow up on things a lot. Its like being a middleman which can be costly. Not the best thing in the book if you ask me.