Get Your Business License

If you plan on owning your own business, a legitimate business, then the first thing you are going to need to do is get your business license (or dba license). Many of the companies you want to work with will want to see proof of a business license issued in your state.

If you are planning on collecting money with your own merchant account, or shipping hard goods anywhere, or selling anything in a retail environment (including online stores), then you will need your license.

There are some occassions when you won't need one. For example, if you are selling a few things on eBay (although if you have your own eBay store, you should get a license), if you make your money as an affiliate promoting other people's products, or if your work is mostly as an employee or freelance worker for someone else.

Now, don't worry, it's not that hard or that expensive to get. Unfortunately, I can't give you instructions for how to get your license, because the procedure is different in every state. In fact it's different in almost every county.

But I can tell you that all you need to do is call your local city or town hall, and talk to the people who handle these things, most likely the city clerk's office. They should be able to give you all of the instructions you need. It should only take a few minutes to a few hours depending on how busy they are.

The good news is that you only ever need to get one license for a one-time fee, and it's good for as long as you want it. You can start as many websites, or store locations as you want under that one business name.