STARTING A BUSINESS

 ⚖️ LEGAL & SETUP BASICS

🏢 Sole Proprietor vs LLC

Understand the differences between common business structures, including liability, taxes and registration requirements.

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) — Great for understanding business structures and deciding which structure may fit your situation.

• LegalZoom — Useful for LLC formation and other business legal services.

• Bizee — Useful for business formation and LLC setup services.

📝 Registering Your Business Name (DBA)

Learn how to register a trade name, fictitious name or “Doing Business As” name. Requirements vary by state and locality.

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) — Great starting point for understanding business-name and registration requirements.

• LegalZoom — Useful for DBA and business-registration assistance.

• Northwest Registered Agent — Useful for business formation, registered-agent and business filing services.

🆔 EIN / Business Tax ID

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a federal tax ID used by many businesses for taxes, banking, employees and other business purposes.

• IRS — Get an EIN — The official place to apply directly for a federal EIN for FREE.

• IRS — Starting a Business — Great for understanding federal tax responsibilities when starting a business.

Important: You do not need to pay a third-party company simply to obtain an EIN. Eligible businesses can obtain one directly from the IRS for free.

🏦 Business Bank Account

Learn why separating business and personal finances matters and what documents you may need to open a business account.

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) — Great for learning what to consider before opening a business bank account.

• Chase for Business — Useful for business checking, credit cards and other business banking services.

• Bank of America Small Business — Useful for business checking, savings, credit and merchant services.

📑 Basic Contracts & Agreements

Contracts can help define responsibilities, payment terms, ownership and expectations between businesses, customers, contractors and partners.

• Rocket Lawyer — Useful for creating and customizing common business legal documents and contracts.

• LegalZoom — Useful for business legal documents and access to legal services.

• LawDepot — Useful for creating customizable contracts and other legal documents.

🌐 Terms of Service Page

Terms of Service or Terms & Conditions can establish rules governing the use of your website, online store or digital service.

• Termly — Useful for generating website policies and managing compliance tools.

• TermsFeed — Useful for generating Terms & Conditions and other website policies.

• iubenda — Useful for website and app legal-policy and compliance solutions.

🔐 Privacy Policy Page

A privacy policy explains how a business collects, uses, stores and shares personal information. Applicable requirements depend on where the business and its customers are located.

• Termly — Useful for creating and maintaining privacy policies and consent tools.

• iubenda — Useful for privacy policies, cookie consent and privacy-compliance tools.

• TermsFeed — Useful for generating privacy policies and related website agreements.

↩️ Return & Refund Policy

A clear return and refund policy helps customers understand your rules for returns, exchanges, cancellations and refunds.

• Termly — Useful for generating return and refund policies for businesses.

• TermsFeed — Useful for creating customizable return and refund policies.

• Shopify — Useful for online sellers who need basic store-policy templates and generators.

™️ Trademark Basics

Learn how trademarks can help protect business names, logos and other identifiers used to distinguish your goods or services.

• U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) — The official U.S. resource for learning about trademarks and federal trademark registration.

• LegalZoom — Useful for businesses seeking trademark filing assistance.

• Trademarkia — Useful for trademark searching and trademark-related services.

🛡️ Protecting Your Digital Products

Creators selling ebooks, printables, courses, templates, graphics and other original digital content should understand copyright and intellectual-property protection.

• U.S. Copyright Office — The official U.S. source for copyright information and registration.

• U.S. Copyright Office — Registration Portal — Use this official portal when you want to learn about or register eligible copyrighted work.

• USPTO — Useful for understanding trademark protection for names, logos and brands associated with your products.

🏪 Business Insurance Basics

Business insurance can help protect a company against certain losses and liabilities. Required coverage can depend on your business, employees and location.

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) — Great for learning about common types of business insurance and what to consider.

• NEXT Insurance — Useful for small-business insurance and online quotes.

• Hiscox — Useful for small-business and professional insurance coverage.

🏠 Home-Based Business Rules

Running a business from home can still involve zoning, licenses, permits, taxes, HOA or lease restrictions and other local requirements.

• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) — Great for understanding location, zoning and other considerations for home-based businesses.

• SBA — Licenses & Permits — Great for learning which federal, state or local licenses and permits may apply.

• USA.gov — State Governments — Useful for finding your official state government and starting your search for state-specific requirements.

⚠️ IMPORTANT

Business registration, DBA, licensing, zoning, tax, insurance and other legal requirements can vary by state, county, city and type of business. Always check the appropriate government agencies for your location and consider consulting a qualified attorney, accountant or other professional when necessary.