Getting Started

I decided the other day to stop wallowing and get started on this business idea.  I wasn't getting anything done sitting around doing nothing.  I think part of my hesitation was the fact that I don't like making phone calls.  I would much rather talk to someone in person, at least most of the time.  I left a message yesterday at the borough's zoning office.  In the afternoon, someone called me back to tell me I didn't need to talk to them but to the tax office.  I called the tax office who told me that I'd just need to pay quarterly taxes and register for a sales tax license through the state but that our senator's office was right in downtown Canonsburg so I could go there and get what I needed.  The man at the tax office must have never gone there to get something.  He might not have been so quick to say this if he had.

Well, anyway, I was so excited that the ball started rolling I jumped in my car and headed to the Senator's office.  The older gentleman who was there asked if he could help me.  I told him I was interested in starting a business and that I'd like any information he could give me.  He stared at me.  That was a little awkward.  He asked what my business was and said I'd need a sales tax license.  He printed the forms from online for me.  I was happy to see my tax dollars at work in the form of ink and paper that I myself didn't have to waste at home.  He asked me what else I needed.  Well, I'm just getting started.  I don't know what I need.  That's why I came to you.

I asked some questions.  He asked some questions.  When I gave him an answer, he'd stare at me.  I almost think he was shuffling through the "virtual files" in his mind to find the right solution.  He gave me a little bit more information and then I left.

My neighbor gave me the name of an attorney she thought could help me, but I didn't want to make a phone call.  I posted on Facebook that I was looking for advice.  My dilemma was whether or not to become a sole proprietorship or a limited liability corporation.  After getting differing opinions, I decided my best bet was to make the phone call.  This morning, I called the office of Smith Butz Attorneys at Law and talked to Brian Lawton, Esquire.  He spent about a half an hour on the phone with me answering all my questions without knowing whether or not I'd even use him.  That spoke volumes to me.  He was also VERY knowledgeable.  Of course, there is a fee with using an attorney, not a cheap fee, but I would know that everything would be done correctly in the long run; and I wouldn't spend hours online learning what I needed to do and hoping, just hoping, I did everything right.  Besides, I have a ton of other things I need to do online to get this business off the ground, like prepare items to sell!!  I will probably meet with him in about a month, as soon as I have a couple of things I feel are ready to sell.  Oh, I do have to come up with a name for my business that uses my last name.  Any ideas?