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Hi All,
I thought I would share some of the info I have been looking into. I have been trying to figure out if I need a business license or resellers permit to sell locally. I also wanted to find out about sales tax and when I need to charge it etc.
I found the Small Business Administration at
They have all kinds of kits for managing your business etc. It also looks like there are some links specifically geared towards women owned businesses (Sorry no offense guys).
I also set up a meeting with someone from SCORE (Service Corp of Retired Executives). They set you up with a retired professional in your field (retail) to help with business management planning etc.
I'm pretty sure SCORE is nationwide in the U.S. It's free and seems like a great resource. I figure I might even find a mentor. I'm hoping to also get some info on reasonable pricing to make a profit. When/how/if to spend $ on ads. How much time to spend making vs. selling (I know this one is big for us)
SCORE is at
It looks like you can even ask questions on-line.
Hope this is helpful. I will share any tidbits that I get from my meeting on Thursday.
Christl
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Thanks for reminding me. I have to register to collect sales tax in Maryland but I only need to charge it to buyers in Maryland (or if I sell at a craft show).
I think I need to register as a business, too.
Must go make 'to do' list!
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that's good info thanks! I'll keep an eye out for your posting after you have the meeting.
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Ok I have to say that my meeting was a disapointment. The person I met with probably couldn't even spell internet never mind understanding what etsy is. He did think I needed a business license and sellers permit though. I will look into that myself. He suggested a separate bank account LOL (I'd have to have something to put in it first). Generally this guy was into talking about selling widgets and long term plans to pay off startup costs. I don't sell widgets and the startup costs for me are the cost of yarn and the .20 etsy charges. If I make one sale I'm covered.
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I'm not surprised tbh. I find most of the small business-geared stuff is pretty useless for cottage industries (though, as it was years ago since I last looked into it, I didn't want to say anything in case I was wrong).
Nevertheless, it's good you tried it out. Thanks for reporting back!
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I looked into this because I too was worried that I needed to register as a business and such. What I found out is that if I don't foresee that my business will make more than $12k a year, I don't need to have a business license at all. It's fairly expensive to register, so that's a good thing. You still need to send in the application, but say you're exempt because you won't be making more than $12k a year. I don't know if this is true in all states though.
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Question for you guys...
I have been wanting to get a business license to that I can be "official" but I'm not really sure if I can do that while I'm on unemployment. I was laid off back in Feb. I can't afford to have anything screw that up. And my last sale was back in mid-July so I am not really making anything off of Etsy, so I don't want to alert Unemployment.
It just doesn't make sense to me that I can collect unemployment and be register as a small business... I can't seem to find anything on the internet and I don't want to call unemployment and "alert" them.
Any advice/ suggestions? I was thinking that I might just hold off on all of this until I get a job again.
Thanks for reading!
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Mary,
I'm not sure about that. I imagine it depends upon the state you live in. The unemployment checks come from the state right?
You probably wouldn't have to call them. They must have a website with some FAQs. Alternatively, you could call your town who would issue the business license and ask them.
Wish I had more info.
Christl