[xunkn0vvnx]

I am starting an e-commerce website with my brother. At the moment, I buy merchandise from liquidation sources and sell them on ebay. I would like to get into website creation and consulting other businesses. I live in Lakewood, CA and am unsure of the laws and regulations. I was referred over to legalzoom.com to establish my business.

Is this all I would need?

1) Business License (Business Tax Certificate): Required for all entities doing business within city limits. See "County Unincorporated" for businesses located outside of city limits.
Contact: City of Lakewood
Office of Business Licensing
5050 North Clark Avenue
Lakewood, CA 90712
562-866-9771, Ext. 2620


2) Fictitious Name Filing (DBA): Required if fictitious name is used.
Contact: County of Los Angeles
Business Name Filing and Registration
12400 East Imperial Highway
Room 1007
Norwalk, CA 90650
562-462-2177

3) Corporation, Company or Partnership Filings: If you are considering becoming a corporation, (either stock or nonprofit), a limited liability company or a partnership (limited, or limited liability), you must file with the Secretary of State's Office.
Contact: Secretary of State
Business Programs Division
1500 11th Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
916-657-5448
Notes: Also, if you are conducting business as one of the following, you must file a bond with the Secretary of State's Office: immigration consultant,credit services organization, dance studio, discount buying organization, employment agency, employment counseling service, invention developer, job listing service, nurses registry, or auctioneer or auction company.

4) Sales & Use Permit (Seller's Permit): All businesses selling or leasing tangible property must obtain a Seller's Permit.
Contact: State Board of Equalization
Sales/ Use Tax Division
For office locations... Notes: For Additional information about RESALE CERTIFICATE go to this website: www.boe.ca.gov/sutax/faqresale.htm

5) How do I go about getting a TAX ID number?

[xunkn0vvnx]

Would you suggest going through legalzoom.com for ease?

DBA/Business Name Registration Standard DBA Package $99.00 + state fees
Professional Review For Common Mistakes Included

A lawyer would charge you approximately $684.00 for a DBA filing.*

You save $585.00 with LegalZoom!

Optional Services:

Prepare Federal Tax ID Application $30.00

Obtain Tax ID Number from IRS $79.00

Prepare Seller's Permit Application $35.00

$245.00 Total for everything correct???

[Corey Bryant]

Jeffrey Cohen of Internet Litigators should be able to help you out. Consider having a relationship with an attorney that way you have someone to rely on in case something happens

You can get a Tax ID number for free form the IRS website actually. And Cohen is based in California.

[xunkn0vvnx]

Thanks for the advice, I'll give him a call tomorrow. Anybody else have experience with this?

[jasaunders]

If you are intelligent enough to read and fill out forms, don't waste your time with legal zoom. They are charging you up to $100 to fill out a form that takes less than 20 minutes. Instead, research by going to the sba website, your states secretary of state website, and your city's website. You will find all the information you need to correctly start your business.

[Xanifur]

Starting a buisness is very easy to do on your own, as for a corporation I might suggest legalzoon, because that gets a bit more complicated.

In most cases the sales certificate is the Tax ID#

All I had to do for my state is get a sellers permit, which is the Tax ID and DBA All in one, only a few simple forms and a $20 fee.

[ltressel]

Xunk,

I hope that I am not too late to give you this help. To get your EIN number,
visit irs.gov

You should be able to download the app and fill it out online. You should be able to get your EIN number instantly after you fill out the app.

You don't need to pay anyone to do this for you. With a little patience, you will be able to do it yourself. Most of the forms you need is available online.

Be advise that the secretary of state is really back logged. When I filed for my business incorporation, it was going to take over two months to apply by mail. That wouldn't be too bad however if you want to be a functional business like yesterday the time line might not do, (you are prohibited to do business unless you are registered).

Our solution, my brother and my cousin drove to Sacramento to file, got it file stamped and approved in 45 minutes. We were a legitimate corporation based in California within minutes. Of course the drive took 6 hours. They wanted to do a road trip.

Understand that you do not need the Business filing to open your bank account if you are an incorporated business. As long as you have your incorporation documents consisting of a file stamped articles of incorporation and your company officers you will be good to go.

I've filed my 2 corporations in Nevada and California. Both are LLCs.

I hope this helps.

LT