15-Entrepreneur help/advice

[avatar.alex]

Ok I am 15 years old and have big plans for me. I am going into web development and I soon to open my own web development service-web site, web apps, shopping sites, etc. But I would like some advice on dos and don'ts laws and licenses. But I am going to get further edu in the field.

[ProLogic]

As soon as you add me we can talk

[AllBallz.Net]

If you wanted to, you could look back at some of the older posts on here that deal with your topic. I'm sure there has got to be something that will help you out.

[greggomatic76]

Any specific questions you would like help with? Your answer could be in the form of a book...

[avatar.alex]

Laws on web deisgn sites. Licenses, ups and downs experiences anything that could help me@

[akula]

Laws on web deisgn sites. Licenses, ups and downs experiences anything that could help me@

I wouldn't worry about the legalities of anything

You're a minor, laws don't apply to you....figuratively speaking

In other words, don't worry, no one's gonna sue you

Ups and downs? You really don't wanna hear about that

Think sunshine and lollipops, that's the best way

[avatar.alex]

I would like to hear about it so I can learn from other peoples mistakes

[akula]

hehhe...a glutton for punishment?

ok..let me give you a negative and a positive

negative: founders are stubborn masochists. they don't learn from people's mistakes. they need to make all the predictible mistakes them selves, because they assume that bad things only happen to other people

positive: the biggest mistake that I, and all other founders make is not doing survey. you wanna do a web dev shop? pick up the phone and do surveys. think that you don't need to? that's predictible

if you want to successfully kick start something to clock max returns at lowest risk, you must go and do surveys to a) build a data base of prospects b) put assets on your balance sheet so you can do financing c) qualify your opportunity....but you're not gonna do any of these things because you need to make your own mistakes

[Young Spark]

I don't really believe (I've been into web designing for 7 years now... I started in 2000) there is any web design laws. Besides the fact that you can't use copyrighted images on web design without permission from the original author.

Also, any web designs you do you may want to have it copyrighted so other's can't steal your idea's or whatever... of course, you can offer a "Copyright Change" option for a bit more money that will allow you to be able to transfer the copyrights and give exclusive rights to the purchaser.

All in all, don't worry about the laws... you should be fine, just remember that if your in the U.S. that if your making over $400 (or maybe its $600) in revenue, you'll have to pay taxes to the government... and please get a LLC, although its not a big thing with web designs, you could get into legal trouble somewhere in the business. Lastly, use contracts for when your selling or use agreements to clear the air so that you can have a safe business and you'll have some backing up if you ever are taken to court.

In short, there really isn't much... just:

1. Get an LLC
2. Write up (with an attorney or lawyer) some contracts and agreements
3. Pay your taxes to the government
4. Copyright YOUR Work

That's the 3 major things I know of, I don't think anything else is in the category, I'll leave that question open though as there may be.

[avatar.alex]

Thank you all! But I need to think of a name for my business I want it original but catchy. Am I all on my own or is there something that can help me?

[Paint and Air Sportz]

I wouldn't worry about the legalities of anything

You're a minor, laws don't apply to you....figuratively speaking

In other words, don't worry, no one's gonna sue you

Ups and downs? You really don't wanna hear about that

Think sunshine and lollipops, that's the best way

In the US it doesnt matter, im also 15 and you really should create your business legally, creating a sole proprietorship really isnt that hard, either is getting a tax ID,

And just because you cant be sued, your parents will be held responsible for anything you do.

[Young Spark]

^^ Like he said, being 15 means he'll need some assistance from his parents on some things. But one thing many people do is outdue the government by ot reporting their revenues which if they get caught can land trouble (like, they make $600 off of website work... but don't report it to the government just to save themselves from having to pay taxes.)

Either way, being 15 you can still have yourself a business, but NOT without the help of your parents or older relative (over 18) in some cases. That is totally up to you, if you think you have somebody who can help you in these parts of the business world... I say go for it.

[jesterx]

look i think you have real initative....and you must be commended for that.

if you want success that I and some others have you have to go to the top and get yourself someone who will mentor you and take you under their wing and show you the ropes....that way you will almost bound to succeed.

they too will show you the legal aspects this business, there might be a few of them if you start working on big projects for bigger companies.

[avatar.alex]

thanks! my parents are going to talk about it with me, but they said that I have to draw up a business plan first. They said that they will buy my website since that isnt a big big investment. And from there I have to start making the money. I am skilled in computer programming but not as skilled as I would like.

So I would like to hire some employees after I get my business steady and running. But if my business goes crazy with people wanting my services, I would like to open a office. I have no idea if I can afford the $2,500 in rent a month + if my business does get that big Ill need to buy computers, pay employees, keep everybody happy. Theres just so much in creating a office enviorment. But I do plan on having one by the time Im 17 and all I have to do is keep my business steady for a year in an office building and Im on my own. But any advice on this future problem, or thought.

[Young Spark]

An office isn't necessary at the moment in my opinion, you have potential but your wanting some things to come a bit TOO quick. Surely, what I propose you do is take it one step at a time. And drawing up a business plan is a good first step, even if your not looking for funding or investors... its a good path guide.

What programming language are you looking to code your website into (PHP, ASP.NET, ASP, CFM?) Which are you planning to do? Also, if your going to sell online... here are some things to keep in mind:

1. You'll need a merchant account if you want to accept credit cards or debit cards directly on your site. Some have fee's associated with them, so do your research on these. All in all, if you don't want to use these you can use PayPal. If your not up for all of the coding of a payment processor script, you can always opt-in to use osCommerce or something.

2. If you accept credit cards from your website, you'll need an SSL certificate. These run anywhere from $20-$500 (VeriSign goes as high as $1,000 for their best certificate... maybe more.) This'll encrypt all data transfer to keep your customer's safe.

3. If you utilize PHP and MySQL and decide to code your own script... remember to make it so that all credit card numbers added to your MySQL database are encrypted. Just a small tip.

So as I said above, you'll need a merchant account, you'll need a website design, a script to process your merchandise/items (osCommerce or some other script), an SSL certificate... of course you'll need some other business tools... but that is just my little bit of .02 cents for you to check out.

Good luck, ask if you have any more questions.