Some basic questions...help!

[crossrhythm]

I'm in the process of drawing up a business plan for a startup my wife and I have had in mind for a while. There are a few parts of getting things in motion that we don't know the best way to pursue, and we thought it would be best to ask some people who have the experience!

Where/who did you turn to for legal consultation for:
> deciding if patents & copyrights were necessary
> where/under what type of structure you register as (if my wife and I are creating a type of small online store, this would probably be a sole proprietorship, correct?)
> correctly managing taxes pertaining to the business

Having almost no web design experience except on those "do it yourself" sites like moonfruit.com, we've determined that we want to do this right from the beginning and have a pro develop the site. We're going for simplicity, but would need a few items that you can't get on a "do it yourself" site...i.e. a fairly extensive form to be filled in.
> are freelance web design sites where the developers bid for jobs a good place to start? I imagine there are a lot of risks with this...
> has anyone had good experiences posting the need for a developer on YE.com?
> an online customized site-building company (i.e. dotster.com or something)

That's it for now....I really appreciate any help with these questions!

[DangerousCurves]

>deciding if patents & copyrights were necessary? you can check your phone book for local patent attorneys.. a simple consultation should be able to answer your questions. If you are manufacturing or developing a new product of your own design that you fear is likely to be replicated by competitors, it's likely any attorney would suggest a design or utility patent. If they do, ask them to explain the benefits of a "provisional" before committing to any services they offer.. patent attorneys are extremely expensive and the process can take years. I've been there, and it was a brutal life experience

> where/under what type of structure you register as? If you and your wife will be doing this together, and both of your names will be on any banking info, business license, etc.. then a simple partnership would probably be the likely structure. A sole proprietor would simply mean that only one person is listed as the business owner. Also, a partnership will allow you to split the tax burden if you have other income to offset it.. It's crucial to check with an accountant to help you with any tax advantages that may be preferable to one over the other.. and they may also be able to help you setup your books which is important from the get go..

>correctly managing taxes pertaining to the business? again, an accountant will be able to help you with all the formalities. Situations vary and what taxes you'll be on the hook for are different for different biz's.. if you have employees, you'll need to handle payroll taxes, if you're in state with sales tax, you'll need a state resell certificate and be responsible for collecting and paying the state your sales tax, etc.. and of course your federal estimates that are paid quarterly on your estimated annual.. taxes taxes and more taxes.. welcome to the world of business...lol

as for webdesign.. these days there are designers around every corner.. some good, some not so good.. one point you'll need to touch on is the maintenance and updating that will be an ongoing part of your business. who will do it? if it's a very complex site design, you may be stuck with having someone else on the payroll to handle the product updates, pricing changes, inventory levels, new product additions, etc.. so keep that in mind when in the design process.. if you can handle basic html, make sure the design will allow you to make simple changes with your level of ability..
you can check out elance.com for web designers / developers.. it's sort of like ebay in the sense that you can reivew past client feedback and portfolio profiles to see if they're any good.. many designers use templates like from templatemonster.com which if you find something you like there, you could always just have someone tweak it with your product or service info.. and save you some money as apposed to starting from scratch.. You could also try craigslist to possibly find someone local that may be able to give you a more personal walk through on what would be the best design and features for your situation..

Best of luck with your venture.. I hope this info is helpful...



Larry Garman
Dangerous Curves Swimwear
DCswimwear.com