I’ve talked  a bit about this before, but this question sent by Madeline made me realize I need to go more in depth about it all!  There’s a lot of paperwork that needs to be done before starting any kind of business.  It’s not fun and it’s not glamorous but it has to be done!

I am also a 22 year old recent grad with a dream of opening my own boutique! I JUST got my business license on 12/31/07!

I have been roaming the net for some inspiration and information and stumbled across your site.. it’s awesome to follow your progress and all sounds sooo exciting! Congrats!

Mainly, I have a question about obtaining a resale license? Everywhere I look online regarding a resale license seems like a hoax/gives mixed messages and I as wondering if you could advise me on how to go about this and what other licenses are necessary? (I plan on having an online store, which is in the works right now, and a physical boutique as well)…

I plan on selling jewelry, clothing, accessories and other nick knacks (some of which will be hand made! I just started casting and making my own jewelry!)

I really, really hope to hear back from you! It’s so awesome reading your blog and seeing another young girl out there with the same dream and actually pursuing it!

Hope to hear from you soon.

Sincerely,
Madeline

Hi Madeline, the licenses are so tricky and confusing. Luckily my dad runs a business and knows a lot of this, so he helped me along the way.  Here’s what I had to get….

  1. DBA/Fictitious Business Name
  2. Wholesale/resale license
  3. EID (employer ID #)
  4. Zoning papers
  5. Business license

And in that exact order, because you have to have certain papers before you can file the others.  I wasn’t aware that any of these things could be done online, but I wouldn’t fill ANYTHING out that doesn’t have a .gov extension, just to be on the safe side.  The only one I know of that you can do online is the EID.

The Franchise Tax Board is where I got my resale license.  I would highly suggest looking them up in your town and either going down there or calling them up and asking what you’ll need in order to get your license and where to go to get the other things on the list.  And things might be slightly different since you’re in a different state so it’s always good to ask! It’s tricky and it’s a lot of running around because I had to go to three different places and do a bit of waiting to get all of my papers.

Also, a DBA isn’t necessary, but it’s good to have.  What it does is it allows you to operate under a name other than your own, you can open a bank account in that name and it also protects your name in your own area (it’s not like a copyright or trademark though).  Your DBA will be good for five years and once you register it, you’ll need to run an ad for it in a newspaper for four weeks.  I suggest looking for smaller local newspapers and not going for the New York Times or something of the sort, because it will cost you more money that way.  They might give you a list of accepted newspapers when you register your DBA; if not be sure to ask, or make sure a paper is acceptable before giving them your money!

I hope that helps, but let me know if you have any other questions.  It’s so cool that you’re starting a boutique too! What lines do you plan on carrying?  And did you go to school for fashion?  Definitely keep us posted about the progress of your boutique and what it’s like to actually plan a physical store!

Kim

Got a question?  As always, send it in to kimberwynATgmailDOTcom.