Is A Business License Needed?

6 replies
Do you need a business license, either for practical or positioning reasons (to look more legit) to offer copywriting?

I live in NorCal, USA.
#business #license #needed
  • Profile picture of the author angiecolee
    It depends on where you live and where you're operating from. If you live and work in the same town, check with your local government or Chamber of Commerce. In MV, a business license is required and is filed with City Hall at a whopping cost of $30 per year.

    Edited to add: consider getting a post office box in your town. In many places, you can register your home address as a place of business. But that information is public, and you will start receiving unsolicited mail from the moment you figuratively open your doors.
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    • Profile picture of the author OutOfThisWord
      Olivia...

      ...anytime you ask ANY gov. entity whether you should give them money or not, their answer will always be YES.

      Sure some bureaucrat will tell you, you need a license to write from your home. When I actually bought the media placement to obtain the ad agency commission, I had a license as an ad agency in order to get the media to recognize me and allow the agency commission.

      But I think your question about looking legit as a reason for obtaining a license is better answered by building a portfolio.

      Do whatever you have to do, at whatever price you have to do it, to get a portfolio from businesses.

      If most of your current portfolio is mainly IMer next big thing (goo-roo) kind of work, then a going concern in your town that does, for example, an online catalog to sell exclusive wine, well they are not going to be impressed.

      Neither is the dentist or chiropractor who will spend big on monthly, even weekly, in-home mailings.

      As your business grows, you would then become an LLC for tax reasons, however, being a freelance writer at home already offers huge tax benefits.

      At this point, just keep your driver's license up to date, but don't use it because no one pays you when you are in the car, not even when you go to pitch a local biz.

      Good luck and all the best!
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      • Profile picture of the author rhinocl
        The above post contains really good advice. I have a friend in Orlando who had a home office and a business license. The city and county became so annoying (they visited his house and counted the amount of stationary for an inventory tax-I swear I'm not making this up) that he ended up telling them he had closed the business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Hill
    If nothing else, you'll almost always need to have filed and published a fictitious business statement in order to get a business bank account. There are also tax advantages and writeoffs associated with having a "real" business, even if it is a sole proprietorship using your SSN. It is also a verifiable record of how long you have been in business.

    It's also often useful to have an employer ID number for filing, contracting, and sometimes bidding purposes.

    There is a psychological boost involved with having that business license, because it changes perspective a bit.

    I know that some cities in NorCal (such as Chico) do require a business license, even for a home-based business.

    Once you do get a business license, then the ever-so-helpful local government will happily send you a tax form every year so they can tax you on anything used for business.

    Even with that, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, IMO.
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  • Profile picture of the author OliviaHoang
    This locality thing gets complicated. I'm based in Sunnyvale, but I have clients from all over the world. So I would only need a license in Sunnyvale?
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Hill
    The answer can be complicated, but I've sent you a pm with more information.
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