This is part 2 of a 7 part series on how to start a small business.

Most people who start an online business unknowingly neglect trademark issues when naming their business and products. Finding an open domain name is simple, but just because the domain that you want is not registered yet doesn’t necessarily mean that you can do business using that name. For example, just because the domain name MicrosoftHardware.com is available for registration doesn’t mean that you can legally sell computer hardware under that business name.

Don’t fall into the trap of not doing your homework ahead of time and make sure that your business and domain name do not conflict with any other established businesses. If you accidentally choose a business or product name that is too similar to a competitor, they can accuse of you of violating their trademark and force you to change your …

This is part 1 of a 7 part series on how to start a small business.

Most people who aspire to start their own business already have some idea about the different corporate structure options available to them. And it’s a well known fact that most business owners choose their legal structure based on one criteria: limited liability for business debts.

For the purposes of this guide, rather than rehash all of the nitty gritty that you can simply read about in any book, this guide will try to summarize and simplify the decision making process for you. In addition, I will also discuss the reasons why we chose to form an LLC for our company.

Small Business Startup Guide

Introduction
Part 1: Deciding On A Corporate Structure
Part 2: Small Business Trademark Issues
Part 3: Small Business Regulations and Permits
Part 4: Small Business Taxes
Part 5: Small Business Hiring

This is an introduction to a 7 part guide on how to start your own small business.

It’s hard enough as it is to start your own business. Not only do you have to come up with a profitable idea and execute but you also have to worry about government regulations and other matters in order to make your venture official and legal.

For my wife and I, getting past all of the red tape and paper work was extremely frustrating and confusing at the same time. It’s unfortunate, but most of the information required to start your own business is not centralized in any way. The federal government requires several forms to be filled out, your state government has some more forms to fill out and finally your city usually requires some amount of paperwork as well. The main problem is that each of these …

I’m not sure why, but my stumbleupon toolbar has been sending me mostly articles lately on entrepreneurship. In just the past few days alone, I’ve probably read more than 5 or 6 articles focusing strictly on the traits of successful entrepreneurs.

Even though I love articles about entrepreneurship, after reading just a few of these they all started to sound generic and blended together in my mind. “Learn to fail”, “Learn from your mistakes”,”Understand your weaknesses” etc… Don’t get me wrong. These articles all offer great advice but it is difficult to truly comprehend and describe these character traits in words unless you’ve truly worked with and experienced them first hand with real people.

Over the years, I’ve had the luxury of working with and hanging out with many successful entrepreneurs, most of whom I became friends with in school or through various clubs and projects. …

I was helping my mom update the computers in her office the other day when I noticed how inefficiently she was storing and backing up her computer files. On her shelf were a plethora of external USB hard drives all hooked up to a single computer. Whenever she created an important file that required a backup, she would manually copy the file across several of the hard drives so that she had multiple redundant copies. Whenever she needed to use a different computer, she would manually unplug the desired external hard drive and hook it up to the new computer. Finally once she was done, she would then return the drive back to her main computer where she would perform her manual backup procedures again.

Does this sound tedious to you? This system of managing and backing up files is all fine and good as long …

Most small business startup books recommend that you obtain a 1800 number for your business, especially if you are running an eCommerce store.

But these days, long distance calling is mostly free or extremely cheap. In today’s age of cell phones and free unlimited long distance calling, is having a 1800 number really a necessity anymore? Should encouraging more customers to contact your business via phone rather than going online to make a purchase be one of your goals?
Do The Benefits Still Apply?
So what is so compelling about having a 1800 number? I’ve compiled a list of the commonly perceived benefits of having a 1800 number below. The real question is whether they all apply to your business. Only you can be the judge.

Increased Sales – According to the books (and common sense), if a customer is given a choice between dialing a 1800 …

“Oh yeah, I tried being an entrepreneur a few years back but it was just too hard.”
“I tried the whole blogging thing but couldn’t get it off the ground”
“I tried learning how to program PHP but I never could get the hang of it”
I don’t know why, but lately I’ve become increasingly sensitive to people complaining about how things are just too difficult. Whenever I hear statements like the ones above, I can’t help but think to myself

Photo by blackoutinred

How hard did you really try?
How much time and effort did you actually spend?
Did you just give up after encountering the first obstacle?

Call me a skeptic, but I honestly believe that 90% of the time people complain about their failures and give up because they don’t really give things a chance.
Case In Point
“Oh yeah, I tried being an entrepreneur a few years back but it never went anywhere” …

One of the downsides of running our online wedding linens business is that we have to carry inventory and manage product shipping and storage. It is unfortunate, but there’s no way around it because we need to have our products on hand and ready to ship in order to fulfill orders in a timely manner.

My wife and I had thought about outsourcing our shipment and fulfillment operations for quite a long time but the personalization and customization portion of our business prevents us from doing so. In any case, before we came to this conclusion, we did a good amount of research in this area and thought that it might be beneficial to pass along some of our findings to other would be shop owners.
Can You Outsource Your Inventory And Fulfillment?
The answer is a resounding yes, but only if your business fits within the following parameters.
For example, …

I never understood how the phrase “Time is money” could ever apply to my life. After all, no one was paying me 24 hours a day so how could my free time possibly translate to money? How could wasting time watching television or playing video games cost me anything when no one was paying me anything anyways?

It took me quite a while to comprehend the true meaning behind this statement. And after 10+ years of frittering away countless hours and taking my free time for granted, my business and my child finally made me realize how badly I was selling myself short.

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For example, I used to always try to save money whenever I could by doing things myself. I would try and save a couple of bucks by changing my own oil even if it took me twice as long as going …