Starting a New Business in the State of Florida

[gloriam...@hotmail.com]

I have accessed the Sunbiz.org website and reviewed the outlined
links. However, I am unable to find one that includes a checklist of
the actions that a person needs to complete in order to register a
business under the following conditions:

1. Sole proprietorship.
2. Located at home.
3. Using the Internet.
4. All sales, and/or returns, to be to made to customers outside of
the state.
5. Using a fictitious name.
6. Where the storing and/or distributing of the products sold/
returned is to be done outside of the state.

Is there a phone number that can be called to get answers to the items
listed immediately above.

Thank you.

[webmasterflo...@gmail.com]

Hello Gloria,

I don't have a checklist, but will try to answer your questions.

* As a sole proprietorship, you must file a fictitious name
registration with the Florida Department of State, Division of
Corporations if the name of your business is anything other than your
full name. For example, if your name is Gloria Melen and that is the
name of your business, you do not have to register. But if the
business is Gloria Melen Widgets or some such thing, you must file a
fictitious name registration.

https://efile.sunbiz.org/ficinfo.html
https://efile.sunbiz.org/ficregintro.html

* As a home-based business, you should check with your local county or
city tax collector to see if you need a business tax license, formerly
called an occupational license.

* Although all your sales will be outside of Florida and your
distribution center is outside of Florida, check with the Florida
Department of Revenue's Taxpayer Services (1-800-352-3671) to see if
you have any tax responsibility. They also may be able to advise you
about tax responsibility in other states, for example sales to
customers in the same state where you have a distribution center.

https://askdor.state.fl.us/FAQ/FAQDetails.aspx?ID-POPULAR-GTA=1

Take a look at this article about sales tax on Internet sales, also.

http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectId/87F6DD43-E6F2-4DFE-BCDB8E2E85DFF80B/111/277/167/ART/

Finally, I would recommend that you take a workshop or talk with a
counselor at the Florida Small Business Development Center nearest
you. They are a not-for-profit organization sponsored by the U.S.
Small Business Administration and Florida colleges and universities.
Their classes and counseling are inexpensive or sometimes free and
they offer a wealth of information. Here's a list of the SBDCs in
Florida.

http://www.floridatrend.com/small_biz_article.asp?aID=48933

Hope this helps!

Barbara Miracle
Editor
FloridaSmallBusiness.com