Now, most, if not all of what you need for the basic setup is free and does not require you to spend any money because it is something that you can do yourself from your computer/laptop/tablet or smartphone. In the event that you do not want to do it yourself, we do have a small business setup package that does all of what these guides show you for a worthy fee.
Here is where businesses get into sticky waters. Before you obtain an EIN, you need to first verify that the name that you’ve chosen for your business does not belong to another registered and trademarked business.
- Do a business search on Google with the name that you’ve chosen for your business.
- Widen that search to the national database https://www.uspto.gov/trademarks to ensure that you have not selected a name for your business that is already registered and trademarked by another business.
- You do not want to be faced with a trademark or copyright infringement. We will discuss infringement in a later guide.
- Once you’ve established that the name you’ve chosen for your business is available. Secure that business name by doing the following:
- Select a business structure. Consult with a business tax professional or a small business attorney to determine the best business structure for your business.
- For the purpose of this guide, we are recommending the most common business structure for businesses that have one owner who holds 100% ownership in their business: Single-Member LLC (Sole-Proprietor) with an Article Of Organization.
- Register your business name in the state where the business will be primarily located. We will discuss regional locations in another guide.
- During the registration process be sure to also register your DBA (Doing Business As) name in your state where the business will be primarily located.
- Obtain an EIN for your business name be sure to include the DBA name when you create the EIN. Create the EIN for free on the IRS website. The direct link is – Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) Online | Internal Revenue Service (irs.gov). You are allowed one EIN creation per 24 hours.
- Obtain an Article of Organization. This is a paid feature that is determined by your State of Incorporation.
- Obtain a trademark and copyright for your business name. This is a paid feature.
- You can consult with a small business attorney to obtain a trademark.
- Use digip to apply for your trademark registration.
- For the state of Nevada – business portal to start and manage your business https://www.nvsilverflume.gov/startBusiness
- For the state of Nevada – business taxation https://www.nevadatax.nv.gov/ – we will discuss this in a later guide.
Once you have completed the above steps you can now obtain a DUN’s number for your business.
The Dun & Bradstreet D-U-N-S® Number (Data Universal Numbering System) is a nine-digit unique identifier for businesses.
This is a step in building a profile for your business that “is a key that can be used to unlock data that helps a business do their due diligence and arrive at their own conclusion about that potential partner’s stability, creditworthiness or compliance with supplier diversity or other standards.” – dun & bradstreet
Your business will become searchable by other businesses, lenders, and potential partners/investors. This is your business’s credit file that is hosted by dun & bradstreet.
Having a completed and maintained business profile gives those viewing your profile more detailed information about your business when:
- Applying for funding, credit, or certifications for your business.
- For evaluating risks and continued working relationships
- For determining the legitimacy of your business.
Click here to obtain a DUN’s number and to create your business profile.
