How to Protect Your Home-Based Business Brand

Posted: Apr 21, 2013
Author: WordJack Media

All great companies have to start somewhere—Amazon, Google, and other huge companies once started out in garages and basements across the country. If you’re trying to keep costs down while you grow, running a business out of your home is a great idea, but you can’t just set up a makeshift shop and start taking orders – you’ve got to cover your bases first.

Here’s a to-do list for protecting your home-based business:

1. Choose a name- After you’ve picked a great name for your business, make sure it is legally available by checking to see if it has already been registered with the Secretary of State database in your state, performing a free trademark search online, and running a comprehensive national search of all local and state databases. Even if the name isn’t officially registered to someone else yet, you could still be infringing on trademark laws, so be very, very careful if you run across the name you want somewhere.
2. Register your unique business name with the state- Forming a corporation or LLC for your home-based business will also protect your personal assets in the event that your business is sued or runs into financial trouble.
3. Sign up for a tax ID number- You shouldn’t be running a business under your personal social security number, so you’ll need to get an employer identification number. Go to the IRS website to get started.
4. Get a registered agent- If you started a corporation or an LLC, you must have a registered agent that is available during business hours and has a physical address to receive mail from the state.
5. Apply for permits-Depending on what type of business you have and where you live, you might need to obtain business licenses and permits from the local, state, or federal government. Do your research and apply for permits early to avoid penalties.
6. Check online availability – It’s really quick to jump onto godaddy.com and search for yourproposedbusinessname.com. Then why not type in facebook.com/ yourproposedbusinessname and see if someone else is already using that name. How about twitter.com/name?

These steps are a few ideas, but some may be more relevant to some businesses than others. What did you rush to setup when you were starting out your small business?