What do I need to sell some knives?

Johnny Roberts

Johnny Roberts

Well-Known Member
Do I need to get a DBA (Doing Business As) or a Tax ID #?

I never considered that I would actually be selling my knives so soon.

Also, I need to come up with a logo for myself. I have a few ideas. How do you go about registering that? I am buying my Personalizer Plus Etcher this Friday so I wanted to be able to order my stencils sometime soon.

Am I putting too much thought into all this?

Johnny
 
I would think about using your name on your knives.
So many guys are using logos and now some folks are asking who made this knife?
And they are not even that old yet? :confused::rolleyes:unsure

As far as your business I would hire a CPA.
Make sure you like your banker well and maybe have a good lawyer to work with?

EDIT to add - here is a good thread to read................ http://www.knifedogs.com/showthread.php?t=2725

Good luck with all your knife business.

Todd


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Registering your DBA is easy if you need an alternate name and logo. Though I agree that the best branding option for knife makers is just to use your name. It is more recognizable and it makes it easier to find you on the web. I would however set up a separate business account at your bank.

For taxes, just keep a spreadsheet of your income and expenses and use TurboTax or something like it to file. It guides you through the self employment tax section well and saves you the expense of hiring a CPA.

Lastly if you haven't already done this, then you should buy your domain name even if you aren't ready for a website yet.
 
As far as the IRS is concerned, you do not need to file DBA paperwork or obtain an EIN (tax ID) if you work as "yourself" (i.e. your name), as a sole-proprietorship (as opposed to an LLC, corporation, partnership, etc).

If you were to form an LLC, corporation, or partnership, you would do this with the state. THEN you would call the IRS for a EIN.

Your state may require you to register as a business, even if it is a sole-proprietorship with no alternate name. However, in my state it is uncommon for alarms to be set off if you don't file that paperwork. As long as you file and pay your state taxes properly, they don't care.

In other words, for a sole proprietorship, you are the business. Your SSN is your EIN.
 
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