Official

I'm not one for bringing things up before they're official. I feel like it jinxes them, cause I'm kinda crazy, but about two months ago I applied for a trade name and last week I got the letter saying it was all official! Yay!!

So now I'm officially a sole proprietor, meaning I am the only person responsible for all the stuff my business does cause I'm the only one in it. I am crazy nervous about starting a business, mainly cause I'm pretty sure I will screw something up at some point. There's a lot of paperwork and information flying around that I need to keep track of. Scary stuff, but sole proprietorship is pretty low key compared to any of the other options and it'll be a nice way for me to get a feel for running a business and keeping track of all this stuff.

If you curious about starting a sole proprietorship here's what I've done so far. I'm not sure what the rules are for other states, but all you need to do in Maryland is apply for a trade name, it could be your own name or some other name of your choosing. You can check ahead of time to see if the name you want is taken, as well as print out the application you'll need to fill out at the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation. From there you can mail it in with 25 dollars and wait the six to eight weeks for approval or turn it in in person and get approval right away, that it will cost an extra 50 dollars though as it's considered expedited.

Now I need to go talk to the IRS and get what is essentially a social security number for my business, register for all my tax stuff and get a business license. I'll let you know how that goes once finished.