After an inspection Thursday and a trip to get my business license on Friday, I am now officially legal in VA 
! So now I am trying to get organized and wanted some input. Right now I am registered as a sole proprietorship, but my father thinks I should try to be an LLC, any thoughts? Do you use your home phone number as your business number (like on business cards) and if so, can it be listed in the business section of the phone book? And for e-mail, does anyone know if free email accounts (like Yahoo) let you use it for businesses?
Thanks so much for any help!!!
Not really! I of course panicked from the time the inspector called until he arrived (he gave me 1 day's notice), but he wasn't at my house more than 20 minutes! At least my house is spotless 
CONGRATS!! I am not licensed, but I would guess it would be better to have a separate phone line. I would think (especially if you have kids) that it would allow you to know how to answer the phone. You could answer in a more professional way on the business phone, and not worry so much about the other line. I would think you could use a yahoo account for business too. I really don't expect that they would know the difference.
a separate phone line is usually easier to manage and a little more professional. i think im going to go with a cheap vonage plan, for just $15 per month, and that way i can set my answering machine to have a biz message. and i will always know if the call is personal or biz related.
as far as sole prop or llc, well they both have their advantages. with an llc you can protect your personal assets in case of being sued, but with a sole prop they're vulnerable. a sole prop is easier to do taxes and usually less paper work. im a sole prop for now, i think at some point i may go llc.
and congratulations! now you can really dive head first into advertising and getting customers!
I am an LLC. As far as the phone, what I found with Verizon was you can only list a phone number if the line is with that company. Meaning, I could put my home phone number in their book under my business name because it is with Verizon. I actually use my cell number as my business phone but couldn't list that as it is with T-mobile. I did go ahead and put my home phone down, I have gotten a few calls to my home number for business (even though I have no idea how they got it) and they didn't seem to care much that it was a phone line and I answered "Hello". I do wish people weren't getting that number but with just starting out I'm not too worried about it. Congrats on passing your inspection!!
Kristin
I would recommend a separate phone line for sure. As far as email addresses, you could use a free service like yahoo, but if you get yourself a .com then you can set up email at your .com. For instance.. the name of my biz (which isnt up and running yet) is Sinfully Sweet Gourmet. So.. I bought SinfullySweetGourmet.com, and my email will be [email protected]. IMHO its much more professional that way. I want a definite separation between business and personal.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%