7 replies to this topic

[zeroradius]

Hey yall,

After searching for a programming job for over a year and having no luck I have decided to start doing freelancing (for now sticking to small jobs on a irregular basis). I have came up with the company name and searched google to see if it was taken and it was not. My question is can I just use it on elance or do i have to go through the process of registering it with the government? If I have to register it what all does that entail (cost, process, etc.).

Thanks
~Zero

[WingedPanther]

Sounds like you want to use a DBA (doing business as). The details of that will depend on your country/state/province and may require a small amount of paperwork from a lawyer.

[zeroradius]

alright thanks wp. I'm not sure if I should do it. I wanted to make a little extra money and build up my resume a bit with this. Lawyers are expensive thou and I have no money. I was hoping that I could just register for elance and be done with it. I'll have to think on it for a while and look into the DBA you mentioned.

[WingedPanther]

Corporate forms, business incorporation packages and incorporation services - State Specific

[zeroradius]

thanks for the link wp. I looked more into it on the official site for ohio. It looks like I have to file a fictious name for $50. Thats not to bad if I put up $10 a week and work on getting everything thing together in the five weeks it will take to save the money; I will be good to go. Thanks again for all the help wp.

Edit: Found a loophole (assuming about.com is correct) I can do buisness under my actual name withoguth having to register. So I could do some work on freelancer.com with no start up cost at all and if I manage to earn $50 from doing work there I can register my company name.

[Alexander]

Your first freelance project will make you a sole proprietor business entity, and a 1099 MISC would be required to track income and you will be required to forward deducted earnings to the IRS (why accountants are useful), these may be required, possibly referred to by your state page:
http://www.irs.gov/p...pdf/f1040es.pdf
http://www.irs.gov/p...pdf/f1040sc.pdf
http://www.irs.gov/p...df/f1040sse.pdf

Disclaimer: I am in no way a lawyer, bla bla!

[WingedPanther]

That, of course, is the big problem with owning your own business in the US. You are both an employer and employee (and have to pay taxes based on that). SSI taxes, in particular, can be annoying. I like being a cog in my company's machine :)

[zeroradius]

@NullWorm - thanks I'll look into it.

@Wp - I would love to be a cog, however I can't find a job so i figured i would try to get some experiance with the freelance bit .... and I really like my logo :c-biggrin: