Cole's Customs Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 I have been reading up on this forum for quite some time now making my own baits for years. A few weeks back I figured it would be fun to start up a small business out of it. So I have looked into all the legal stuff and some of it is just over my head . I went to the county clerks office and got my DBA, and I am planning on getting my EIN for taxes, but was wondering if any of you guys who already have businesses could point me in the right direction of anything I am missing? I am planning on keeping it fairly small. I will sell baits off of Instagram and Facebook so I dont have to pay all the web hosting fees. I will do transactions through invoice or paypal. Are there any other legal licenses or things I need to look into? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimP Posted November 12, 2018 Report Share Posted November 12, 2018 Are aware of the federal excise tax on fishing equipment? If not do some research. It's 10 or 11% of the retail price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 No I did not! I will look at that right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 From what I have read it would be 10% of the retail as you said, so would I be having two taxes? Sales and excise? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimP Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 Yes, you need to sit down with a local accountant that can get you off to a correct and legal start. Many accountants may not know about the excise tax unless they have other clients in the sporting goods business. Best wishes with your endeavor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 Thank You! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 (edited) There are free website services that are quite good. you build yourself, but you don't have to know anything about code or programming. The web address will carry the web provider's name which is the down side. Example: colescustoms.freeforums.net They have a lot of templates. Choose one that suits your application and the job is 90% done. Here is an example of one that I created. Dave Edited November 13, 2018 by Vodkaman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 I'm not sure if its my OCD, I just personally don't like that the providers name is in there as well, but I may look into a website maybe in a year or two if things go well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driftwood Posted November 13, 2018 Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 Also check yor state tax code for inventory tax. Raw material is a tax deduction but once you make a lure, it's a salable product and inventory tax would be due. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 13, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2018 I read up a little.. If I was planning on just making the baits as ordered and not keeping an inventory would I need that? It doesn't seem so but just making sure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elf Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 7 hours ago, Cole's Customs said: I read up a little.. If I was planning on just making the baits as ordered and not keeping an inventory would I need that? It doesn't seem so but just making sure Generally speaking, companies count their inventory once a year. Usually they will try to reduce their inventory as much as possible prior to the count to minimize taxes. The very best advice would be to go see an accountant or tax attorney. They can give definitive answers that abide by all local, state and federal statutes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 Man I wish the Gov. could give some guidelines for these sorts of things on their websites! Or at least some I can understand lol, I'm 18 and not sure if I can afford to see an accountant. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vodkaman Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 10 hours ago, Cole's Customs said: I'm not sure if its my OCD, I just personally don't like that the providers name is in there as well, but I may look into a website maybe in a year or two if things go well. The name thing bothers me too, but if you pay a subscription I believe this can be fixed. I think of it as a 'dry run' for when I want my own serious website. You get a better idea for what functions are available and what it is possible to do. A lot of websites start life this way. Check out the credits at the bottom of this page on TU. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 (edited) hmm, I guess that might be something to think about to get my foot wet... before I do anything I need to make sure I'm completely legal Edited November 14, 2018 by Cole's Customs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MonteSS Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 If you buy your own web domain name (cheap) you can usually have the free website linked to it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elf Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 1 hour ago, MonteSS said: If you buy your own web domain name (cheap) you can usually have the free website linked to it. This. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 I may have to look into that once I get there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitjunkys Posted November 14, 2018 Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 Most of the time, the name is in there as they provide a generic SSL. If you buy your own, as any real legit business should have, then you will just have your domain name only. I do not buy anything that is a sub domain of something else, For example. Colesbaits.3dcart.com This is a example of a shared ssl. IMO if a guy cant afford 29.00 a month to use 3d cart, or some other service that is not free, he should just keep it a hobby. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 14, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2018 am planning on getting the word out first, and once income starts coming then I would look into a website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckeyeFishing Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 I don't know if you have looked into this but you might want to check out www.sba.gov . I am not sure where you live but they have local offices that provide free small business counseling and may be able to help you get on track with stuff like federal and state tax id, putting a business plan together, and making sure everything is legal. The Feds always want to say that small business is the backbone of the American economy but they make it so there are so many hoops to jump through to be compliant. I understand you're young and startup money may be tight. You may even be able to get guidance from your local chamber of commerce or if your local small businesses are part of a small business organization. It never hurts to ask and many small business owners want to see other small businesses succeed and are willing to help or at least point you in the right direction. Jake 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 Thanks Buckeye! Lots of useful information there! I will definitely check out that site at some point today, and try to get in contact with those business counselors. If that doesn't work Ill go to the chamber of commerce or some other businesses like you said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elf Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 (edited) 20 hours ago, Baitjunkys said: IMO if a guy cant afford 29.00 a month to use 3d cart, or some other service that is not free, he should just keep it a hobby. I'm just starting out and I can't afford $29.00 a month or any sort of monthly payment just yet. Why? Because I haven't made a sale yet. Money is short because I can't work and I have an application in for disability. (That's a needlessly long, slow process.) I'm pretty sure I can do this though. I can do it at my leisure and when health conditions allow but so far we don't know how much I can do it each day. I just can't do it in the cold because the baits turn out with dents and air bubbles from the plastisol cooling to fast. (I live in Denver.) I bought a Master kerosene heater but its defective and I'm waiting on parts, they should be here within the next couple of days. I can work up color samples on the afternoons when the garage gets warm enough (60 degrees) but it doesn't stay warm enough for very long. I buy one or two things at a time that I need and so far I have two molds, one from Angling AI and the other from Basstackle. I have one 3 ounce injector that almost isn't big enough for the AA mold. I'll have about 4 gallons of Plastisol left after working up my initial colors and the bit of playing I've done. I'm getting there slowly but if I listened to folks like you I'd end up on disability permanently. Even if I get approved the objective is to get off the government dole by selling baits. Whether or not I succeed in this remains to be seen but I am not going to let things like no coin for monthly subscriptions stop me from giving it my 100% effort and neither should anyone else. Here's some of my samples that my daughter will be taking pictures of for Facebook. If it gets warm enough today I'll finish making stick baits to match all the ribbon tails. Or if the parts come in for the heater.... Edited November 15, 2018 by Elf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elf Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 (edited) It's kinda hard to tell but the colors from left to right are: Black grape with chartreuse tail, Pumpkin Spice, Grape Vine (ribbontail and stick bait) Watermelon Red, Party Animal Joe (ribbontail and stick), Green Pumpkin and Chartreuse Pepper. The blue stick...don't believe your lying eyes, it isn't blue. It's a core shot bait, the outer shell is clear plastic with blue glitter and the core is solid black. I have no idea why the one Grape Vine stick bait looks blue...but don't believe your lying eyes on that one either. Edited November 15, 2018 by Elf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cole's Customs Posted November 15, 2018 Author Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 Wow nice baits elf! But I 100% agree with you on the first post! I'm 18, about to have to pay for college, but I budget all my money I get while working. Most of it goes to saving (college) while a small portion goes to blow which I can spend on whatever. I will not dip into my savings to start up my business that might fail, so I don't have the capabilities of $29.99 a month either, but I'm still going to do the best I can! I hate to hear about your situation though, if I can ever help you out in any way let me know and I will be glad to do the best I can for you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baitjunkys Posted November 15, 2018 Report Share Posted November 15, 2018 I dont me to sound condescending. And I apologize if I do. That being said, Cant and wont are two different terms, I can promise you, It takes a whole lot of put in, before you can ever take anything out. You got to go into business planning to spend money or it just don't work out. Not just on the website purchase but in general. As a good friend told me one time, You can not sell out of a empty wagon. And that wagon does not magically fill up. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
