Starting A Licensed Business ?

asaner85

I am new to this forum but not to the concrete trade. Since I was younger me and my father have been doing concrete side jobs. Up to this date, he works with a private signatory contractor. So now I am the guy in charge. I have learned everything from my father and him from his 20+ years of working with highway construction. What I want to do now is get insured, bonded and licensed.

So far I own a bobcat, 2 baby dump trucks and every tool necessary to complete flat work. I have already chosen a name and have a website 85const.com (Im not advertising). I believe I posses the motivation and I am and have been willing to put most of my time into my career.

What is the first step to get a real business going? What are the benefits in getting licensed? The reason I ask is because I heard that once your company gets licensed the city in which you are licensed hires your company to complete projects.

allsolutions

The laws very from state to state. You need to get a business license for the areas that you plan on working in, if a license is required in those areas. You need to apply for a tax EIN# form SS-4 you can find forms on the IRS website. You then need a business bank account. You would need to register the business name with the county or counties you plan on working in, also check into becoming a LLC, INC, and so on. The fees and requirements very from state to state. Call around for business insurance rates, check with the sheriffs office on getting bonded. Find a lawyer in your area that has a good rep who you can retain and have to guide you through legal issues. Invest in software of some sort or business software to help keep records, and always make notes on dates, times, and so on with any phone calls you make. Hope this helps. Business cards, invoice with your logo, tradmark your logo,and have it registered.

Brickie

Give us some more info. Are you just going to do business in the city? What about the burbs? All of these towns have different requirements & fees. Do you plan on advertising or are you relying on referrals? Are you going to be a union contractor or non-union contractor?

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asaner85

Im planning on being a union contractor, I will probably only be doing work in the city. 95% of the projects that I get now are by refferal. But Ill do a bit of advertising, Such as business cards and of course the company name on all the vehicles. I am also the type of person that if I see a home with old and cracked concrete, I will ring their doorbell and ask them if they are interested in an estimate.

One thing that makes me have doubts and that scares me into getting a licensed business is messing with the IRS or getting insured and not having sufficient work to make profit or paying my employees.

I was talking to a buddy of mine(he owns a concrete business) and he told me to look for a good accountant, make my business as a corporation and he will guide me through all the paperwork.

allsolutions

I have always felt weird about people just knocking on the door out of the blue asking if they can give a estimate. Seems desperate to me. Maybe doing door hangers or something would be more professional. Some people like the name on the truck, I don't. I like to keep things simple and avoid legal issues. If you have too many people driving around with your name on the truck then that opens you up to a lot of issues. There are people who may already have a broke windshield, and when they get behind Joe Doe concrete service then they get your name number and file a claim. There is a lot to think about. Running a business is a lot of hard work. Chasing money, underbidding, over bidding, getting involved with the wrong people, and so forth. There are all kinds of good but you always have to be on your toes. People will burn you like a match!

AtlanticWBConst

-The work amount will come in time. Hire as you need it. If a few large jobs come in, subcontract them. Later, when more work rolls in a regular basis, hire more workers.

THe advise from your friend: Listen and do it. Ask around and find a good accountant that is knowledgable about small businesses, etc..

-My 2 cents

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