How to Start an Online Business in Fort Worth, Texas
Starting an online business in Fort Worth, Texas, is similar to starting a traditional business, but you must also follow laws governed by the Federal Trade Commission. Online businesses in general only differ from so-called "brick and mortar" businesses in that they conduct business in the virtual world and consequently collect private user data and information to complete transactions. Operating legally and keeping private data safe requires complex and costly security measures. To ease this burden, newcomers to e-commerce should consider using a third-party solution to run the store and take care of security concerns.
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Instructions
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Take the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Online Small Business Training Course. Available for free on the SBA website, the course features information on starting, managing, financing and other areas of study.
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Apply for a Fort Worth business permit and state of Texas tax registration number. Depending on the nature of your business, you may require additional licensing and permits. The Fort Worth Business Assistance Center website has helpful links to specific offices, including the licenses and permits office.
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Apply for a taxpayer identification number, or TIN, from the IRS. This is your business's number for tax filing and information use by business vendors and financial institutions. TINs are not necessary if you are a sole proprietor, but a TIN does help keep your business and personal information from being intermingled.
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File your paperwork for incorporation, LLC or partnership with the Texas secretary of state if structuring the business as one of these entities. Sole proprietors only need to file a fictitious name form, also called a d/b/a (doing business as), with the Fort Worth city and Texas state business tax offices.
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Research and compare the pricing and features of several e-commerce hosting providers found online. Prices and services vary, so ensure that your research is thorough and call the 800 numbers if you have questions or need assistance. 1and1 Internet, based in Germany with U.S. servers and offices in Texas, is a moderately priced, full-service Web provider. Arizona-based GoDaddy also has full Web hosting services.
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Familiarize yourself with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) online business guidelines. The Bureau of Consumer Protection website includes a wealth of info for online businesses and mandated compliance issues.
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Open an online payment account with one of the major online payment services, such as Paypal, Paymate or Authorize.net. Your hosting provider may also provide secure online payment services through their own preferred third-party vendor.
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Set up your online store according to the instructions provided by your online business hosting provider.
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Tips & Warnings
Join the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce to network with other local business owners. Even though your business is online, you will learn helpful information and get to be an active member of the community.
Online businesses involve as much advertising and marketing as regular businesses through traditional methods as well as search engine optimization (SEO) and other traffic building techniques. Failure to learn about the details and intricacies of how online businesses work will often result in no or slow business activity and possible business failure.
References
Resources
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