Can I Advertise My Mowing Service Without Having a Business License?
As you must have a business license to operate your lawn mowing business legally in most locations, you may find yourself in a difficult situation if you try to market your business before obtaining one. Your business may face heavy fines and even lose customer trust.
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Business License Laws
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Before you begin operating your mowing service, find out what licenses you must obtain from the secretary of state, city hall and county clerk. License requirements vary even between cities, so if you service multiple jurisdictions find out the laws in each. One license you almost certainly need is a sales tax license to be able to charge sales tax to customers, unless you live in Oregon, Alaska, Montana, New Hampshire, Delaware or Hawaii. Your state and local government may or may not charge a fee for licensing.
Liability Issues
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Advertising your business before you have the necessary business licenses can have legal consequences. According to its guidelines regarding deceptive advertising, the Federal Trade Commission may consider your ad deceptive if it leaves out crucial information or misleads a reasonable consumer. The penalties for deceptive advertising range from running a revision to paying fines of thousands of dollars. If you market your mowing service while you cannot legally provide service, you have two legally risky options when a person responds to an ad: perform service illegally or inform them that you advertised a service you can't provide. The first option may result in legal action and both can affect your business reputation.
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Customer Relations Issues
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Your business' reputation will grow through word-of-mouth, and customers are likely to discuss more than your workers' ability to provide thorough, reasonably priced mowing services. Building trust with customers goes a long way to ensure good reviews. Illegal activity, such as operating without a license or posting deceptive ads, can diminish customer trust and by extension, your business revenue. While you may be able to advertise your service without a business license, the aftermath can be less than desirable.
Advertising Rules
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Check with the manager of a location before attempting to hang fliers or pass out documentation advertising your business. For example, ask the manager at the local gardening store before hanging fliers for your business on the premises. Read the rules of an online home improvement forum before linking to your business website to determine whether the forum moderators consider such links spam.
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