First Things Needed When Starting a Home Business

• When starting a home business, you may need a small business license from your local city hall. If you are selling only used goods obtained from garage sales or flea markets you may not need a business license.
  
• Obtain a sales tax resale number if you are going to purchase merchandise for resale from a wholesale company. Check with your Chamber of Commerce and they will tell you where to obtain a resale number, usually for just a small fee.
  
• Where will the money come from to finance your enterprise? Where is the best small business funding available? From my experience, the best and safest sources of funding is from your savings and from your present job. Another good source is from friends or relatives that you convince and who want to invest in your small business.
  
• If you can avoid it, credit cards and loans are, in my opinion, the worst source of money for most small business start-ups. That's because small business loans and credit cards encourage entrepreneurs to spend more, and overspending, especially for beginners, is a main reason for small business failure.
  
• You will need office working area and equipment. For office equipment, you will need a desk, a good arm chair, lamps, file cabinet, computer, combination fax/printer/scanner, and possibly a separate phone line (or cell phone), devoted just for your small business. Depending on your business selection, your office and working space can vary considerably, from under $1000 to $10,000 or much more.
  
• Depending on the type of small business you are starting, you almost certainly need a computer, at least for bookkeeping, research, and advertising. If your business is computer based, for example, a small business doing Web Sight Design, the computer will be your main piece of equipment. Computers range in price from about $500 to $2500, depending on your needs.
  
• If you are going to sell on the Internet, pictures are critical. You will need a digital camera, (many cell phone cameras work well enough too), to easily transfer pictures to your website or your listings on eBay, Craigslist, or other advertising website.
  You can purchase high quality digital or other photographic equipment on eBay at very reasonable prices. I recommend not buying a cheap digital camera, but invest in a good one. For my own use, I have a Canon that I paid $250 for, it works great, that I bought at a local camera shop.
  I also have a Droid 3 cell phone that takes incredibly good macro close-ups, plus it takes great videos. If you can afford the $400 or so price tag on a Droid 3, I highly recommend one. And if you have a Verizon Wireless subscription, you can get this cell phone for about $100 by signing one of their two year contracts. (By the way, I'm in no way affiliated with Verizon Wireless, I'm just suggesting this particular cell phone for your benefit and because it works very well for me).
  
• Home business advertising is a must. Without advertising, how will people know about your business? So somehow get the word out with business cards, brochures, flyers, and any way that you can. Craigslist.org and Upillar.com offer free classified ads for those starting a home business.