[olug] Part-time Self Employment (Side Jobs)

[Jacobs, Robert A.]

>Do you have to register yourself as a business with the state 
>or anything?
>

No.  You do not.

...but there are advantages to getting a business license.

If you do not get a business license, you are automatically 
considered a "DBA" (Doing Business As) business 
(e.g. Eric Penne d.b.a. Eric Penne's Consulting).

The implications are: if somebody sues you, there is no
difference between your personal assets and the assets of
your company in the eyes of the law. 

If you incorporate (fees vary), you have some higher
requirements on running your business but your personal
assets are protected.  There are other business options
available (LLC -- Limited Liability Corporation, etc.).

The "Portable MBA in Finance & Accounting" is an EXCELLENT book to
have on hand (I HATE accounting courses but I kept this
book from a graduate course in managerial accounting I had to
take just because it had such a good overview of accounting practices).

As one poster pointed out, check out SCOREs -- they'll be
able to provide you with a ton of good information and explain
the different options to you.

Rob