Starting a Business

Determine the business you want to start and assess your qualifications and the feasibility of making the business profitable.  Conduct research on your industry, target market, and know your competition.  Investigate all start-up procedures specific to your industry.  Develop a business plan that clearly describes your vision of all the details of the business.  Determine the costs associated with starting your business and project these costs for a period of at least 3 years.  Depending on the type of business, there may be licensing and/or registration requirements at the federal, state, and local levels.

A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals and serves as your firm's resume.  It describes the products and services you will sell, the customers to whom you will sell them, production, management and marketing activities needed to produce your offerings,  and the projected profit or loss that will result from your efforts.  The business plan should provide answers to:  Who are you?  What are you going to do?  Where are you going? How are you going to get there? 

Completing a business plan forces you to examine all decisions of management, marketing, personnel and finance issues in an objective and organized way.  Another important benefit of the planning process is that you will project the amount of financing needed for start-up and the early stages of your business.  You may want to seek out technical assistance to develop your business plan.

Although the preparation of a business plan is time consuming, it is important to business success.  Completing the plan provides an opportunity to examine management, marketing, personnel and finance issues in an objective and organized way.   The business plan becomes a useful tool in securing capital before start-up because it includes projections of the amount of financing needed for start-up and the early stages of a business.  Later, the plan becomes your owner's manual guiding your daily operation and activities.  Business planning is an ongoing activity.

Counseling and training is available throughout Pennsylvania to help you develop a business plan.  Service providers, such as the university-based Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), and Service Corps of Retired Executive (SCORE) Chapters, specialize in providing no-cost consulting to help you develop a business plan.  They also sponsor  specialized training sessions for small businesses and potential entrepreneurs.  Your local Chamber of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration are also valuable resources.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania does NOT issue corporate kits, stock certificates and corporate seals. These items may be obtained by contacting business form suppliers and/or corporate service companies.

There is not a universal license that covers all registrations, permits or licenses on the state level.  Every business is different, and therefore compliance and registration requirements may differ.  For information on identifying state registration requirements, contact the Center for Entrepreneurial Assistance at the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) at 1-800-280-3801 or 717-783-5700.  Assistance is available Monday through Friday during business hours.

In addition, you may need to contact local and federal government entities for registration, reporting and/or zoning requirements.  

A FEIN, also referred to as EIN, is a federal tax identification number that is used to identify a business entity. Every employer subject to employment taxes is required to have a FEIN to identify the business with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Social Security Administration.  Some businesses that have a qualified retirement plan (such as Keogh) or pay federal excise tax, are required to have a FEIN even if they do not have employees.  Click here to obtain information about the FEIN.

To apply for a FEIN, you must complete the Application for Employer Identification Number (Form SS-4).  Most taxpayers can apply for a FEIN online.  Click here for more information about the online application.   The paper form is available at  the Internal Revenue Service's website, at most Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) offices, and over the phone at 1-800-TAX-FORM.  In addition, under the Tele-TIN program, an authorized officer or business owner can obtain a FEIN over the telephone by calling 1-866-816-2065, or, the new IRS Business Specialty Taxes Hotline at 1-800-829-4933.