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What Legal documents do I need in order to start a Online Business? Selling Office Products, Any Advice ?

I would like to start my own Online Business selling Office Products. I have worked for a few different websites now that sell Office Products and there is such a big Market to make money in. In order to start up my online business, I need to know what legal documents must I have in order for my Online Business to be legal? Besides the legal documents, what else do I need to have set up in order to start my very own Online Business? Another question, How does someone like me, a young Entrepreneur like my self apply for a Small Business Loan? and Why would a Bank give me a Loan, what would be my requirements in order to be accepted for a Loan? If anybody knows of a website and or company that I can contact who will help me set up all my legal documents, paper work, etc. to get my Online Business started up? Any Advice would be highly appreciated. Thank You

Public Comments

1. I would get a lawyer who specialized in contract law. You need to decide what type of business you want it to be (corporation, sole proprietorship, etc) and have a professional draw up a business plan for you. You need to register with state and federal governments due to tax issues and such. It's quite a process. Good luck!
2. Legal documents you need: - Decide on your legal setup. If sole proprietorship, do business registration with your county clerk's office. If corporation, partnership or LLC, register with the Secretary of State. This process will include determining your DBA or fictitious business name. - If corporation or LLC get an EIN from the IRS http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=102767,00.html - Go to your state's Department of Revenue (or whatever the dept responsible for taxes) and apply for your sales tax permit or sales tax number. Most wholesalers require this before selling to you - Check if your state requires a business license for an online store as some states vary if you're applying for a loan and if it is a big amount, banks and even the SBA may consider other factors aside from your business credit: - A business plan explaining what the business is - Your background and experience in the business -- in my experience, this is KEY in the eyes of the bank because they want to make sure that you know what you are doing and that you can make the business work. If you don't have any experience with the business, have someone on board that knows the business to give banks assurance that someone will guide you - Your credit factors because it shows your dependability and how well you handle credit. They will do a credit check on you and poor credit history may be frowned upon, or even reason for the disapproval of your loan application - Your collateral. Banks, even SBA guaranteed loans, want the borrower to show collateral. They want to be guaranteed that somewhere somehow they can get payment from you - Condition or terms of loans. Banks would want to know three important things: "How much money are you requesting? What will it be used for? and For how long will it be needed?" Banks oftentimes prefer to approve loans for items that can be identified, has lasting value, and can be repossessed and sold if things fail. - Equity investment so the bank knows you yourself believe in the business enough to invest your own money in it Aside from banks I suggest you consider microloan providers. They typically fund up to $30K Read about the SBA Microloan Program http://www.sba.gov/financing/sbaloan/microloans.html
3. Hi there, I read a book a while ago by (Michael E. Gerber) called the E-Myth: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It . You might find this a useful read before starting and it's only a small book too. Cheers