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How to Start a Business
Starting
a business is not an easy task. We should know, every one of our members
was a start up at one point. The best advice we can give to you is to
seek advice from others who have experience. There is no need to reinvent
the wheel.
*This collection of information has been assembled by The
Milford Chamber of Commerce and its employees, none of whom are lawyers.
The information herein should not be construed as legal advice. You should
always consult with an attorney on legal matters. If you are not currently
working with an attorney, you can find one in our Business
Search section.
Counseling
Services-before you start
An excellent source of advice on all aspects of business is SCORE (The
Service Corps of Retired Executives, http://www.score.org).
SCORE business counselors volunteer their time as confidential impartial
advisors that you can turn to for business mentoring. They can help you
“think through” business challenges and opportunities and
are experts from different disciplines who can help you with advice on
topics including sales, marketing, management, business plans, accounting,
finance, operations and more. SCORE counselors listen to you and serve
as a sounding board to give “you the business owner” a support
system that helps you in all aspects of Business at NO CHARGE. Appointments
are available on the 1st Monday of each month at the Milford Chamber of
Commerce at 10:00 AM or 11:00 AM. Appointments are available on the 1st Tuesday of each month at the Milford Chamber of Commerce at 10:00 AM or 11:00 AM. Please call Connie to make an appointment 203-878-0681.
In
addition SCORE runs a series of business workshops. Visit
their website or call, (203) 865-7645, for area workshops.
Filing
Your Business Name
One of the first steps in starting a business is to decide how you want
to form your business. Is it going to be a sole proprietorship? Do you
need to incorporate? These are questions you might want to consider asking
a lawyer (Many excellent attorneys are members
of the Milford Chamber of Commerce). If you are establishing as a
sole proprietorship, you will need to file a Trade Name Certificate with
the City Clerk (783-3210). You will also want to consult the Secretary
of State's office to see if you are required to file any papers with them
(http://www.sots.state.ct.us).
Further, you will want to determine if any business licenses are necessary.
It is possible to obtain information about Connecticut business licensing
online at www.CT-CLIC.com. There
is also a Connecticut Business Center available at this website that has
answers to many of your commonly asked questions.
All
new businesses will need to get a federal Employee Identification Number
from the IRS (www.irs.gov) and a sales
tax number from the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services (http://www.drs.state.ct.us/index.html).
When
you get your business started, you will want to consider joining the Milford
Chamber. We offer you a number of benefits and marketing opportunities.
Below is a list of other resources to help you in the start up phase of
your business.
Small
Business Administration
http://www.sba.gov/starting/
Connecticut
Department of Revenue Services
http://www.drs.state.ct.us/taxassistance/start.html
Connecticut
Secretary of State
http://www.sots.state.ct.us/Business/BusMainPage/StartaBiz.html
Connecticut
Economic Resource Center
http://www.cerc.com/index.html
Milford
City Community Development Office
http://www.ci.milford.ct.us/commdev.html
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