Florida can be an extraordinary place to start a business. The Sunshine State is ripe with ideas in a business-friendly atmosphere, whether you’re keen on a Miami commercial or building a business in Key West.
The business landscape is as varied as the scenery, with well-known enterprises including attire and frill, health and beauty, furniture, and sporting goods.
Doing business in Florida: the place to be
There is lots of room for your unique and original ideas too, although Creating a Florida business of your own can be a little challenging. You will need adequate funding, time, individual support, and professional support in order to move forward successfully with your entrepreneurial dreams.
Per our expertise at Damalion, we’ve put together some resources on how to start a business in Florida.
Choose the Right Business Idea to start in Florida
The first step is coming up with a great idea. Maybe you’ve been thinking about one for a while, or maybe you haven’t found the enthusiasm yet. Either way, it’s crucial to develop your business idea so you can be optimistic there’s a market for it, which presents a viable business opportunity for the kind of business you want to own.
Plan Your Florida Business
Prosperous businesses are built through detailed planning. Before dedicating a substantial amount of money and other resources toward your business in Florida, critically evaluate your idea, and create a game plan. At a minimum, you should attain the following:
- Name Your Business
When naming a business, you’ll want to choose an available name that follows Florida’s naming rules for an LLC or corporation that resonates with your customers.
- Find a Business Location
Whether you’re beginning a brick-and-mortar organization or starting a business from home, your business location informs the type of licensing and permits you’ll need as well as your business’s growth capacity. Doing your research on Florida’s popular areas can help increase foot traffic and drive customer interest in your business.
- Perform Market Research
Before you write your business plan, performing detailed market research is crucial. This involves conducting surveys, doing search engine optimization (SEO) research, or holding focus groups. The main goal of market research is to better understand your target market and rivals in order to formulate an effective business plan.
Get Funding
Even in Florida, it’s no secret that you need financing to start a business, but before you can obtain the money you need to cover startup costs, there are a few things you need to do first. Firstly, calculate your business costs before pursuing outside funding. This will enable you to choose the right funding source for your Florida business’s needs. Additionally, be smart with your spending and get organized by creating a thorough financial plan.
Business Funding Options
- Bootstrapping: This is the do-it-yourself touch to business funding, which means you provide the capital for your business through personal savings as well as your current earnings.
- Friends and Family: Financing your business through friends and family loans can be a great way to get the resources you need to start your small business.
- Small Business Loans: You can commonly apply for a small business loan through a bank or other lending organization.
Choosing a Business Structure
Registering your Florida company as a legal business entity such as an LLC, corporation, or nonprofit has two major advantages: Increased credibility and Protection from personal liability in the event your business is sued.
Find out which business structure is right for your new business in Florida.
- Sole Proprietorship
A sole proprietorship is a simple business structure that isn’t separated from its owner. This means that 100% of the business’s profits go to the owner, however, 100% of the financial liability, if the business accrues debt or gets sued falls on the owner as well.
- Partnership
A partnership is an informal unincorporated business structure with multiple owners. Keep in mind that partnerships business do not have the liability protection that you find with a formal business structure.
- Corporations
A corporation is a distinct legal entity that is owned by its shareholders. Corporations have more legal regulations and it tend to be more attractive to investors. Most large companies fall under the corporate category.
- LLCs
A limited liability company (LLC) joined the personal asset protection of a corporation with the flexibility of a partnership or sole proprietorship. Most small businesses prefer the LLC structure due to its easy maintenance and satisfactory tax treatment.
- Nonprofits
A nonprofit organization is one that is funded by donations instead of investors. Nonprofits are typically created to expand a social cause and are spared from paying taxes.
Register Your Florida Business
Once you’ve chosen your structure, the next step is to form your business. No matter what formal business structure you choose, there are a few common steps to take and those steps include the following:
- Naming your business.
- Choosing a registered agent which is an individual or business entity that accepts tax and legal documents on behalf of your business.
- Getting an Employer Identification Number (EIN): a number assigned by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to help identify businesses for tax purposes.
- Filing formation documents.
In addition to these steps, each business structure has its requirements that are unique to the chosen business structure.
Set up Business Banking, Credit Cards, and Accounting
Utilizing dedicated business banking and credit accounts is crucial for personal asset protection because when your personal account and business account are mixed, your personal assets will be at risk in the event your business is sued.
You can protect your Florida business with these three steps:
- Opening a business bank account that Separates your personal assets from your company’s assets and is necessary for personal asset protection. It also Makes accounting and tax filing easier.
- Getting a business credit card which helps you separate personal and business expenses.
- Setting up a business accounting system which helps you track the performance of your business and simplifies annual tax filings.
Get Insured
Business insurance helps you manage risks and focus on growing your business in Florida. The most common types of insurance you should consider for your business are:
- General Liability Insurance
- Workers’ Compensation Insurance
- Professional Liability Insurance
We recommend that all small businesses, including home-based businesses, should purchase a general liability policy.
In Florida, businesses with four or more employees, full or part-time, are required by law to have workers’ compensation insurance.
Obtain Permits and Licenses
To operate your new business legally, you will need to comply with federal, state, and local government regulations. And in many cases, this involves obtaining one or more business permits and/or licenses. For instance, a restaurant will likely need health permits and building permits.
To start a business in Florida, you’ll need different licenses and permits depending on the type of business you’re conducting. Find out the licensing your business needs by performing a business license search.
Hire Employees
Creating a strong team is a crucial step in starting a successful business. But it isn’t just about finding the right people, you also need to ensure you stay compliant with requirements for hiring employees legally. This includes ensuring that you are registered with the IRS for employee taxes and reporting new hires to the State of Florida.
Define Your Brand
The strongest and most memorable businesses are built on a solid brand. When developing your brand, you should evaluate, what your business stands for, what your core values are, and what will earn customer trust.
Once you feel optimistic about your answers to these questions, it’s time to move on with your business.
Promote and Market Your Business
As you near your launch date, you should schedule a time to create a marketing plan that can help you promote your business and sell more products and services. This marketing plan can go a long way toward helping your business find an audience, grow its customer base, and keep your promotional efforts on track over time.
There are admirable reasons to starting your business in Florida: It’s relatively simple. Filing fees are low, most of the registration process can be done online, and lots of local resources are available to help you get started.
If you’re a Florida resident thinking of starting a business, or a long-time entrepreneur with your sights set on a sunnier location, feel free to contact your Damalion expert to start your business in Florida. Florida is also good for asset protection and wealth preservation.
