Wednesday, August 26, 2026 at 1:26pm
To become official
By Niki
A Trade Name and a Business License
I've had this site up for years and haven't really gotten any real business in all that time. Sure, I work part-time at a small web agency, but not any work for myself.
I am in need of work where I can find it due to things being quiet at the agency, so I started reaching out to various folks asking if they needed any freelancer help. I have a pretty hot lead, and after looking at their MSA, something in the wording gave me pause.
Do I need to be registered with a business license to do that sort of thing?
It depends.
In my state, generally the answer is no, not really, but... It depends what city you live in. The state doesn't require it, but some cities do, and others don't.
Apparently I live in one where they do. D'oh! I guess it's a good thing I haven't tried pushing my business until now.
So, I've done the needful and required thing and submitted an application for a business license.
Fortunately, my state doesn't require me to do sales tax for web development - unless I was selling software, or things like pre-made templates - of which I do neither. So, I only need to get a business license. Oh, and technically register a Trade Name with the State if I'm going to be DBA (doing business as) something other than my own name. Since that is "To the Moon Web Design", I registered that as my Trade Name, just to make that official, too.
Now to wait for my license to be truly "official".