Confession —  In the midst of everything during the opening of my Etsy shop a few months back, I completely forgot to get a vendor license.  I was so concerned about getting the LLC before my deadline that I completely spaced on the state vendor license (to pay sales tax) and it wasn’t until a month later that the warning bells went off in my head and complete (internal) panic ensued.  I started looking it all up (stupidly late at night when I was tired) and getting turned around with government website links that insisted on sending me in circular patterns without giving me the proper information.  I knew the whole thing was probably simple, but I couldn’t seem to simplify it!

Anyway, this morning, I finally tried getting back into the Ohio Business Gateway and voila, what I needed was right there in my page (I had registered a while back, as that is what they tell you to do).  My main concern was whether or not there was some sort of hokey license I needed because I sell stuffed items (there are requirements that you use new materials, etc.), but in the end, that wasn’t a factor.  Tied with that, I was worried about figuring out the NAICS number, but the prompts in my state basically chose it for me.  (You can go here to the NAICS website, if you want — it will open in a new window.)  Long story short, I just followed the online forms to get a vendor license, paid online, and got the vendor number immediately.

Because I don’t make enough state tax (I had set up my shop for sales tax, but I didn’t have any Ohio sales last year, so I collected $0 in sales tax), I only have to file taxes semi-annually.  I found out, much to my relief, that tax filings (required whether you make sales or not) for July-December are due January 23rd.  So, after I got my vendor license (which cost $25 by the way), I went back into the Ohio Business Gateway and filed my tax return.  Seriously, I’m not the brightest about this stuff.  I just basically followed prompts.

Now, I’ve got my vendor license and my sales tax filed for last year.  It wasn’t late, there weren’t penalties, and I’m set to file personal and business taxes later this month.

BIG STINKING SIGH OF RELIEF! Oh the joys of cluelessly starting your own business…

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