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This is somewhat of a repeated moment but my sister asked me on how to go about verifying a business name and then registering it. (So this post is dedicated to my little sister and sorry I can not visit you for Thanksgiving this year.) The first step is to go to your online state website such in Florida it is www.sunbiz.org and then the federal trademark www.uspto.gov. In both cases search the company name that you may be interested in. If someone has that name then you need to either come up with something different or modify (which I do not recommend). Keep in mind what kind of company you want to form such as LLC, S-Corp, etc. because you need to decide on your next step which is to register your company. Depending on your state this could be quite a bit of money. I chose the LLC because the fee (about $125 in Florida) was definitely less than a corporation. Also, you can do business as a single proprietor (or ’doing business as’, dba) under your own name but be cautious of your legal rights here. If you have too speak to a lawyer (in fact, anything I say here may be best discussed with your lawyer before you take action based on anyones blog opinion). Also, if you plan to have a site online you may want to verify your name or the domain (website name) you plan to use at www.whois.net. Remember that you may need to research (and pay out, again) about your federal taxes and state annual business fees. Sis, I hope you read this, good luck!
