Posted by christie on October 03, 19100 at 23:41:09 :
In Reply to: Re: starting out posted by sam sears, cec on October 02, 19100 at 20:58:42 :
Sam-
Thank you for replying to my question so quickly. You've been very helpful. I'll keep you posted on my new venture.
Christie
: Christie, First let me say that being a great cook &/or banquet/catering manager, does not necessarily make you a great business person, which is what you need to be, to be sucessful in any business that you own & run....that being said, on to your specific questions: as for gov't regulations concerning catering & facilities, you should first contact your local board of health (or dept that inspects food service establishments) in your locale, ask for the specific regulations that pertain to off premise catering & building or "fitting up" a space for a comerical kitchen, if you are planning on catering from your home, you better check w/ your local building, planning & zoning office, to see if this is an acceptable home based business (remember!, most locales do not allow this), then you should contact your local fire prevention office for specific regulations regarding fire prevention in your facility, then you need to contact the local &/or state plumbing office and then the local &/or state electrical office for their specific regulations.......this is just a beginning in should point you in the right direction....it is not as easy as one may think....now on to "a sellers permit"..don't really know what this is.....but probably you are referring to a sales tax permit, which you collect state sales tax on applicable sales & return that amount to the state, less a small percentage for your trouble....a business license is issued through your local government body, you could call their main line to ask for that department that handles business licenses....you will need to decide whether you want to be a corporation (reg or sub chapter S), sole propreitor or partnership...then you need a Fed Tax ID # (some call it a "61 hundred" number), then your state will probably issue a state employer ID number & some counties & cities issue one also.............hope this gives you a place to start...feel free to email me if you wish.....sam sears, cec