I am thinking of getting a car magnet with my business card on it.
A few ?'s though- Can I do this if I am not a licensed kitchen and if I don't have a tax id number. My business is just starting to take off and I am just wondering what legal things I can do. Any thoughts?

anyone?

I dont know anything about the cake business, but here is what I can contribute...

DH and I ran a satelite installation business... DTV, Dish, D_WAY, computers, security systems, stuff like that. When we got our DTV dealership they sent us a package of stuff like banners, doorhangers and such. .There was a magnet thingy for a vehicle with our business info on it and DH already had one on his work van (which had commercial insurence anyway) so I jsut put it on my Durango. I got pulled over and ticketed BIG time because I didnt have commercial auto insurence, aperently in tennessee if you carry a logo on your vehicle you have to have it. I added it long enugh to get the ticket cleared up and then droped it because I was not paying the higher rate jsut to have a sticker on my vehicle. I think that it varies by state. I know that one of our technicians got a ticket at a leter date and it didnt seem to matter that he wasent the business owner, just a contractor. I would think that it varies by state, your local courthouse or DMV should know...

Oh yea, I dont know if you have checked on the price of the magnets yet, but the one that we purchased for DH's van was around 100 bucks, and I live in a low income part of the country....

You need to check and see what the requirements are where you live. Most places require you to have a business licience to advertize w/business cards or signs you can get a hefty fine if not done right. Check with your local heath dept or by laws. I had to get my licience.

To get a license....doyou fill out paperwork? Or take a test of some sort? Or does it depend where you live?

I know it depends on where you live..... but I can't seem to get ahold of the KY department of health.... they don't respond. So I don't know what I'll do when I finally decide to legalize my business.... for now I'm just making sure everyone is considered "family & friends". I'd really like to be able to deduct all my supplies on my taxes though...... and of course I'd love ot have a real kitchen & place for all my cake stuff!

Here, you go register with the business licensing office and they send the health inspector to you. We can't have a kitchen in the house here. It has to be a separate building. I almost didn't get mine because of changed zoning issues.

Every state is different on what is needed for home businesses or if home bakeries are even allowed. On the home page of Cake central under articles there is one "Wanting to start a cake decorating business? Where do I begin?" It has links to almost every state so you can get information for your state. Some states are VERY VERY strict and others don't care as long as you don't make over a certain amount in a year.

HTH

Leily

I don't do that for cakes. I'm not licensed, so I only advertise word of mouth.

I will say that years and years ago, I sold Avon, and had a magnet on my car. I drove around with that magnet on my car for months and never got one call from it. Not one.

marcimang, here is a link to the Dept of Ag for NC, it should help with your questions.

http://www.agr.state.nc.us./fooddrug/homebiz.htm

Leslie

The one thing you have to be careful about is the fact that if you use your personal car for business & something happens like a wreck....your insurance company might not cover it. If you have a magnet that advertises & you are delivering a cake & say you rear end someone & you don't have a stipulation in your insurance that covers you using your car for business it could mean alot of problems for you...Just something to think about.

I have to agree with JulieB. I think car magnets are a great idea for the people who sell them -- not necessarily for those who buy/use them.

Personally, I would NEVER write down the phone number of someone advertising something on the side of their car -- no matter what they were selling or how badly I needed it.

And particularly with cakes -- I think word of mouth and people being able to see pictures of your work are the two best forms of marketing.

I sell AVON, and have window stickers in my car, and I've never gotten one call from it! Luckily, I got them on ebay and they weren't expensive, so I didn't waste too much money. I know someone who got a call from their stickers, but it wasn't for an order...it was because someone else thought they were driving too fast and swerving, and they called in their plates, and called them to let them know they had been reported! If I did anything to my car for the cake thing, I would peobably use it as a business write-off, and have the logo painted on...I think people seem to pay more attention to the painted ones...somehow makes the business seem like it's here to stya more than some magnet that you can quit your business and take it off easily. Also, magnets can damage your car paint, or leave the paint underneath it darker/brighter since the sun does fade the rest of it slightly.