Thanks for your replies. This thread is now read-only.

What kinds of businesses are we talking about? Are physical goods being sold? JimD always has some great insight... I'm just curious if we can drill it down a little better by knowing some more details about the kind of business.

I would suggest starting with your city and county governments to find out what business licensing issues there would be, if any.    Since it will be an online business (and I'm assuming one that wouldn't attract vehicular traffic or exterior signage on your property), you'd probably be OK with your local zoning laws.   Good luck!

If you thinking about it for the long run and think that you want to continue in this business for a long time, treat it as serious as you think. Another thing i have noticed is that your domain has an .info ending and you should know that it is very hard to rank with it at search engines and if you want high SERPs you should switch to .com.

if you make your decision that building your own business is the only thing to do. Should always have a thought that from now on you will take care of business and operate it continuously, careful planning, think to prevent errors in all cases if possible. If the inevitable problems occur, find out the best solution. Setting the good control of capital inflows to prevent lack of business cash flow. And, importantly, self encouragement to fight through times of difficulty then success will come to you nearer. Orawan Looking for new Asus netbook click i-smartbuy.com ---This post was edited to remove a commercial link. Read our discussion policies for more Community best practices.

Don't let the tax man come knocking on your door, please contact your IRS local office.

Check this out and see if it helps    http://community2.business.gov/t5/Self-Employed-Home-Based/7-Steps-to-Start-Internet-Business-for-Beginners/m-p/5557/highlight/true#M722

robinsotb21 Here are 10 Steps to Starting a Business in Maine. Let me know if this is what you were looking for or it you have any additional questions. JimD

Okay I know you can find this information online but honestly I just keep confusing myself and my local IRS does not provide help with this matter they told me I would need to contact the IRS using like a 1-800 number or something. Anyway I just need to know what I need to sell online thru a website and on eBay to be legit/legal and secure. I have a full time job so this will just be a source for a second income and I will be the owner operator etc so sole proprietor I think it's called. I will be using a drop ship company so I will not be physically handling an product. What I need to know is what I need like step by step I'm a novice so be gentle. Like do I need an EIN, a DBA etc etc. I live in Maine if that helps if someone could provide a like list like what I have below that would be extremely helpful:   Need to Get a Register etc etc etc

There is a fine line that differentiates a hobby from a business. But something they overlap each other. Sometimes a halfhearted attempt lead to this kind of problem and therefore, you need to be firm enough before starting a business venture.