The first and most important step for individuals interested in establishing a business is to schedule an appointment with their local SBDC Office, listed below are the topics that can be among those discussed:

1 Deciding on the legal structure of the business:

• Sole Proprietorship
• Partnership
• Corporation

2 Contacting the appropriate local/state/federal or other agencies to register a business:

• Depending on the structure you choose, your counselor can suggest appropriate ways to pursue registration of your new business.

3 Contact the Comptroller of Public Accounts for determination of appropriate state taxes to be collected for a business (retail/wholesale).

• Texas State Comptroller of Public Accounts – 4682 E. University Blvd., Suite 200
  Odessa, Texas 79762-8104 Tel: (432) 550-3027

4 Contact the Texas Workforce Commission for information on all aspects of hiring and employment.

• Texas Workforce Commission: 400 OAK ST
  ABILENE, TX 79602-1520
  Tel: (325)795-4200
• See: http://www.twc.state.tx.us/

5 Contact the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain taxpayer identification number.

• Depending on the business structure this can also be the taxpayer’s social security number. Application for this number is made on Federal Form
  SS-4 which may be obtained from the IRS.
  Internal Revenue Service: (800) 829-1040. Or online: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/

6 Credit Reports and Scores

• If you are seeking finance to start or expand your business, your (and/or your business partners’) FICO credit score can make or break your
  request for finance. If any of these scores are below 700, it likely that a program of credit repair will need to be considered. We strongly recommend getting a copy of your report and score before attending your first counseling session with us. Free report and competitively priced credit scores can be accessed at http://www.ftc.gov/freereports

  .