Starting my own business

Hey guys, I really need some help here and if this needs to be moved to any other places feel free to mods if you guys have any suggestions or anything feel free to drop a line. Well here is the deal: I’m in high school and I am in need of a job. But the thing is there is no real job openings out there for a real job. I have been working odd jobs every now and then making some money but I have seriously come to this point. I am thinking about starting up my own lawn service company. I figure I can make some good money for a bit of the year and save it up then when the school year starts back up I am going to get back to the janitor job I had before. Well I have most of the equipment and whatnot (Mower, Trimmer, Truck, Trailer, ETC) but I am wondering about some of the legalities. What I plan on doing is putting a flyer in some local people’s newspaper mailboxes about my service. From there with the calls I get I will have to make some kind of estimate and arrange times. With the amount of people I plan on having employed (Me and maybe someone else) I figure I can only do medium residential work. What my big question is, do I need insurance for what I am going to be doing? I don’t think it’s against the law to not have insurance doing this kind of stuff and I know it is very expensive. Also do I need to get my business registered with the state with a name and everything to pay some sort of taxes? Is it illegal for me just to have a business that’s not really registered anywhere and me not paying any taxes on what I make? Sorry if I just wasted your time but if anyone has and ideas, comments or answers to my questions it would be greatly appreciated.

- Kevin

There's one man to talk to about this - Andy. He's got his own big-assed lawn / snow business, and he's only 18. Here's a link to his profile - you can PM him. I think you might need liability insurance or something kevin, but he's done it all, so I'd ask him. Good luck.

http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/member.php?u=266847

What happened to working at the local supermarket or movie theatre?

And putting stuff into the mailbox is a big no-no. Only on the outside on the flag or something.

Thanks Ridenour, Ill try and get into contact with him. eversio11 all those jobs are full. Around here all the people are getting laid off and over qualified people are working shitty jobs that are for teenagers. And putting stuff in newspaper boxes isn’t illegal. I never said anything about putting it in the mailboxes. Thanks for the help so far guys.

- Kevin

ah, misread it. yeah, if they have newspaper boxes, that will be the easiest place to put it.

Its okay dude, Yeah if not there is always the doorstep or put it on the door handle or something like that. Ha if this all does work out the nice school printer is going to make me 100 copies of an advertisement.

- Kevin

Hey this is Andy, the guy Ridenour referenced.

First of all, is this something you just plan on doing for a few months to make some qucik cash, or do you actually plan on commiting to for a considerable length of time? If your hope is to pick up a few lawns for the summer to make a few quick bucks and then go do something else, it may not be the best choice.
Not sure what state you are in, but a business licence may not be nessesary if all you want to do is cut grass. They only reason you need a licence is you want to call your self by a name other than your own.
For example, you could say "Kevin (Lastname)'s Lawn Care" and have that be legal. However, if you wanted to use a name such as "Advanced Mowing" it would require a licence. Obtaining a licence is quite simple, just go to your county courthouse and ask for a DBA (Doing Business As) and they will take some info and give a piece of paper, which is your licence. It should cost about $13-$20, I think it varies from state to state, county to county ect.

On insurance, It is not REQUIRED, but is a good thing to have. It not super expensive. For example, mine inlcudes 2 million aggregate liability and is less than $500 for the year. In order to get some accounts, mainly commercial, you will need insurance. Also, technically, your truck should have commercial auto insurance on it. and believe it or not, commercial auto insurance rates are considerable cheaper.
When it comes to paying taxes there is a certain form you will need to use, I can't think of the number right now though, but its only one page and simple to fill out.
Finally, to attract customers, try useing door hangers. You can have them make realitivly inexpesive at any print shop. I used some a few years back with little success, but know of many other guys who have had huge success with them. Also, try an add in your local newspaper.
Hope all this helps, feel free to PM or e-mail me with any questions and i'll do my best to help.

Hey Andy, Well with all the advice I have got from here on the forums and talking to the teachers of the classes that are about Entrepreneurship and marking and stuff like that I think I might be giving this a go. Well I live in the state of Michigan the same as you I think. As far as the naming of the company goes right now I am just thinking about having it as my last name but I’m not really sure yet. From the people at school that I have talked to I am not going to mess with insurance right now being it is going to just be one crew for now. I am going to work on this and see how it goes. Again thanks for all the help everyone!

- Kevin