To do business in the State of Florida you can visit the website at http://www.stateofflorida.com/doinbusinfla.html 

If you have been catering without the necessary permits from the City where you live, you might have trouble later on just in case some people suffer food poisoning or some stomach disorders. As your friends are telling you, you cannot advertise to the public and you can only cater to friends and relatives. If you are operating without a permit, they are right. But if one of your friends turn around and report your operation to the authorities, you will be in much deeper trouble.

For your plan to start a home-based catering service, you must check or inquire at the City Hall where you reside and ask what the requirements are. Catering involves food which you will serve to the public and you have to be properly licensed in order to do business legally. A Certification from the health department, approval from the zoning board, safety certification from the fire department, etc.

With the proper permits, you can advertise and sell to the public.

Regards and good luck.

About the PowerHomeBiz.com Guide: 

Nach Maravilla is the Publisher of Power Homebiz Guides. He has over thirty years experience in sales and marketing of various products, which covered as he jokingly describes, "from toothpicks to airplanes"  He also had extensive experience in International trading and he always excelled in special promotional ideas for  retail outlets. 

The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, not of PowerHomeBiz.com. Users should not treat the Guide's response as legal, accounting, or professional advice as all answers are intended to be general in nature. Such advice can only be properly given by qualified professionals who are fully aware of a user's specific geographical areas or circumstances, such as an attorney or accountant.