Business License Search Engine

The government website Business.gov http://www.business.gov/ has created a new search capability that will allow you to search for the business license needed to start a business at the state and county/city level.

This new search feature is very much needed. A lot of small and home-based entrepreneurs know that they have to fulfill some regulatory requirements, but they simply do not know where to begin, what do they need and who to contact. Having this type of information can ease the new entrepreneur's confusion of what to do, and avoid costly mistakes for failure to get the necessary licenses and permits. The granularity of the data at Business.gov -- from the state level to the city/county level -- is what I find the most helpful as it can allow a person to know the legal and regulatory requirements from the state level as well as the county level.

At PowerHomeBiz.com, we get a lot of questions on what are the requirements of the state if they want to start a business -- e.g. What do I need to starting a catering business in Los Angeles, California; or Do I need a license to operate an online store in New Mexico? -- questions that can be answered with this new search capability. As a response to these types of questions, we created our State by State Guide to Starting a Business .

Now, if only they promote this search capability more intensively and let people know that it exists, then this new search capability of Business.gov would be a tremendous source of valuable information to new entrepreneurs.

Doing Business with the Government

I few years ago, I chatted with a Maryland entrepreneur after he won the Small Business Administration Entrepreneur of the Year award. He runs a highly successful translation business whose main clientele is the government. He provides translation services to the Department of State and Department of Defense, among others.

But he struggled during the early days of his business. According to him, it was not easy to get a single contract from the government. He went door to door in the offices of the State Dept talking to every possible official he could talk to about his services. He had to exhaust all his contacts and referrals to be able to get his foot in the door. But once he got in, things became easier.

The government is a huge market, and many small businesses focus on this market. However, navigating the bureaucracy is not easy. There's the problem of finding the right party to contact regarding your proposal. There's the set rules that governs the process of how government issues contracts.

A new book entitled "Seven Secrets for Negotiating with Government" by Jeswald W. Salacuse aims to provide anyone dealing with the government the knowledge, skills, understanding and practical advice on how to get favorable response from the government. The book doesn't focus solely on businesses, but to anyone who is dealing with the government -- from those applying for a building permit for the local zoning board to trying to sell software to the Department of Defense.

According to the author, the 7 secrets for negotiating with government are these following principles:

• Governments DO negotiate with private parties about anything.
• Governments are NOT all-powerful in their dealing with private parties.
• Governments are NOT united monoliths in those dealings.
• Governments DO NOT seek only to advance the public interest in their negotiations.
• Governments ARE susceptible to influence techniques by private parties.
• Governments DO accept third party interventions in their negotiation with individuals.
• Government decisions, once made, ARE open to renegotiation

The article "How Small Businesses can Successfully Do Business with the Government" lists some of the tips from the book.