If you are serious about your planned online business, in the beginning, you may only need your business name registered in the county where you live. Having a registered business name gives you the benefit of getting a bank account under your business name or as they are called DBA (Doing Business As). If you are alone, you may operate as a "Sole Proprietor" and your taxes on profits or losses are included in your own personal income tax (Your tax account is your SSS Number).

Since you will be operating from home on a computer, you may not need a business license or permit. You may want to check the California Professional and Business License Handbook prepared by your state's Department of Commerce to make sure whether your business of choice requires a license or not. The URL is http://commerce.ca.gov/state/ttca/ttca_business_display.jsp 

The best source of information on the requirements of starting a business in your state is the City Hall. Most cities have a complete list of information on how to do business in the City. We urge you to visit California's Department of State web site. They have a section called California Business Portal, which includes a guide to starting a business in California. Check it out at http://www.ss.ca.gov/business/resources.htm . Then you may wish to inquire if your county has any special requirements for start-up businesses like yours.

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.