Business License--don't ask, don't tell

I recently finished a column on the rather mercurial topic of business licenses--who needs one, who doesn't and how to determine where you may fall in that continuum. Although the article was fairly empirical, one element that really didn't fit poses a potential danger to businesses of all sorts.

Simply put: need a business license? It all depends who sees you.

What that means is that, in effect, many businesses--particularly ones located within a home--do, in fact, need some sort of licensure, be it at the state or local level. How that bears out in practice is whether someone is going to take the time to report you to the licensing authorities.

How can that play out? Noisy traffic coming and going from your home, traffic and parking headaches and other logistical issues are often the catalyst for complaints. Sometimes noise and, all too frequently, a neighbor with nothing better to do can prompt a phone call to the state or municipality.

And, the fact is, no matter how legitimate your business is, running it without the necessary licensure and getting caught can be pricey and painful--you can get shut down, fined and, in extreme cases, even face criminal charges.

Bottom line: protect yourself. Visit your state's website--usually tucked into the secretary of state's section--to see if what you do for a living mandates some sort of license. Visit your town or city hall to find out if anything local applies.

You can always choose to toss the dice, save some money, and hope nobody spills the beans on you. To wit: about a mile from my home there's a guy who has stacks of junk and rusted out cars spread throughout his property. He's running a junk yard but hasn't a scrap of a license to validate its legality.

He's been doing this for a couple years now--and only because no one has had a hankering to pick up the phone.

How safe a strategy is that? Decide for yourself.

Jeff