What You Need To Succeed
The Tools Necessary To Open A Small Business

By Johanna Piazza

Across Queens, hundreds of immigrants have established their own businesses in pursuit of the American dream, but they didn’t do it without hard work and preparation.

Need a loan? Head to your local bank and get your business started. Tribune Photo by Ira Cohen

In the United States, the corporate world as well as the City and State offer assistance to people looking to open up their own businesses. The following is a list of some of the basic things you should do if you want to open a business.

To get your business going, you will need to establish a credit record, or a clear indication that you are able to pay bills and pay back loans on time.

To do that, you should apply for a credit card. Credit cards are issued by several major companies – MasterCard, American Express, Visa, and Discover. Credit cards allow you to pay for merchandise or services in the future.

When you pay for something with a credit card, the credit card company marks that purchase on your record. Once a month, the credit card company will send you a bill with all of your purchases for the month on it. You then pay that bill with a check or with cash.

If you can’t pay all at once, you can pay off your bills slowly, giving a minimum payment each month.

If you pay your bills on time, however, you establish good credit, which helps you get loans, mortgages and other important things.

In choosing a card to apply for, there are certain things to consider. First of all, the limit of the card. Some cards allow high spending limits, others do not. Second, the interest on the card. Those with bad credit usually have to settle of cards with high interest rates, but if they can be avoided, they should be. Third, yearly charge. You don’t want to pay just to have the card each year.

Once you choose the card you want, you apply.

If you are approved, you will receive the card in the mail.

If you are having trouble getting approved because you don’t have a credit history, you should go to a local bank and apply for a secured credit card.You must secure the card with your own money, so you do not spend more than you can pay back.

Starting a business is expensive, and most small business hopefuls can’t afford to do it on their own.

That’s why it’s important to apply for business loans, or loans from banks or other loan companies that provide start-up capital for small business owners. Some loan companies give out United States Small Business Administration Loans, others give out City Small Business loans.

Loans are difficult to obtain without a good credit history. The electronic underwriting systems used by most mortgage and small loan lenders penalize applicants who have minimal or no credit histories in the United States.

There are several Queens centers that offer help with the loan process. The Business Outreach Center in East Elmhurst offers free small business loan counseling and referrals to different lenders.

The Minority and Women-owned Business Loan Fund in Jamaica is a loan program open to minority and women-owned businesses with sales not exceeding $10 million and located in Southeast Queens.

The loans range from $10,000 to $300,000 for real estate, equipment or working capital. There is a $100 application fee.

Thinking of starting a business?

Thinking of sign ideas to attract customers?

When planning a business sign, business owners should consider a State law from the early 1900s that requires all signs to include some English.

Although the law is not entirely enforced, the subject has been a hot button issue on the streets of areas like Flushing where many residents have questioned the nature of non-English signs.

Those starting up a business should contact the New York State Governor’s Office of Regulatory Reform’s website to learn more about rules governing new businesses.

The office can be reached at (518) 486-3292 or by logging on to http://www.gorr.state.ny.us/gorr/Startbus.html.

Filing personal tax returns and business tax returns can baffle even a lifelong resident of the United States, let alone a newcomer to the country.

But the complication forms must be filled out every April by legal residents of the United States, and if they are not, you can be severely fined.

So what exactly are taxes? How do you file them?

Here is some information, courtesy of www.ILW.com.

A federal tax return is a form taxpayers must file, under penalty of law. It is the law that every taxpayer must complete and submit a tax return to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In the USA, estimated taxes are withheld from a taxpayer’s pay check. Tax returns provide documentation and proof that a taxpayer has paid the correct amount of taxes.

If your return shows that you have overpaid your taxes over the year, you will receive a refund from the U.S. government. If your return shows that you have underpaid, you must send payment with your return by the deadline date.

How do you file taxes? First, figure out if you are a resident alien, nonresident alien or an exempt individual for tax purposes.

Determine which form(s) you should submit to the Internal Revenue Service. Most IRS forms and publications are available online, in Adobe Acrobat format.

Resident aliens should file Form 1040, while nonresident aliens should file Form 1040NR. Exempt individuals should file Form 8843.

Next, get a copy of the correct forms and instructions at a library, post office or online.

Gather the pertinent materials, including your W-2 Forms. These forms should have arrived in the mail from your employer. The W-2 lists how much money you made at your job during the past tax year. If you had more than one job during the past year, you will get a W-2 for each job you held.

You can have your taxes done by a professional accountant or tax preparation firm like H&R Block, but that can be expensive. If you need help, call the IRS automated tax help line at (800) 829-4477 or your local tax office at (800) 829-1040 for live help.

The City’s Department of Small Business Services offers a host of different help topics to get a new venture off the ground.

The Business Assistance staff can provide the tools that will enable businesses to learn about and bid on government contracts, inform businesses about incentive programs that can lower their expenses, certify minority and/or women-owned businesses and locally based enterprises, connect business owners with counselors and services that can answer a range of business-related questions, resolve problems related to government services, and provide immediate assistance in the event of an emergency or disaster.

Call 311 for more information.