What steps do I need to take regarding the legal aspects of beginning an online business? Background - I've been designing custom birth announcements, invites for friends and am wanting to expand it into a small online business.

You don't need to do anything extra over what you would generally need to do when starting a business.

If starting a business, you would want to decide on your legal structure so that you could determine what paperwork you need to file - i.e., if you're going to incorporate, you need an EIN from the IRS. You will probably need to register with your state and get any necessary licenses -- for your type of business a state license won't be required. But, you may want to get a Fictitious Name (some states call it a DBA).

If you're going to do business online, you will want to decide how you want to do that business - do you want to sell on eBay, have your own website, or both? But there are no legal things involved with decisions like that.

Each state has their own Start your Business guide. You can find your state here and then get linked over to the guide -- http://craftersbuzz.com/business_getstarted.html

Good luck!!

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