For now I’m operating as a freelancer and looking for a full-time job in the nearby Seattle area.  I have a few excellent opportunities and I’m waiting patiently for the right one to present itself to me.  Meanwhile, freelance work and sharpening my skills and networking are great!

Today I’ve proceeded in making tiny steps to making a dream a reality and applied for an official business license and trade name(s).  It was easy for me to do this once I found the right resources.  There are so many information out there to get a business started, if you’re not persistent and focused to find the answers needed, it can be overwhelming.  I obviously wanted to do this on my own to learn and understand the process.  I didn’t want to pay for someone else to do it for me, so I took my time not rushing into it learning about the process to setup a business.  It’s been since November 2019 when I was seriously looking into the entrepreneur path.

So here are the steps I took:

1. In the city of Seattle and county of King, I went to the website of the Department of Revenue Washington State –> https://dor.wa.gov/open-business/apply-business-license
2. Played with the wizard –> Start a scenario using the Business Licensing Wizard. You will have the option to Apply Now using our secure online system, or expand the By Mail to download and complete all the forms listed.
3. Before I can complete my application, I got an EIN, a federal employer identification number so that I can use that to open up a business account.  I want to do this right by keeping my records for business under one account and keep my personal account separate.  I will use accounting principles to use my personal to fund my business which I’m doing at startup.
4. Then upon completion of my business application it asks for any EIN and the UBI number.  The UBI is the unified business identifier.
5. In addition to completing the business application, you’re asked about DBA – doing business as or tradename(s).  For me I have the website redtriaussie.com setup and will market myself with several identifiers to give growth into what I want to do.  So I have tradenames within the state of Washington.  Later, while planning for growth,  I’ll get a trademark copyright with the Federal Secretary of State to cover United States, but for now these names are owned by me in my region:
   1. Red Tri Aussie
   2. Red Tri Aussie Productions
   3. Red Tri Aussie Creations
   4. Red Tri Aussie Designs
   5. Red Tri Aussie Studios

All this cost me $44 bucks 🙂