Need help w business aspect!!!

[frenchy]

So, I have recently expanded my rat breeding and will soon be selling to public and reptile stores soon... Atleast thats the plan. I also breed Ball Pythons, not on a huge scale have 6 females goin this year and eventually want around 20-30 breeding females and 10ish males.

I am in California, what steps do i need to take to protect myself, be able to do shows and not get audited!!!! I hate numbers but IRS is super scary!!!!

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[Vilenica]

Keep it cash?

[frenchy]

Ive thought about that and decided why chance it lose alot more if audited!!!

[kellysballs]

I don't know what your specific state laws are with licensing but the only thing the IRS cares about is if you are paying the right amount of taxes. That being said hire a good accountant. There is nothing you can do to prevent an audit but if you have a good accountant you pay them to deal with it. In the beginning you will most likely have a dba or sole proprietorship until you make enough income to incorporate. Remember corporations give the business it's own identity and one requirement is that it must have employees and pay wages. So I would look into your local laws concerning licensing, talk to an accountant and get liability insurance for the business. Then you are protected on all angles.

[wilomn]

Say you have two shops that each want 10 medium rats, say 6 weeks old, every week. Just to provide those 20 rats to those 2 stores once a week you've got to have 120 rats in the shoot growing up. Every week for six weeks you have to put aside 20 rats
BEFORE you start selling them. If they want larges or jumbos the timeline expands dramatically.

You might want to sit and crunch numbers, figure space requirements and then see if any of the stores will do business with you. So. Cal is a tough market.

[frenchy]

Say you have two shops that each want 10 medium rats, say 6 weeks old, every week. Just to provide those 20 rats to those 2 stores once a week you've got to have 120 rats in the shoot growing up. Every week for six weeks you have to put aside 20 rats
BEFORE you start selling them. If they want larges or jumbos the timeline expands dramatically.

You might want to sit and crunch numbers, figure space requirements and then see if any of the stores will do business with you. So. Cal is a tough market.

I could not agree more ad i already have 50 tubs and will be building more soon and a am up to 52 female breeder rats. I have a very high demand at the moment w the whole global captive incident.

[kitedemon]

Accountant and a good business plan. I personally keep business finances separate from personal. Pay your self as an employee and pay rent and every expense as a big business does if things go completely haywire the only thing that can happen is the business goes under. If you fail to do so your personal assets are linked to a failed business and your car home ect. are now business assets and can be up for grabs. Do not break the law follow all the rules and regs so if someone looks carefully everything is in order. At least in Canada they are not out to kill businesses just stop fraud.