Interview with Brad Schram

I had the pleasure of speaking with Bradley Schram whom is an attorney in the general Detroit area. During our conversation we spoke about zoning and running a small business out of a home. I started by asking Bradley if I wanted to run my business from home, what is best way to go about it? He first stated that in order to be able to have a home business you must first check in with the homeowners association to make sure you have permission to do so. Once you are clear from your HOA Bradley then mention you have to go to you local state office and register the type of business you are looking to open.
Those are the first two basic steps to securing a business at home. I then asked him if my HOA will not allow me to operate from home is there any way it is still possible? This can make or break some small businesses that do not know the law. You can create a business under another address and do operation out of your home. For instance if I purchased a office downtown and registered my business there, I could still keep inventory at my home. We then spoke about what is the next step once you have your business registered.
He advised once you know what you would like to call your company to apply for a federal trademark and have protection of your name. I asked him why not a state trademark to find out since my business will have heavy internet marketing and music sales across state lines it is important to have a federal mark to protect you. In all I learned almost anyone can open their own business with a little knowledge on trademarks and your local city law. Once your business is registered and trademarked you are ready to compete with any business in the nation and the possibilities are endless.