If you're thinking about starting a new business, be it a Toronto CD replication business or a shoe repair business, there's a lot you have to do in order to get your business off the ground. You have to come up with a business name, hire a commercial real estate agent and search out areas for a potential location for your business, come up with an advertising strategy, research the market to see what other hardware stores sell their cutting tubes for, if you're opening a hardware store, meet with commercial mortgage lenders, and come up with start up cash, just to name a few.

Don't forget about all the licenses and permits you're going to have to apply for. You can't be in business without a license. You also can't be in business without certain permits. Depending on what products you sell, what city you live in, where your building or office is located, or what services you are providing, you might have a few permits you need to apply for. All businesses need a license to operate. Doesn't matter if you're an English language school in Canada or a sports bar in New York, you need a license to operate.

You can go down to your local government building and apply for a license. Some service centers also allow for the license process to be done online. Once you have your license, you should determine what types of permits you need to apply for. Are you selling livestock? You'll need a permit for that. Do you plan on selling alcohol, firearms or tobacco? You most definitely need a permit for that?

Did you buy a building that needs some sort of deck construction for it to open its doors? Then you might need to apply for a building permit. All these permits are quite simple to apply for. All you have to do is fill out the applicable applications and answer some questions in regards to your business. Each one of these permits come with fees. So make sure you know exactly what permits you need and apply for them.

It doesn't matter what your business does, be it fix computers or sell tamper evident seals, you're going to be applying for permits. Going into the process knowing that is half the battle because you won't be going into it deer-eyed and scrambling for answers at the last minute. Good luck!