"Starting my business - what do I ask the accountant?" Topic

I haven't broadcast it much, but I haven't exactly kept it a secret, either. I'm starting my own miniatures company. I first started thinking about it seriously two years ago, bought some books on how to start a business, read up on all the industry related forums I could find, started tracking costs and such. I even contacted a couple of sculptors asking for information on how their commissions operate. I worked the retail end for four years, and I think I've got about as good a handle on the industry as a fan in as remote a physical location as I'm in can have (i.e. maybe if I lived in the lower 48 and could travel to conventions more often, talk in person to more industry pros, I could be better informed than I am, but I feel like I've gone as far as I can from the middle of Alaska). I made my first real steps towards making the thing happen earlier this summer when I bought some fantastic primitive tent greens from Cacique Caribe.

So, where to begin? I've got a couple of friends who own their own businesses, one owns a beauty/nail salon, and another is an independant contractor. Both of them got their business licenses from the State of Alaska website. I went to the site, and immediately became lost. I plan to run a "full service" hobby company, offering miniatures, terrain, a painting service, and a custom terrain building service. I don't plan to accept many commissions, nor to I expect to get rich doing this – I doubt I'll make a profit in the first year (or two!), but this is a way for me to legitimize the money I already make from commission stuff, and to make a few miniature ideas that I've had in my head for years actually become real physical figures.

But I don't know what sort of business license to buy. Am I a manufacturer? I'll be making a lot of stuff at the house. Am I a retailer? I'll have a web store. Am I an artist? I'll be selling unique one-off terrain bits, and painting figures.

Argh.

So I decided to go downtown to the local Small Business Development Center to get some advice. I called and made an appointment with the counselor later in the week (he makes rounds across the whole state, and only stops in Fairbanks occassionally).

Unfortunately, the local Small Business Development Center was a real bust for me. It's a federal department that is supposed to assist small businesses get started, but the guy at the office was TERRIBLE! I set up a one hour meeting with him. He showed up about ten minutes late. Then, after we introduced ourselves, he spent the next 20 minutes or so talking about how he used to live in Fairbanks and made a killing in the real estate biz before he moved south (he was the regional director of the SBDC). Eventually I talked him around to what I planned to do, I showed him some miniatures, both unpainted and painted, as well as some terrain I'd built.

Then I asked him what sort of business license I should buy. And he refused to answer my question, saying that he needed to know more first. He wanted me to fill out a "The SBDC was really great and helpful" form. Was I a manufacturer? It'd be great if I could fill out a form for him stating that I was starting a manufacturing business, because there isn't much manufacturing in Interior Alaska. How many jobs would I be creating with this business? Why couldn't I find local sculptors? Why did I have to operate out of my home? It'd be better if he could show that he'd helped create a new storefront, or rented some space in town. Was I going to have any minority employees? Did I have to list myself as white on the form? Was I sure that I wasn't part non-white? Oh, then I could just leave that part of the form blank – it's optional anyways. It'd be great if I could show that I was creating jobs for minorities in Interior Alaska

ARGH!

Everything seemed to come down to me doing something that would justify his job to his superiors, and he still hadn't answered my question.

I did give him some more info on general costs of having greens sculpted and cast, and the time involved in painting a figure, and he replied "Well, for profits that small, I don't even know why you're bothering to go into business. If you're going to make less than 40K a year, you should just go work for someone else."

DOUBLE ARGH!!!

I tried to explain that this would be in addition to my normal job(s), that I spend a great deal of my free time doing it anyways, and that there's the potential for long-term small profits – moulds take a long time to wear out, and (especially terrain) models are viable to new hobby entrants for a long time also. I love the hobby, I enjoy it, and I just want to make a few of my creations and ideas available for general comsumption.

He said "Hmmm… well, your hour's up. Come back with a finished business plan and I can help you some more."

Some more? He hadn't helped me at all! He'd talked about how great he was, how much money he had, then ridiculed me, my hobby, and my ideas. Then told me to get lost.

"Um…" I said, "But you still haven't given me any idea of what sort of business license I should be looking at!"

"Oh, you mean whether you should form a LLC or something like that? That's all on the website." And he ushered me out of the room.

I really wanted to smash his head into the wall.

So… no go at the SBDC.

I wallowed in a funk for a couple of weeks (even thinking about it got me so irate I couldn't deal…), but then yesterday I started calling accountants. I hung up on a couple who put me on hold for over 15 minutes (15 minutes is my cutoff point – if I'm not important enough to talk to when I'm looking to hire them after a quarter of an hour, I doubt that I'll be important enough to talk to after they've already got my money). I declined to continue talking to another because he was rude and abrupt, and several others said that they didn't specialize in small business work, or were currently full and not accepting new clients.

Finally (I'd kind of been going at random through the phone book) I got to talking with a very nice lady who seemed interested in talking to me, was enthusiastic about me starting a business, claimed she had experience with both small and online business accounting, and offered to make an appointment with me next week to find out more about the details of my business and see whether I was interested in having her become my accountant or not.

Fingers crossed, but I think this might be the one – someone who can advise me on the legal aspects of starting this thing.

So…

… after all that ranting and rambling, here's a question for you folks – what should I ask her to find out whether or not she's a good accountant and knowledgeable about doing the books for a small business? She did advise that I buy a program like Quickbooks or something to help me help her track expenses (and I plan on writing off a lot of research/startup expenses this first year…), but other than that she was (understandably) reluctant to give advice without knowing more about what I was doing.

I've never hired an accountant before, and I'm just not sure how to tell whether she's any good or not – she could scam me easily and I might not notice.

Any advice from folks out there (in or out of the industry!) who've got experience dealing with accountants?

Thanks!

-Alex in Alaska

And, yeah, I crossposted to the "Industry", "Law", and "Ranting" boards intentionally. I think this thread is appropriate to all three. :)

I was going to suggest SCORE as a better alternative to a Federal program:

score.org/index.html

But inputting the Zip code for Fairbanks reveals that the closest chapter is in Anchorage, apparently co-located with the SBA:

US Small Business Administration, 510 L Street, Suite 310
Anchorage, AK 99501
PHONE: (907) 271-4022 FAX: (907) 271-4545
EMAIL: score558 AT gci.net

akscore.org is the local chapter Web site.

You might get in touch to see if they can provide advice over the phone or by e-mail--and hopefully your contact won't be the same buffoon!!!

Allen

You are making stuff, so manufacturer suits you.

See if there is a category for one man business as well, as people might think you are a car plant or something.

But I would imagine the website also has a contact page. Perhaps speaking to someone would be a good idea.

Taxes! That is the big thing to ask about. I am a small business owner as well, and the most important thing to be on top of is taxes. Income, sales, etc.

What category of business you are listed as doesn't seem to be all that important, but miss a tax filing, even if you owed no tax, and watch the government spring swiftly into action.

Also ask her what records she will need, and how she would like them kept. This will make her job and yours much easier.

Good luck with the new venture.

You can set up an LLC through bizfilings.com -- quick and easy.

Many choose to go with a Delaware registration -- but if there are opportunities to tap into local government programs -- you might want to be an Alaska LLC (sometimes your local state has extra fees that DE doesn't have -- hence one of the reasons it's popular to set up there)

Find out if the Accountant has a plan to save you more than their fee. While running a game store, I was burned by an accountant that spent countless hours trying to account for magic cards – in the end, all I received was a big bill and no help.

She should be able to help sort out the tax issues of how much of your house you can claim as a business expense, how to depreciate any captial items you purchase & how to apply any other business expenses that might be mixed into your private life.

Don't let that one SBDC bozo put you off. When I was researching for Rattlehead Games, I contacted LOTS of those people. None were as bad as the guy you encountered. In fact, they were all genuinely TRYING to be helpful.

But, I couldn't seem to get ANYONE to give me a simple nuts and bolts answer to "How do I start a business?".

Finally, I got in touch with someone on the phone. I wish I had written down who he was or at least where he worked. He explained it all very clearly in about half an hour. Turns out, it's REALLY easy to start a business in NC.

Oh, and good luck with your business!

Alex,

1) Ask her for references. Ask how long she's been in business. Ask about her experience/work history. After you explain your business to her, ask her how she sees her expertise being applicable to your business- then see if if she pitches you her knowledge of retail, wholesale, or manufacturing. That will tell you a lot about her ability to listen to you, the customer. And always remember that at the end of it all, YOU will be writing the check to HER if you choose to hire her. Many people tend to take their acountants word as law. Trust me, the accounting profession has its proportionate share of idiots.

2) Do any of your friends have an accountant that they would recommend?

3) Think seriously about incorporating as opposed to running the business as a sole proprietorship.

4) Check out the business department at the local college. Sometimes there is a requirement that students write a business plan for a new or existing business. Get a student in a grad program if you can.

allan (a recovering accountant)

Hi Alex

Sounds like that first bloke you saw was a complete and utter waste of time and probably had you doubting whether to do anything at all.
I went to see an accountant and the thing I wanted to know about was' how do I limit the tax liability' while I am struggling to get started. I dont want to spend all my leisure time burning the midnight oil just to hand it over to the government.
So I think it boils down to making a date to come clean and announce your in business and actually having something to sell.
I still dont want the hassle of the Tax form filling and would happily hand that chore over.

Also ask about what you can offset against tax- heating ,lighting phone,mileage,entertaining,web site construction etc

Have a chat with several people that run small businesses like window cleaners or mechanics- no matter what the business they all have the same problems-people not paying , too much work, not enough work etc

Keep us posted- you have asked in the right place here on TMP!

Questions for the Accountant -

Is she licensed by the Alaskan AICPA or another state?

What is her Accounting background? Big 3 (or 4,or 6, or 8- depends on her age – they've been consolidating for years).
A second tier or small firm? If she is from a small firm background, which is okay for you, did she handle from compilation through tax filings?

If her background is a large firm – What did she specialize in – Audit, Tax, Review and compilation only?

After you explain your business – how often does she feel she needs to "stop in"? Will she automatically file all filings and requests for extenstions?

Does she suggest a software package for you to use? (Quick Books?) Why? With which software is she familiar?

Does she have an office? Another full time job ( I am employed full time, but will take on the odd consulting or review position, so it is not a negative) ? Does she travel around the state (anywhere else ?) a lot? Does she have an assistant who can handle things in her absence?

If she is a sole practitioner – how long has she been in business? How many other clients does she have? Are her other clients substantial, or are they all small mom and pop type arrangements?

How and what form of "corporate formation" does she suggest?
(since you are working from home, as a source of extra income, keep it simple….)

Does she charge hourly? Monthly retainer? Are there any additional charges – you may encounter – from her perspective?

See if she tells you to contact your home insurance agent regarding coverage.

Ask what form she suggests you retain your paperwork. Or, is she willing to have you dump a shoe box of paperwork in front of her with those immortal words – "Here are all my records."

Does she work with any particular attornies in town? (we are judged by the company we keep….)

As you talk to her, is she taking notes? How is her notebook – sloppy? neat? She will handle your paperwork the same way…

Good luck -

And when you are done speaking with her – call 4 more accountants – and talk to them too.

Lastly, we are already in busy season and it is only going to get more hectic…

In the short term, treat it as a hobby….

Fred

Taxes and recordkeeping for the accountant.

Liability, corporate formation, licenses (if any) for the lawyer.

Taxes and RISK. Ask the CPA how to best shield your non-business related assets. If this (God forbid) doesn't work out, you want something better than total personal liability. On the tax front, work with the CPA on reasoanble projections and look at Sub C, Sub S and LLC. You want options if things take off as well.

LLP or LLC.

if your doing it alone the first option is out.

Buy a book like the Nolo books regarding starting an LLP or LLC.
They have all the forms in there and on disc.

Self Employment taxes and payments to the government for them. Benefits arrangement such as health care and retirement..

Deductions for use. In Alabama if you claim an office in the Home, it is one of the top 5 reasons for being audited.

Are they paying your bills monthly or are you seeing them once a quarter or once a year at tax time?

Well here in NY I asked the same questions as you Alex.

I spoke with an attorney about forming an LLC, and he was very honest about it not being worth it at such a low amount of monetary gain. The expenses of starting one alone didnt warrant Grimey Games becoming incorporated. I'm not sure as to Alaska law, but I would suggest going the business as a Sole Proprietorship at first, then all you need is a Doing Business As and it shouldn't matter if you are manufacturer, artist, service etc… It will make your taxes and paperwork easier as well.

Also think of the expense of hiring an accountant, do you really think as a miniature start up it would be worth the expense? You would know better than I would, how much you anticipate generating in your first year. For me, it just isnt worth it to have that expense. But at the same time you offer more than I do.

I would suggest an LLC if you are insistant on starting a corporation, to seperate your personal assets from those of the business, but if you are merely trying to make your hobby a legitimate, on the level, business then a Sole Proprietorship is probably a good place to start.

Well I hope that helps a little.

Alex, as context, I've been a commercial lending officer (banker) for 30 years, dealing with both start-up and established small businesses. Some thoughts:

Agree that the bozo you met with will hopefully be an aberation.

Allan/coggon's point no. 4 is an excellent suggestion. A business plan is, in its most useful form, a roadmap as you set out to actually enact your business. Insurance, tax considerations, licenses, legal entity, who are your customers and how are you going to reach them, the basic economics of your venture – these are the foundation of what you are doing. Maybe you have handwritten notes put down in a notebook. Maybe you have a 20-minute multimedia presentation. The key is the info itself, not its format.

I also like the suggestion that you talk to friends who own/run businesses, to see who they use for accounting, insurance, legal and banking services. Referrals make the world go 'round! Take advantage of the learning curve of others.

Common sense – keep records, ask questions, understand and write down the answers, keep a division between church (your personal funds/affairs/etc.) and state (your business funds/expenses/etc.).

Fred's comments on interviewing an accountant are very good. You need a few basic questions answered, based on Alaskan laws and practices, and some advice on setting things up. Thereafter, she's a resource for you if you encounter any issues/problems. I would suggest a couple followup meetings to review your bookkeeping, to make sure you don't get too far off the path.

You should also understand the lifecycle of an accountant. January thru March 15th is usually devoted to corporate clients – businesses with 12/31 fiscal years must file their returns by 3/15, even if they are asking for extensions. The next 30 days are reserved for completing Form 1040s for individual clients; 80 hour weeks are not unusual. The last two weeks of April are recovery time. May thru December are less hectic.

In the begining, do as much of your own bookkeeping as possible, to learn how it should be done. QuickBooks is very efficient for this, as are other products. The better shape your records are in, the fewer hours the CPA will need to review and vet them, thus reducing your bill.

If you have someone else do the bookkeeping, MAKE SURE you review it, and understand it. Always assume someone is trying to screw you out of your own hard-earned money – if they are, you will be playing good defense and have a chance to catch them, and if they're not, it just might be because they KNOW you are watching everything they're doing.

I could go on, but you've got a great forum here of folks who've been where you are, and who want to help. You've also got your own network of friends – use them!

If you have further questions, please feel free to PM me, and I'll do what I can to help. Good luck!

Don

I'm surprised no one has mentioned starting out as a "Hobby Business" for tax purposes, although it doesn't sound like your best option (I would suggest looking into setting up an LLC).

Still, here's some info on hobby businesses:
link
link

Welcome to the wonderful world of self-employment…

Well, I'm not in manufacturing and I'm in the Uk so the laws are going to be very different. We don't need a licence to start a business for one thing.

But, is an accountant the best place to start? Here, if yo uwant to start a business, your first stop is a bank. They all have small business advisors helping you out with precisely the questions you seem to be asking.

They'll even help you with writing your business plan.

Still, best of luck!

We are an S-Corporation.
We manufacture figures, publish rule sets, buy and sell other items worldwide at both wholesale and retail prices.

Our business is actually listed as "Manufacturer, Retailer, Publisher". Apparently someone at the State (NH and AZ) understood that they were not mutually exclusive activities.

The accountant needs to know how to keep the records separated by transaction type so you you don't end up paying too much in Taxes.
Taxes are definately important.

She also needs to be able to explain to you how to keep your business finances separate from your personal finances. Especially in a home business.

Bob

In the UK its not worth trying to claim part of your home as a business as you will also be done for business rates on that part of the house.

I did have a good advisor come and visit over a period of about a year. They were provided by the EU to help promote business in under-developed areas. Came in about once a fortnight and gave ideas and generally helped out.

Then at the end of the project they announced that they had to set a value on the project and the best way to do that was to pay me for the time I had spent on the project. So for every hour of our time spent together I got £8.50. Funny way to operate but I am up for another session.

Wow – lots of great advice here. Thanks everyone. I've got a list of things to ask her about when I meet with her.

In one of those odd "Wow, this is a really small town" moments, my girlfriend noticed my note on the calendar. She asked me, "Why are you meeting with my accountant?"

Apparently this woman that I picked randomly out of the phone book is my girlfriends accountant, and has also been doing the books for her parents' business (a bed and breakfast) for years.

So, right there she's started off with a good reccomendation (my gf's a recently graduated RN and one smart cookie!).

The tax stuff is what I'm most concerned about – I've only ever paid personal taxes, and if I understand the laws correctly, I've got quite a few write-offs coming (I've been hoarding receipts for six months or so now), but I want to make sure to get everything correct.

Keep the advice flowing, please!

-Alex

I am a UK based accountant who deals with small busineses including wargames clients

Here is my general advice to anyone looking for an accountant

1) Agree a fixed fee in advance, only variable by mutual agreement.

2) It is more important to be complaint with tax laws than to attempt to minimise your tax liability. Clever tax aviodance schemes usually eventually unravel. Your worst nightmare is a full blown tax investigation.

3) If you have good accountants stick to them – just like any profession there are plenty of greedy lazy and incompetant ones out there.

Good luck with your venture

Dave

Good advice from everyone.

I too live in NC as does Rattlehead and own a small LLC consulting business.

Liability…
I have to second GrimyGames advice that he "would suggest going the business as a Sole Proprietorship at first." So long as report your income for tax purposes, there is little other risk. I have trouble understanding the liability of a miniature producer, but it is likely very low. A little-mentioned caveat to LLC's is that you are still personally liable for your actions. (Lawyers like to set them up and may not be very forthcoming about that little fact.) So if you do 90% of the work for an LLC, you still can be liable if you screw up. Business insurance is a more important factor than whether you are a SP or an LLC.

In NC, a business can be a DBA (Doing Business As)…an organization with perhaps an unwritten structure, perhaps just a name. Businesses can be formed with a handshake and an oral agreement…perhaps not the best way to do it, but it isn't rocket science.

My advice…
1) Find good accountant (girlfriend referral is as good a method as any)
2) From accountant, understand your income reporting requirements for tax purposes.
3) From accountant, understand your sales tax reporting requirements for the state of Alaska.
4) From accountant, understand your sales tax requirements (perhaps to other states) for domestic and/or international sales if you attempt online sales.
5) Check at the local courthouse for necessary business license requirements.
6) From accountant, understand your tax write-offs and keep reciepts and carefully track these items.
7) Pay your quarterly estimated taxes.
8) Talk you girlfriend into doing your books :)
9) Unless you are looking to borrow money or attract partners, I would not attempt a business plan. Just jot down on a piece of paper realistic expectations of expenses and income. Can you manufacture 28mm figures for $2 USD each and make money after paying taxes? You have to expect to do a little better than break even or you will fail.

Hope this helps,
Robert

Carry a Walkman style tape recorder with you when you go to important business related meetings, particularly initial business meetings. Put it right out there between you two so that everybody can see it, the benefits being;
( A )that you can have something to refer back to,
and ( B )people will be less inclined to act like weasels ( at least in theory )

All the best Alex-

Doc P.

Alex, as you know I've been running a small business in terrain/painting figures/designing rules and writing books for years.

You probably don't need a business licence if it's purely a from home/no customer callers operation. It's not like a beauty shop. It's not like anyone will come asking, either.

Keep all your records. Have totals for the accountant. Decide how to group them. Remember things like mileage for travel – I do a hundred or so miles a month going to the post office, to the library, and to my research lab where people game once a month.

Unless you are making quite a lot – and I'd guess at least $10-15,000 – after all the many, many deductions that you should be saving, I doubt you'll need to do quarterly estimates. Your accountant will tell you.

Remember that, while your business income will probably simply supplement your regular day job as far as the taxman is concerned, you'll pay full Social Security (15 and a bit%) on profits. Try and make as small a profit as you can.

The home office thing's a tough one. The rules have changed slightly, but unless you have an area that you use exclusively for the business, it's likely to be ruled out. You can't count your living room. I would if I could --

Being a manufacturer things may be different but…

Here in the UK if you earn under a certain threshold Her Majesties Revenue and Customs really aren't that interested in you.

If you're below that threshold (as I usually am) you jsut have to hand in the following data:

Amount earned.
Tax decductions claimed for.
Net income.

They'll then examine a small percentage of such claims to keep everyone honest.

In which case you don't really need an accountant. But then I'm not a manufacturer and that may cloud matters considerably.

I would probably avoid getting an accountant right now – and just get Quickbooks. It will handle most of what she will do for you, and until you get to the point where you want an accountant, the software does a pretty good job of things.

For all your other issues, either get in touch with a good small business rep or a lawyer as mentioned by nycjadie

Liability, corporate formation, licenses (if any) for the lawyer.

A good business lawyer will know how you should form your business to take advantage of your states tax laws as well as what form of company you will want in order to deal with issues like liability.

For licensing – you will have to get that information based on what you want to do. I am a manufacturer, a contractor, a retailer and a wholesaler – and am licensed for all four in South Dakota (two for one company and two for another). Because of the way laws work here, my lawyer recommended I keep my two businesses separate in order to avoid having to deal with employment issues (I would have to start filing EEO reports even though I am my only employee).

Since I am a manufacturer twice over, I get inspected by OSHA (only once so far – knock on wood). I had to become a retailer for the sales tax ID for resale purchases and for filing in state sales tax reports. I do some sales cabinetry sales which are resold to some of the local contractors…so I had to get a wholesale license for that business. I do installations from time to time – so I had to get my contractors license as well as insurance to handle those issues.

But everything was different in Florida…and Texas too – so you will have to find out for yourself what needs to be done in Alaska.

As far as not getting a license and hoping no one notices…I wouldn't recommend it. The fines that can be levied will make the small fee look like pocket change.

Another idea just hit me…

Call the Alaska Department of Revenue or whatever they call the state tax organ up there. Ask them for any info they can give you on the tax responsibilities of the various business structures.

Also, I recommend going with Sole Proprietorship as well. At least in NC, it makes it much easier for us as the money from the business isn't really seperate from our "personal" funds. That way, I don't have to "pay myself" to get money out of the business or into it. It's all one and the same.

But, do some research to make sure an SP is the same up in Alaska.

Another thing you'll need is a business checking account. Talk to your bank and see if they don't have something with no service charges or fees.

Basically, for us, we just filed the "doing business as" with the local clerk of court, applied for a sales tax ID and then got the business checking account. At least, that's all I remember doing. There was no business license required for us. It's been nearly three years, so I may be forgetting something, but I don't think so. After a year or so of planning, I was truly stunned at how simple it really was.

Of course, this is all in North Carolina, so the laws can and probably WILL be different in some aspect or other.

Something else worth looking into is how your sales tax will be filed. We do it all online here, which is really handy. But we can pay it all electronically anyway, so it's not a big deal either way.

We don't have an accountant, but we do have a family friend who is an accountant/tax professional who has helped out from time to time. I wouldn't think you'd need to keep the accountant on retainer, as that would be a needless expense. But having them available when you need some advice would be good, if you can work out that sort of relationship.

One more thing about sales tax: I don't know how Alaska does it, but here in NC you only charge sales tax on orders that are shipped to customers in the state. Also, the tax is charged on shipping costs as well. So, the customer pays sales tax on the total cost of goods plus shipping. The only real pain in the neck for us is that some counties in NC have a COUNTY sales tax rate in addition to the state tax rate. Actually, they all have a county rate, but a few counties have rates that are different from the statewide county rate. It's all paid in the same filing, but if you ship to one of those oddball counties, you have to pay their tax rate. The NC Dept of Revenue has a document available online for us that lists most major towns and what county they are in, so we can look up customer's addresses and find out what rate we are liable for. But, we only charge the customer the basic state + county rate, because the sales tax is calculated before we ever know their address. As long as they get their money, I don't think the state cares where it came from. LOL!

As for Quickbooks, I can't agree more. We use one of the Quiken products, but Quickbooks is what we wish we had. Still, what we have is pretty good. In any case, it's VERY handy.

Lastly, if you're going to sell online, you will definately want a PayPal account. I think you probably already have one, but you'll want to upgrade it to a merchant account. All the info you need is on the PayPal site, if you look hard enough. It shouldn't cost you anything if you avoid the useless frills.

There is no sales tax here, so that simplifies things a bit. No state tax, either.

TONS of property and "sin" taxes, though.

You may still have to deal with useage taxes, manufacturing taxes and other ways to take money from you and give it to someone else. Certain chemicals also carry environmental impact fees (more taxes with a different name) – and some of those are used with certain resin casting processes.

The change happens when you go from being a normal person to a business – a lot of fun stuff like MSDS and hazardous materials recovery programs come into play that you wouldn't have to deal with as just a normal hobbyist.

But, most of that is local and will apply to Alaska alone (with a few EPA and OSHA rules).

Another call should be made to your insurance agent
calling yourself a manufacturer can be problematic in terms of liabilty. Home office deductions are generally not a good idea. If you have any assets you will problably want an LLC. Gather information from as many sources as possible . When you begin to here the same information from several sources you probably have your answer
The IRS has some good general information on starting a business link
Best of Luck!

Alx,
found this PDF link re starting a business in Alaska
Again goodluck!

Thanks for that pdf link, SWMBO! That's an excellent pamphlet!