Welcome to the third installment of the Big Bad Business Blog, I will scratch the surface of naming and registering your business. It is crucial to find a business name that fits the personality and goals of your business. It can also be one of the more fun things you will do in the beginning. When you start a business there can be a lot of paperwork to wade through. If I’m being honest, there will be a lot of paperwork throughout the life of the business. Have fun naming your business.

A name can be very impactful in your marketing and branding efforts. It should be catchy and stand out to customers. You need a name that identifies you. Finding the perfect name for your small business can be tricky. I found naming our business to be one of the trickiest first steps. You might want to choose a few options for names. Run them by family members, friends, colleagues, and target audience (if possible) to see what flops and what stands out. You will want to make it memorable, easy to spell, and have a dot com when you register for a domain name. Once we established the name, the fact that we were about to be business owners felt very real. Then we started on the paperwork.

Here comes the fun. You will need to set up your business structure. Do you want to be a sole proprietor, nonprofit, INC, or an LLC? Any entity you choose will need to register for a Federal Employment Identification Number. An EIN is basically like a Social Security number for a business. Mississippi businesses will need to register with the Secretary of State www.sos.ms.gov. If your business will participate in retail sales in Mississippi you will need a sales tax permit and number. You will find that at the Mississippi Department of Revenue website http://www.dor.ms.gov

Resources for Business:

• https://www.sba.gov

The Federal Small Business Administration has guidance and information for choosing an entity, choosing a name, business structure, opening a business bank account, applying for permits, and any other business information you might need in an easy to read and understand format. The learning center is full of useful courses to help you master day to day business operations as well as launch and grow your business. Most of the courses are thirty-minute videos. They include access to the transcript if you prefer to read the information or follow along. There is also a worksheet you can score yourself on the knowledge acquired in the course as well as a list of topic-related resources that you can access. 

• http://www.mssbdc.org

Phone: 1-800-725-7232 or 662-915-5001

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Mississippi Small Business Development Center is our local, state-based version of the Federal Small Business Administration. The SBDC assists small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs throughout the United States. The Small Business Development Center helps entrepreneurs realize the dream of business ownership and help existing businesses remain competitive in a complex, ever-changing global marketplace. 

I will do a deeper dive into the differences of the various business structures in a later post so continue to follow along! In the meantime if you have any questions about the different entities please reach out: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I will be happy to help in any way that I can.

Is it viable? Is it local? Is it sustainable? I recently spoke with a local artist, Catherine Smith who was able to answer yes to these questions. Catherine was a 2018 participant in The Yoknapatawpha Arts Council Artist Incubator series Community Supported Arts. She grew her business Southern Bird Studio from art markets and local retailers to a network of nearly 200 shops carrying her wares and a wholesale capable business. 

Catherine was kind enough to talk to me about her process:

“I began selling my original art, prints, and boxed note card sets at events such as Double Decker, the monthly Makers Market, and various other retail markets in Mississippi. Having spent most of my career in the gift and home décor industry, I knew that tea towels were popular gift items. In the beginning, I sold them at retail only. My sales were continuing to grow. My success through the CSA program gave me the confidence to order the towels in large enough quantities to be able to offer them at wholesale prices. In my years in sales and marketing, my passion was working with small “Mom and Pop” retailers versus the larger department stores. I still had relationships with many of those owners and reached out to them in person to see if they would consider selling my line in their stores. Chaney’s Pharmacy here in Oxford was my first account. They bought 5-6 different images near Christmas and sold out within about two weeks. That also gave me the confidence to move forward with a more aggressive strategy. While there are many different companies offering tea towels, I felt that what set mine apart was the original art.”

Catherine’s watercolors are playful and vibrant. Her artwork features bold birds, colorful states, and locale-specific works such as the Oxford Square and The Grove, with designs professionally printed on cotton tea towels, note cards, art prints, and more. Check out her work and support a local artist at southernbirdstudio.com.

Are you an artist who needs a business boost? Are you in a creative industry? Do you have a business goal you want to achieve? Whether you’re a visual artist, a writer, a musician, a designer, or a budding catering company YAC’s CSA program might be the boost your business needs to succeed. https://www.oxfordarts.com/programs/csa

Resources for Creatives:

Mississippi Arts Commission
https://arts.ms.gov
601-359-6030

Yoknapatawpha Arts Council
https://www.oxfordarts.com
662-236-6429
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

More resources coming soon! Upcoming topics include registration, business banking, expense tracking, and team building. If you have any questions or suggestions please reach out to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I will be happy to help in any way that I can.

Welcome to the Big Bad Business Blog! 

In this series, I will offer advice and resources that I have discovered on my journey of entrepreneurship to help you start, grow, organize, and promote your creative business. We will discuss a range of business-related topics including, but not limited to, the following:

• > How to write a business plan

• > Branding and market research

• > Business banking & expense tracking

• > Securing capital for your entrepreneurial adventure

• > Teambuilding & hiring employees

• > Pricing strategies

Every business begins with a great idea. And questions, there are so many questions. Here are a few to ask yourself when becoming an entrepreneur, especially in the creative realm of Lafayette County. These ideas can apply to any community of any size in any location. This advice is not limited to Oxford and Lafayette County!

VIABLE

--Does your business have what it takes to become a real and profitable business?

LOCAL

--Can your business or idea be developed and grown in/around Lafayette County?

SUSTAINABLE

--Is your business idea sellable with potential for repeat sales and growth?

Once you’re ready to get down to business, there are many things to consider. 

• > How do I get started? Do I need a name, tax ID, licenses, and registration? 

• > Should I consult with an attorney or accountant? 

• > How does my online presence or physical location look?

• > What is my company culture?

• > How do I reconcile my accounts and balance my checkbook?

• > What is a Federal Employment Identification Number?

• > How do I conduct market research?

The steps forward to getting your business off the ground can be overwhelming, I know. Growing and maintaining a business can hit road bumps on the way to success. Hopefully, this will serve as a guide you can apply to your business.

My plan for this guidebook is to offer information, resources, and research that you can use and apply to your business or idea. I will cover many topics over the next few months. I will be speaking with local artists, experts, and entrepreneurs for their stories. I hope that their experience will resonate with you, and any advice or knowledge they offer will help you on your path to entrepreneurship. I will include links to articles or websites that I find to be helpful. Essentially, I will be your researcher for all things entrepreneurial and business-related. Feel free to reach out to me at the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council or via email--This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

I’m excited that you are on this journey! Follow along for weekly information dumps, reference links, and more! Thank you for joining me on this path to entrepreneurship! 

--Andrea Drummond