Submitted by Equivalent-Club-5191 t3_xv4ut2 in Pennsylvania
I should also add that I am 17 my other friend is 18 and the other one is also 17. We want to start a small business from doing this and eventually move into landscaping and doing other stuff but for right now do I need a license?
If you are trying to do it legit, Your best bet would likely be to form an LLC for the company - https://www.dos.pa.gov/BusinessCharities/Business/Resources/Pages/Pennsylvania-Limited-Liability-Company.aspx
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this will help protect you (and possibly your parents) from legal liability if something were to happen, like you accidentally put a ladder through a $5k window or something
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Then call around once you have the LLC established and see what companies will offer you insurance, I think you need workmans comp, and General Liability insurance, it may be worth it to look up some successful cleaning businesses on the other side of the state and call em up and talk to them
Getting an LLC usually involves hiring a lawyer. An expense which is tough for a kid to cover just to do windows and yard work.
yard work is a slightly different story, although damage can still occur, it is likely less then cleaning windows.... and they are 18/17/17... so they aren't going to get away with anything for "being a kid".
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It sucks, but this is absolutely what they need to do to protect themselves, and their clients. windows are expensive, damaging one is pretty easy, hurting themselves is as well, and you have 3 people doing the work, so how does that work from a pay/company perspective? just hoping all 3 do the exact same effort?
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I respect OP putting in work and busting ass, but this isn't the 80's anymore, and they aren't 12. They are adults doing adult work on adults homes, adults they don't know other then professionally who won't hesitate to make the lives of those around them awful if they fuck up
Nerd
Given your gloom'n'doom approach, it is no wonder kids do not want to work these days.
once again, they aren't kids... and call it what you will, but this is reality. If this was a 12 year old knocking on his neighbors door to cut their grass or shovel their sidewalk I would be providing much different advice. these are adults, offering professional services to random people.
They need to protect themselves if they are going to go into business for themselves
I agree with you but man that’s a lot to take in lmao, thank you for all the information though, that’s a big help.
Since 17 is not an adult, there is no legal difference between a 12-y.o. and a 17-y.o. Let him be ambitious. Don't kill his go-to spirit with your prattle.
His business partner is listed as 18... hence adult, and they are 17... which means within 1 year they will be 18... so not planning for literally < 1 year away is just dumb
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Nah, the paperwork isn't that rough in PA. You can have a lawyer do it, and they'll scare the shit out of anyone saying you definitely need to hire them, but it's not all that difficult.
Just let the kid earn some money...
"Just let the kid earn some money" is fine until something happens that costs 5x more than he made that month to repair. The guy you replied to is trying to make sure the kid doesn't end up in the hole rather than in the green.
Kid needs an LLC and liability insurance before he even thinks of touching someone else's house. This ain't lawn mowing.
Oh, yeah... load the kid up with paperwork and stuff he doesnt understand just because you think something bad might happen to him. Hell, he might as well not bother getting out of bed.
Not sure why me answering an incorrect statement shows I'm not completely in support of the kid doing his hustle. I think it's a great idea, but you be you and complain after reading what you want into my comment.
Depends on the municipality in which you are planning to offer your services. A number require nothing for you to knock on doors. Others require you get a permit from the town office, nothing more. I get kids knocking on my door offering to mow the lawn, shovel snow, etc. None of them need a business license.
You’re gonna need a solicitor permit and even if some places won’t allow that. See no soliciting in municipality signs.
You’ll definitely require liability insurance. Think of that before anything else.
You should form an LLC and get insurance. You should also talk with your local police about rules about soliciting.
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Search online for your regional Small Business Development Center for free assistance with starting your small business. It’s a great state resource!
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I'm not telling you not to do it ... but I'm asking anyone else who sees this to tell me if they EVER appreciate door-to-door solicitations.
You're gonna get a lot of doors slammed in your face, you're going to have to knock on 200 doors to get one sale, and you're going to get people calling the cops even if you're fully legit.
Tell me, you, the original poster: Do YOU answer the door when you know it's a salesman that's just going door-to-door?
OK you definitely have a good point and I’ve thought about that a lot and I think what we’re gonna do instead whenever we get our proper licenses is start marketing with Facebook ads and get those things that you stick on somebody’s door handle like in a hotel and put our number and email on it.
There's a lot more to think about. You're 17 or 18 so maybe you haven't thought about it.
Transportation. You need to get to these homes. You need to transport your materials to these homes. Have you given thought to fuel costs? How about wear and tear on your vehicles?
Payment. How are homeowners going to pay you? If they use cash or check, you need a bank account to deposit that into. But people use credit or debit cards far more often. So you need to look into a credit card processing system.
Taxes. Unless you're making $5 operating a lemonade stand, you will need to list your profits as income, and you will need to pay taxes on it. How are you going to figure out how to do that?
Capital investment. Where are you getting the money to buy the equipment, supplies, and door hangers? My point: You need some starter money, in order to actually make money. You know, Facebook ads aren't free either. So you need some up-front money for that. You need a logo, you need a dedicated phone number and email address for your business. There's set-up costs.
Division of labor, division of profits. There's going to be three of you. Will one person handle all the phone calls and emails? How many people will go out to a house at the same time? How will the profits be split? Who put more money into the startup supplies? This kind of stuff might even need a contract.
Materials. Some woman is going to ask if your cleaning products are toxic to animals. You better have an answer. Are you using rags or paper towels? Rags need to be washed. Paper towels need to be disposed of ... are you going to throw them into customers' trash cans or will you have a way to dispose of them yourself?
Liability. Some windows are on the second floor ... or higher! What happens if you fall off the ladder? What happens if you break a homeowner's window? You can't always say "we promise we'll take care of it", you have to show proof that you have a plan for this. This comes in the form of insurance.
Look, man. Reach for the stars, don't let me stop you. Huge companies were started by a bunch of kids in their garage. It can be done, for sure.
But it's going to be hard. Making money is a lot easier when you have someone (an employer) worrying about all the things I listed above. Yes, minimum wage labor sucks, but you have to start somewhere.
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I'm not sure, but the homeowner's liability insurance should cover you if you get hurt or accidentally damage their property.
This is terrible advice. Most home owners policies have a 500 - 1000 deductible to start, and they would absolutely fight a claim by a person who was working on the property who injured themselves on their own.
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Even an "invited guest"? Which seems to me like the case here.
I had a friend break a leg at my property while helping me do some work. My USAA homeowners policy paid them (actually overpaid above and beyond my liability, then tried to recoup the overpayment).
Your friend was helping you do something. That is not the same scenario as hiring a company to perform a specialized service.
Exactly, insurance would cover injury to a friend on your property, or even a stranger die to negligence on your part, but a paid worker? Not so much
People really don't understand why I say if you're hiring a service to clean your house, mow your lawn, wash your windows, etc... you make sure that they are a business and that they are insured for injuries and any potential damage that may happen in the course of them doing their work.
A while back my neighbors hired a company to do some work for them. During the course of that work, a pretty large piece of wood got away from them and it hit my deck breaking several boards. It was that company's insurance who had to pay to have my deck repaired, not my homeowner's insurance.
Homeowners insurance is likely to sue you for damage you cause and they have to pay for, and deny coverage for injury to you, because contractors are required to have their own insurance.
Typically not covered under a homeowner's policy.
opskito t1_ir05dsc wrote
I suspect you may be asking about what’s known as a peddler or soliciting permit. It’s an authorization issued by local municipalities for going door-to-door within their communities. Reach out to your town hall, township administration, etc.