Oh my - I'm still here - LESSON TIME!

So sorries, I haven't been making good on my promises. I have been busy dealing with feelings and dodging things and not getting enough sleep :)

Business lesson time!!
Ok, it isn't really a lesson, but some helpful information, at least if you live in BC.
This is info for setting up your own wee business in BC, for your handmade jewelry, for example. I thought I'd put this here, as I was so clueless as to what to do, and an accountant was lovely enough to give me some pointers. So he gave me some direction then I went ahead and figured it out (I'm a big girl now!) and this is what I had to do.

-Go to OneStop BC to reserve a name for your business. You need to fill out a Name Approval Request form, for which you need to pay $30. You get 3 name choices - if your first choice is refused, they go down to the next name etc. Choose carefully and make sure there aren't any other companies with that name, at least in Canada. Anyhow, the form has a bunch of fine print on this which you really should read. It won't take too long and it will help you formulate a name that has a better likelihood of being accepted :)

-After they get back to you with your approved name (yay!) you need to go back to OneStop to register your business as a Sole Proprietorship (or at least that is how you will register it if, like me, it's just you makin some stuff and wanting to sell it - it's just me, baby!). This costs $40, I believe. This is also when you get to fill out a million lovely forms. Actually, it isn't all that bad. I did it in one afternoon. You fill out info regarding taxes, importing and exporting and other stuffs.

-Taxes: you may not have to register for/charge PST and or GST. For GST, you don't need to charge it until you are making $30,000 dollars - I believe this is for a 12 month period. Contact the CRA for further info at 1.800.959.5525. For PST, you don't need to charge it until you are making $10,000 dollars in a 12 month period, but there are a few other stipulations. More info here, or call 604.660.4524. The other thing is that if you are not registering for these and therefor not charging taxes, then you cannot write off/get back the taxes you pay on ... things which are expenses for your business, such as supplies. I hope this is making sense.

-You need to register for importing and exporting even if you're just ordering some beads from someone in the US, or sending a bracelet to someone in the UK. Maybe that's obvious, but I wasn't sure when I was doing this :) If you have questions or problems anywhere along the way here, the people at the OneStop helpline are, actually, helpful, haha. If they can't answer your question (like when I was doing a bit on the CRA website and needed help) they will give you the proper number to call (the CRA people were also very nice! I was pleasantly surprised).
NOTE: there are questions about import/export: this is what I was told when I asked - even though I asked about such a small scale. However, maybe they misunderstood me. If you are going through this process, it's probably best you ask them yourselves :)

-You will probably also need a municipal business licence. I was able to fill something out at OneStop and was subsequently sent a form from my district to fill out, with the info for payment. (Note: OneStop will say you need to contact your district about this - when I did so, they didn't seem to know what was going on. Just wait until they send you the info in the mail, you shouldn't need to call them). Since I won't be doing anything through my new business until January, I won't finish this step until the new year. It costs $110 for this business license, which is valid January to December. I would have only had to pay for half the year, but I don't need it yet, so I will register in January.

-Last step, which I haven't yet completed (waiting until January), is to go to a bank and register a business account for your new company. Yay!

If you're curious, my business is officially called Mixed Company Handmade.
The name is partly due to a (now) comical family incident, so it makes me laugh whenever I think of it. I think it's nifty!