Video:How to Do Business as a DBA

Transcript:How to Do Business as a DBA

Hi I’m Jaclyn Mullen with JaclynMullenMedia.com and you are tuned into About.com. Today we're going to be talking about how to do business as a DBA. Business has its own vocabulary sometimes, and starts to sound like alphabet soup. So allow me to break down for you. DBA stands for: doing business as. Now, depending upon the state that you live in, you can actually create your DBA by filing for it. I suggest you check out the SBA.gov so you can see what the filing requirements and fees are for your particular state.

DBA Separates Personal and Business Finances

Now that you filed a DBA, what are the benefits of having his DBA or doing business as? Mainly being able to open up a business bank account. Having a DBA really allows you to separate that personal and that professional and the business bank account is just taking that one step further. It allows you to not co-mingle personal and professional funds, and be able to really watch your business cash flow.

Which leads me to the next advantage of having that DBA: taxes. But what I mean is you're able to see what your deductions are from your business bank account, because you again have separated it from that personal bank account.

DBA Names Help Brand the Business

Now if some of you are still a little confused as to this whole DBA concept, hopefully this example will really bring it home for you. When creating a business, oftentimes the business takes on your legal name. What do I mean by that? Your name could be Christopher Smith therefore your business would be Christopher Smith blank - you get to fill that in. But let's say you wanted to have a cleaning company and you wanted to make it marketable, memorable and manageable. Christopher Smith doesn't necessarily equal cleaning company, right? Therefore Christopher Smith could go and file the DBA with his state and create Los Angeles Cleaning Company. This way your services are clear and concise to your customers. That's another advantage of the DBA.

Consider the DBA Filing Fees

One other thing with regard to a DBA – it s a little bit more cost-effective than filing for your LLC or your S Corp. or even C Corp. that have corresponding filing fees. DBA could be as little as $26 as is the state of California, but it again make sure you go and check the chart on SBA.gov to see what your state’s filing requirements and fees are.

Hopefully this video has overviewed the DBA for you and you now understand how you yourself can utilize doing business as for your business. This is Jaclyn Mullen. You are watching about.com. Thanks for tuning in.