Business permits and licenses

To start a business anywhere in the world, you must comply with all business licenses and permits in the place where you decide to start your venture. National and local governments control and regulate permits for some types of businesses.

Depending on the type of business you have, you will most likely need one or more types of business licenses or permits to be able to operate legally in the country where you reside. The different types of business licenses will depend on many factors, such as the types of products or services you are going to commercialize, the organization of the company and the number of workers the business has. Because of the wide variety of licenses and permits by country, there is no global way to know what kind of license is necessary for your business.

Licenses and permits in coaching

Not all types of ventures are viewed in the same way from a regulatory standpoint. For example, for a restaurant, different permits are required than for a coaching business. So far the different types of coaching are not very regulated, as this profession is relatively new.

But you should keep in mind that it is growing exponentially and that at some point governments will update their regulations in this regard.

One of the benefits of starting in the life or business coaching industry is that you can do it from home or online, so you won't be subject to as many permits or licenses as a restaurant, for example.

There are some exceptions for coaching, in the case of health or nutritional coaches. Since in many countries to do this type of work you will require a specific license or be a registered nutritionist, to be able to guide people in their diet.

In many places it is possible to work as a coach without the need for those specific nutritionist or therapist licenses. You can just ask for a coaching certification to teach courses, webinars or seminars on whatever kind of coaching you decide to start in. These certifications also allow you to organize support groups, fitness groups, cooking classes with your clients, venture planning or lifestyle improvement. What you are not allowed to do is to diagnose clients, that is reserved for other types of professionals.

That is why it is very important that before you start your business you check with your local government to see what regulations you have to abide by.

When you register your business as a sole proprietorship or partnership, in most cases no documentation is required, unless you wish to open a bank account or require a DBA. In these cases you can have your coaching business and work with as many clients as you want, and all income or losses will be taxed as personal and taxed as such.

When you want your business taxes to be separate from your own you should then structure the business as an LLC or a corporation and file accordingly.

How do I know if I need a license or permit for my business?

Every business and license is different and, given the location of the business, it can sometimes be complicated for a start-up business to know what type of permit is needed for it, as well as its requirements and methods of obtaining one.

This is more suited to home-based or online businesses, where the business organization may be a bit more lax and family-run. Although for these cases you will likely only require a home occupation permit.

But for businesses that have more extensive contact with the public, for example, in the case of the food or medical services industry, additional permits and licenses are going to be required.

It is also important to be clear that laws and government requirements change all the time, so it is easier for a business to violate them if it does not keep up to date.

You should reevaluate your permit and licensing requirements when, for example:

• The business begins to transact business at other locations.

• Hiring new employees or executives.