Starting a business teaching kids? It's an exciting and profitable business to start. You want to be organized and have everything in place so when you do open for business you are professional and ready to be successful. The best way to do this is to make sure you do not overlook consulting a professional as far as any legal, accounting, or insurance issues.

Once you are ready to move ahead with setting up your business, the first things you must do are to decide on your business name and type of business set up. (Sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation, limited liability corporation, etc.)

Many people prefer to start as a sole proprietor to test their business first and then move on to a limited liability corporation or corporation. It is best to consult a lawyer to help you decide what form of business is best for you. Your local Small Business Administration can give you additional information on starting your business. They, along with your local Chamber of Commerce, can usually refer you to a lawyer who helps small businesses start up.

When choosing your business name, choose something creative that is immediately recognizable with the topic you teach. After you have decided on your name and form of business set up, you should contact your local city or county business office (whichever applies to you) and apply for a business license. You will also want to run a fictitious name check to make sure there are no businesses with the same name that you have chosen. In some instances, you may be required to file a Fictitious Name Statement and place an announcement in your local legal paper. Your city or county business office will guide you through this and everything else you need to do.

After you have your business license, head to your bank and open a business checking account. Then, you will want to think about insurance. It is important that you carry adequate insurance for your business. You will want to talk to a business insurance agent and/or lawyer about how much and what types of insurance you need.

It is always important to have a lawyer review any contracts or forms that you have anyone sign, particularly when it involves children. A lawyer will also be able to help you with any federal, state, and local legal, business, and insurance requirements.

As a self-employed businessperson, you'll have to take care of any tax payments and bookkeeping on your own. It is best to consult an accountant to learn the best way to pay yourself from your business account and to help you with your business taxes.

Teaching can be a business or irregular paychecks, so make sure you plan accordingly. If you hire other teachers to help you in your teaching business you need to check with your State Department of Labor for the laws on hiring and inquire about any special regulations for the type of classes you teach. If you plan on selling merchandise as part of your business, you will need to set up a sales tax account with your local Department of Revenue.

There are many computer programs that will assist you in your day-to-day bookkeeping. Many teaching topics may even have specialized software that has been developed for this purpose. For example, there are several bookkeeping programs specifically designed to track tuition and billing for dance studios and karate centers. There may be one designed for your teaching topic. The Internet or specialty magazines are great places to look for software in your area of expertise.

Once you have taken care of the basics of setting up your teaching business, you're on your way.

Stephanie Quinn, author of Start A Business Teaching Kids (http://www.startabusinessteachingkids.com), is a dedicated educator, who has the ability to motivate kids to achieve their goals and potential. She creates wonderful performing arts programs for kids and her directorial skills have enabled her students to improve their performances, work professionally, and win numerous awards. More importantly to Stephanie, her students are confident, expressive, and outgoing kids who have benefited from her programs in ways that will give them significant and creative skills that will last them a lifetime.