Restarting Your Business in a New CityPlanning the Move
Once I learned that the market was good and that I could find 1099 work that was primarily offsite, I was ready to restart my independent business and not look for a full time job. Now I had to plan my business move.
I made lots of lists including further contacts to make, things that I had to have reprinted, professionals I needed to find, local contacts who needed to know about my move, and more. I kept these lists separate from our regular moving lists, so they would not get lost in the shuffle. At least once a week, I reviewed the lists to see what I could tackle next.
Friends in my destination area sent me their old phone books when they received new ones. If you haven't made friends and don't have family in your new city, you might contact the local phone company to ask for the local directories. You could also prevail upon an especially friendly STC contact (just be sure offer to pay the shipping cost).
Most states have an organization that offers business assistance to small businesses. Using the phone books, I found the Colorado Business Assistance Center. It had a publication that described the essentials of starting a business in the state. This gave me what I needed to know about registering my company's name with the Secretary of State. (This process normally applies to sole proprietors and partnerships doing business under a name other than your own legal name.) The booklet included a lot of general business information that was useful, too.
I also contacted the Missouri Secretary of State’s office to find out what I needed to do with my current name registration when I moved. I had to send a trade name change or cancellation form based on whether I planned to continue doing business in the state.