You need a business license to operate a business in the city limits of Hardinsburg, Irvington, or Cloverport. If your business is not within those city limits, you do not need a business license.

Similarly to business licenses, planning and zoning laws only exist within the city limits of the
three cities. If your business is not within those city limits, there is no applicable planning and
zoning restrictions.

Sole proprietorships and LLCs are examples of legal structures that you can choose for your business. Other examples include partnerships and various kinds of corporations. There is no legal structure that is better or worse in general, but different structures suit different kinds of businesses.

Sole proprietorship and LLCs are the structures we are asked about most frequently. The overly simple definition is that sole proprietorships do not separate your personal assets from your business assets and LLCs do.

However, there are pros and cons to every structure and we
strongly encourage that you research all structures and consult with your tax professional before you make a decision. We would be happy to discuss your business and legal structures with you, or we can recommend other business consultants who would be happy to speak with you.

For a good introduction to the various structures, check out this guide from the Small Business Administration.

Breckinridge United does not provide financial assistance to businesses. Grant funding is, in general, an uncommon thing for a small business to find and we recommend that you do not anticipate receiving any.

However, there are tax breaks and other incentives offered by the state that you may qualify for, and which we would be happy to help you obtain. (You can access a list of incentives online.)

That being said, we like to remind our businesses that while incentives programs can be beneficial to starting your business, government subsidization of businesses strains our economy in other ways.
You should make sure that you are financially stable enough to fund your business without incentives before making the decision to actually start your business. If you do not know how much you need to start a business, we can help you make general estimates.