Approaching Government Offices Shouldn’t Be Off-Putting

Whether you are just getting started in your design business, or have been business awhile, you will need to interact with various government agencies. There are licenses and registrations. Taxes and fees. Permissions and applications. Codes and requirements.

Approaching government offices, for many people, can be somewhat off-putting and scary. There’s always that underlying psychological fear of authorities and big brother. You don’t want anyone to laugh at you and your ideas, or put you down, or belittle you and think you and your business are too insignificant.

But personal fears are NOT the reality!

Starting a business, even though it might be very small initially, is the American way. All these local and state and federal bureaucrats owe their jobs to people like you. In a big way. Your efforts to make money selling jewelry or other design products or craft items justifies their positions. So, right off the bat, they are biased towards liking you and wanting to help you and your business.

If they feel that you are serious about your business and determined to succeed, even if you are completely failing again, if they believe your goals are to succeed in business, they will go out of their way to help you.

So, when I filled out the property assessment form for the Tax Assessors Office, I got a call to come into the office. When I got there, one of the tax assessors sat down with me, and we re-filled out the form together. He explained what they were looking for, and what I needed to provide. no penalties. No penalizing. Just sincere help and consideration.

And when I made a mistake on a payroll tax submission, I received a letter from the IRS to call them. I called them, and, as with the Tax Assessor, they went over the form with me, helped me correct my mistake, and wiaved the late penalty.

And when the state force a change in the business tax form — a single form, rather than three separate forms, used to calculate taxes due to the local, county and state revenue offices, I completely missed the mark. I didn’t get anything right. Our city clerk called, and asked me to come in. We filled out the form together. She said not one person in Berry Hill had completed the new…