This was now our second time to the DED (Department of Economic Development) and we were a bit unsure what to expect.

Our first visit a few weeks earlier had not gone as planned. We had arrived on that occasion to reserve our business name and register it in the appropriate business license category. We had researched the pros and cons of the different categories that were options for this business and were fairly confident with the category we had selected. However when we went to register the business under our chosen category, the clerk confidently advised us to register under another category.

Further research and many phone calls to the DED over the following weeks revealed that we had been given the wrong advice.

So now back at the DED we were concerned that we’d need to re-register the business under a new category. Of course every change also involved additional transaction fees. We thought that we may be charged the full registration fees again as we needed to change categories. However the DED were very helpful and we only got charged for the change to the business category.

With the business gaining initial approval it was off to the typing office to draft up the memorandum of agreement (MOA). The MOA is the formal agreement between owners and stipulates ownership arrangements and responsibilities among other things. So far the registration process has gone relatively smoothly.