DATE: Wednesday, May 14, 1997               TAG: 9705130264

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B3   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: Terri Williams

                                            LENGTH:   42 lines

HOW TO... GET A BUSINESS LICENSE

You're tired of working for someone else and you say, ``Heck, I want to start my own business.''

So what do you do?

First, go to your city's planning and zoning office to determine whether the location you're interested in is legal for such an enterprise, advised Chesapeake Commissioner of Revenue Ray A. Conner.

Home businesses are forbidden, for example, in some parts of some cities, and some types may require special zoning exemptions even in areas where home businesses are allowed.

``If you're not operating in the right place, a zoning administrator can come in and shut you down,'' Conner warned.

After talking with someone in the city's planning and zoning office, applicants should go to the business license office in the commissioner of revenue's office of their city.

If you're planning on operating a restaurant, more than likely you'll need to go to your city's health department to ensure that the business will comply with health codes as well as zoning rules.

If you're planning on starting a corporation, you'll need to go the State Corporation Commission and have the corporation registered there.

The cost of a business license varies depending on the type of business, where it is and how well it does. Suffolk has the cheapest base rate, $30, and Norfolk the highest, $80, but each city has different rates for different businesses and the price goes up in proportion to the amount of business done.

Norfolk's director of business licenses, Bettie Osier, suggests that applicants from her city visit her office to get an idea how much the license will cost. That's probably a good idea in every city.

Here are some initial contacts to start the ball rolling:

Chesapeake: Ray A. Conner, commissioner of revenue, 382-6739.

Norfolk: Bettie Osier, director of business licenses, 441-2279.

Portsmouth: A. James Fillion, commissioner of revenue, 393-8777.

Suffolk: Rita Stubbs, clerk, commissioner of revenue office, 925-6420.

Virginia Beach: Robert P. Vaughan, commissioner of revenue, 427-4515.

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