Free Small Business Help Available Jan. 10 and Jan. 24

If you need assistance registering your small business or obtaining a general excise tax license, representatives from the State Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs will be in Hilo tomorrow as part of their twice-monthly Business Action Center outreach.

Staff from the Business Action Center, which is part of the business registration division of DCCA, normally comes to Hilo on the first and third Thursdays of every month to offer assistance to the public at the Hawaii Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

However, with the New Year holiday, the BAC will be open the second and fourth Thursdays in January.

The free business registration assistance is available on a walk-in basis from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., at the SBDC office, 100 Pauahi Street, Suite 109, Hilo, in the American Savings Bank Building.

“We are a one stop shop for registering your business in Hawaii,” said Jayna Uyehara, the statewide BAC Manager.

BAC representatives are available to answer questions about registering trademarks and trade names, as well as different types of businesses, be it a corporation, LLC, sole proprietorship, or partnership.

They also provide assistance if you need to register as an employer with the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations Receive and offer comprehensive information on licenses, permits, and registration requirements for state, county, and federal governments

“The most important thing we do is offer personalized assistance in filling out the forms,” said Uyehara.

“We can do your business registration with the DCCA. In addition, people can get their tax license from the Department of Taxation from us.”

For those unable to make the January 10 event, the Business Action Center will be back in Hilo on January 24. For more information call (808) 933-0773 or go to www.hawaii.gov/ddca/bac.