Reply To: Herbal business
Hi Kristen,
Here are my 2 cents and I’ll keep it really simple because the legalities of business most certainly can be overwhelming and one can make it as complicated as they want to!
Liability insurance: to be honest, if you are aware of leaving medical claims off your products and only planning on making herbal products to sell directly at markets, this is not necessary. Often the main people getting liability insurance are herbal practitioners since we actually recommend herbs, formulate, etc. in a more official way with medical notes and documentation etc. Even then, I know of some Registered Herbalists who do not have liability insurance aaannd it is still hard to navigate which company and type of insurance one may want/need.
Registration: I think it is worth registering your business with joint stock in your province. Technically here in N.S. you are supposed to do so regardless of how much the business makes. It doesn’t cost too much and is a very straightforward procedure. It can be helpful with taxes and product/stock purchasing, also to make sure you are the only one with your business name, to be registered. When it comes to getting a GST business number however, that’s a different ballgame and not worth looking at until you are earning more in a year.
I hope this is of some help, and once again these are just my opinions. Others may have different thoughts, experiences or approaches.
Warmly,
Benna