🚀 INTERACTIVE ROADMAP
Start a Business in Houston
Everything you need to legally start a business in Houston, in order. Check off each step — your progress saves automatically, so you can come back anytime.
0 of 7 steps done
STEP 1
Get free expert advice first
Before you spend a dollar, book free 1-on-1 mentoring with an experienced Houston business owner. They'll sanity-check your idea and save you costly mistakes.
→ SCORE Houston — free business mentoringSTEP 2
Register your business with Texas
Make it official — file your LLC (or corporation) with the Texas Secretary of State. This is the legal foundation everything else sits on.
→ Register a Texas LLC — Secretary of StateSTEP 3
Get your free federal EIN (tax ID)
Your business's Social Security number — needed to open a bank account, hire, and pay taxes. It's free and takes minutes directly from the IRS. Never pay a site for this.
→ Free federal EIN (tax ID) — IRSSTEP 4
Get a Texas sales-tax permit
If you'll sell taxable goods or services, you need this free permit from the Texas Comptroller before you make your first sale.
→ Texas sales-tax permit — ComptrollerSTEP 5
Line up funding
Need capital? Start with the SBA, then nonprofit lenders like LiftFund and PeopleFund that fund Houston businesses banks turn down. Not sure which fits? Try the Funding Finder below.
→ U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)STEP 6
Get MWBE / HUB certified to win contracts
If you're minority- or woman-owned, certification opens the door to city and state contracts set aside for businesses like yours.
→ Texas HUB certification — ComptrollerSTEP 7
Now get customers
You're officially in business — the last (and never-ending) step is getting customers. Smart marketing is what turns a registered business into a paid one. That's exactly what BEM does.
See what BEM can do →Want this done for you?
BEM helps Houston businesses get found and get customers. Join the free community to ask questions, or browse all our resources.
Join BEM Community — free →BEM Community · bem.solutions