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Policy, legal and insurance guides primarily concern mainland China. Scope and sources ↗

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Starting and Running a Business

34 chapters. 765 guides. Search a problem or browse the complete source order.

Browse all 34 chapters in source order
01Avoiding Premature Death48 guides02Preventing Chronic Decline47 guides03Protecting Your Mental Energy27 guides04Stopping Time Wasters18 guides05Cutting Financial Waste50 guides06The Anti-Checklist35 guides07Surviving Broke23 guides08Staying Out of Trouble46 guides09Everyday Legal Traps29 guides10The Economics of Dating and Marriage23 guides11Legal Boundaries for Developers21 guides12Starting and Running a Business28 guides13Handling Emergencies48 guides14Digital Security and Privacy12 guides15Renting and Buying a Home18 guides16Managing Chronic Illness14 guides17Caring for Aging Parents13 guides18The True Cost of Raising Kids7 guides19Workplace Rights and Injuries24 guides20Newborn Survival Guide17 guides21International Travel Safety13 guides22Science-Backed Relaxation12 guides23High-Leverage Skills to Learn25 guides24Navigating Healthcare15 guides25Handling End-of-Life Affairs12 guides26Building a Compliant Platform13 guides27Pregnancy and Childbirth20 guides28Appearance vs. Health10 guides29Recovering from Major Life Blows14 guides30Raising School-Age Kids21 guides31Life Paths After Eighteen17 guides32Studying Abroad Pragmatically12 guides33Navigating Life with Disability21 guides34Safe Home Medication12 guides

28 guides found

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Chapter 12 · Guide 1Author's grade B

Only invest money you can afford to lose — never use family savings or borrowed funds

Any debts incurred by a sole proprietorship must be repaid using your personal assets and funds. If it’s unclear whether the business was run by the w…

Cost
Zero upfront cost. Before you start, set a personal limit: this is the maximum amount you …
Benefit
Losing money is not the only risk. For sole proprietorships, debts are tied to personal as…
Chapter 12 · Guide 2Author's grade A

Never sign personal guarantees for corporate loans; spouses should definitely avoid signing too

What you’re signing is a “joint and several liability guarantee”. If the company fails to repay its debts, creditors can bypass the company entirely a…

Cost
Zero expense. When a bank, supplier, or landlord asks you to sign a “personal joint and se…
Benefit
The wording in a guarantee contract essentially translates to “if the debtor fails to repa…
Chapter 12 · Guide 3Author's grade A

Choosing the right legal entity before launching: sole proprietors and general partners are fully liable, while limited liability companies offer “limited” liability

Sole proprietors and general partners bear unlimited personal liability — they must repay all debts incurred by their business. Shareholders of a limi…

Cost
Registration can be completed online via local government portals in just a few hours. Aft…
Benefit
Debts incurred by a sole proprietorship must be repaid using the owner’s personal assets o…
Chapter 12 · Guide 4Author's grade A

Improperly listed shareholders: never hold shares on someone else’s behalf

Once your name is registered, you are legally a shareholder. You must pay the full amount of your subscribed registered capital by the deadline; failu…

Cost
Zero expense. If someone asks you to “lend your ID to be listed as a shareholder” or “hold…
Benefit
Being officially listed makes you a legal shareholder. You must pay the full subscribed re…
Chapter 12 · Guide 5Author's grade A

Check the Ministry of Commerce records before signing; obtain written disclosures and include a “cooling-off period” in the contract

By law, a franchisor must first operate at least two company-owned stores for a full year, and must register those stores with the Ministry of Commerc…

Cost
There is no cost involved. Simply visit the Ministry of Commerce’s “Franchise Information …
Benefit
Legal requirements mandate that any franchisor maintain at least two company-owned stores …
Chapter 12 · Guide 6Author's grade A

Determine the business name, location, scope of operations, and registered capital before registration; with complete documents, you can obtain the business license on the spot.

Registration itself is free; registration fees have been eliminated since 2015. Only five types of documents are required: an application form, proof …

Cost
There are no fees for the registration process itself. Since January 1, 2015, registration…
Benefit
The regulations specify exactly five required documents: (1) an application form; (2) docu…
Chapter 12 · Guide 7Author's grade A

Businesses requiring licenses must wait until they obtain one

Operating a business without a license may result in a temporary shutdown order, confiscation of all earnings, and a fine of up to 10,000 yuan. If you…

Cost
No cost involved. Before opening, verify whether your business type requires a license. Re…
Benefit
Authorities designated by law will investigate any unlicensed businesses. For operations w…
Chapter 12 · Guide 8Author's grade A

Figure out which category you fall into: producing or preparing food requires a permit, selling only pre-packaged goods needs a filing, while selling fresh meat and vegetables needs no permit at all.

If you’re making and selling food — whether it’s snacks, marinated meats, baked goods, or homemade pickles — you’ll need a permit. Selling only pre-pa…

Cost
There is no fee for the permit itself. However, your premises and facilities must meet cer…
Benefit
According to the Food Safety Law, anyone running a food business must first obtain a permi…
Chapter 12 · Guide 9Author's grade A

Packaging food for sale makes it prepackaged food: labels must include production date, shelf life, and ingredient list without exception

Legally, any food that is placed into packaging before being sold counts as prepackaged food. Such packaging must carry a label with nine mandatory it…

Cost
Printing labels costs only a few cents to a few dimes each. However, filling in the correc…
Benefit
According to food safety laws, prepackaged food must have a label that includes the follow…
Chapter 12 · Guide 10Author's grade A

General foods must not claim therapeutic effects: this applies to labels, instructions, ads, and live-stream scripts alike

Labels, instructions, and ads for ordinary foods must never claim that the products can prevent or treat diseases. Apart from ads for medical products…

Cost
No cost involved. Simply review all promotional copy, product description pages, and live-…
Benefit
The Food Safety Law states: “Labels and instructions for food and food additives must not …
Chapter 12 · Guide 11Author's grade A

The food industry faces criminal penalties: selling meat from diseased animals or products exceeding safety limits is already a crime; adding toxic or harmful non-food substances carries a minimum five-year sentence regardless of revenue

While earlier articles impose financial penalties, this one targets individuals criminally. Selling meat from diseased animals, meat failing inspectio…

Cost
No direct cost is involved. Follow the approach outlined in Article 8 (assess which regula…
Benefit
Article 143 of the Criminal Law governs this category: any food you produce or sell that f…
Chapter 12 · Guide 12Author's grade A

Once you obtain a business license, you must file tax returns on schedule — even if you have no income, you still need to submit a return with all zeros.

After getting a business license, you’re required to file tax returns regularly. Even if you earn nothing, you must still file a return — just fill in…

Cost
There’s no direct cost involved. You can file electronically via the tax service portal mo…
Benefit
The law clearly states that “taxpayers with no tax liability during a period must still fi…
Chapter 12 · Guide 13Author's grade A

Invoices must reflect actual transactions; small taxpayers can fully utilize tax exemptions

If you are a small taxpayer paying taxes under the simplified regime, and your monthly sales stay under 100,000 yuan or quarterly sales under 300,000 …

Cost
No cost at all. There is no need to purchase or sell invoices, nor to handle “fictitious i…
Benefit
Small taxpayers under the simplified tax regime are legally exempt from VAT if their sales…
Chapter 12 · Guide 14Author's grade A

Scammers pretending to be tax officials demanding payments are fraudsters; tax filings must be done via the e-Tax Service or by calling 12366

Tax authorities never ask for your bank card passwords, payment codes, or SMS verification codes over the phone, nor do they provide an account number…

Cost
No cost involved. If you receive calls or texts claiming a “tax audit,” “unusual account a…
Benefit
The State Taxation Administration explicitly states: “Tax authorities never request bank c…
Chapter 12 · Guide 15Author's grade A

Writing “deposit” instead of “advance payment” in contracts, specifying penalty amounts, and treating credit terms as loans

Only when the word “deposit” is used does the double‑return rule apply: if you break the contract, you lose that money; if the other party breaks it, …

Cost
No cost at all. Simply include the term “deposit” in the contract; the amount must not exc…
Benefit
A deposit only becomes valid once the money is actually received by the seller (the effect…
Chapter 12 · Guide 19Author's grade C

Run the prototype through the production checklist before starting full production

The main difference between producing one prototype and producing a thousand units lies in where your money gets invested. The yield rate determines y…

Cost
Producing a small batch of prototypes costs a few hundred yuan. It also takes several hour…
Benefit
The main difference between producing one prototype and producing a thousand units lies in…
Chapter 12 · Guide 20Author's grade A

Keep copies of invoices and supplier documentation for every shipment; avoid purchasing goods priced significantly below market rates: if an employee buys counterfeit products, the employer can still be held legally responsible.

Selling counterfeit merchandise can lead to criminal penalties. If the illicit profits exceed 30,000 RMB or if total sales reach 50,000 RMB, the offen…

Cost
Zero upfront expense. For each batch of goods, retain essential paperwork: purchase contra…
Benefit
Intentional sale of goods bearing counterfeit trademarks incurs serious legal consequences…
Chapter 12 · Guide 21Author's grade A

Whether creating designs yourself or purchasing licensed artwork, simply changing colors or adding icons does not count as “modifications” for copyright purposes.

Even if you alter an existing image by changing its colors, background, or adding your own icons, you still have not obtained permission to use that a…

Cost
Licensing fees from legitimate stock image libraries start at just a few dozen yuan per im…
Benefit
Copyright law treats any unauthorized adaptation, translation, or annotation of a work as …
Chapter 12 · Guide 23Author's grade A

Exit the process as planned when losses occur: opt for simplified deregistration when possible, or file for bankruptcy if debts exceed assets — don’t leave things unattended.

If a business has no outstanding debts, unpaid wages, taxes, or social insurance dues, all investors can issue a written commitment; once posted for 2…

Cost
Simplified deregistration can be handled independently: just post the notice on the Nation…
Benefit
No debts owed to others, nor any owed to the business; all obligations — including wages, …
Chapter 12 · Guide 24Author's grade B

Before paying third parties for e-commerce store operations, training courses, or "zero-inventory dropshipping," verify subsequent fee obligations and traffic sources

Third-party e-commerce store operation scams typically begin with a modest entry fee, then systematically demand escalating payments for "tier upgrade…

Cost
Zero direct cost. Before transferring money, obtain three mandatory items: a formal writte…
Benefit
In a major criminal prosecution handled by the Guangdong Higher People's Court, a criminal…