Licensing Is a Slobbery Beast Best Tamed by a Pro

It has reduced one entrepreneur I spoke with to tears, confounded others and made almost all, even established corporations, cringe in distaste. To many, it's the scourge they have to battle before their business can kick off.

What is it? Licensing.

And each industry and business is unique, so there's no surefire way to beat the beast.

Nobody likes to bite the bullet and ask for directions. If you choose to go it alone, organizations such as the Small Business Administration list where to obtain a business license by state. Microsoft's (MSFT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) Small Business Center also offers advice such as having all your paperwork ready at a moment's notice.

But should you realize, as many business owners do, that every turn in the licensing world seems like a wrong one, don't be embarrassed to stop at a proverbial gas station.

Equal-Opportunity Frustration

No matter what type of business, the licensing morass can be overwhelming.

A new mobile food vendor such as Kim Ima, who sells baked goods from a moving truck, must obtain a state sales tax registration, a DBA license, employee withholding and unemployment registrations, a health department food permit, a mobile food license, and often a federal Department of Transportation number, depending on the type of truck and location. Some of these have to be renewed at different times during every year, and some requirements are subject to change.

It's not just the newbies who struggle. Multimillion-dollar companies don't get a free pass out of the labyrinth either.

Teavana, the company that is rapidly becoming to tea what Starbucks (SBUX - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) is to a cup of joe, is opening stores all over the country. Every time it opens a new location, though, it must jump through several different licensing hoops.