First of all, you may be wondering what "Saturday Startup Tip" is all about. Starting today, I'm going to be offering a daily tip in each of seven topics essential to entrepreneurs:

• Monday - Marketing
• Tuesday - Technology
• Wednesday - Work (your work environment, productivity, etc.)
• Thursday - Thriftiness (good entrepreneurs should always be looking for ways to save money as well as make it)
• Friday - Financing and Funding
• Saturday - Startup (creating and starting your business)
• Sunday - Sales (because every entrepreneur is a salesperson whether you like it or not)

So without further ado, here's Saturday Startup Tip #1:

You do not have to incorporate (or create a partnership) in order to have a business name. Even as a sole proprietor, you can register for what is known as a "fictitious business name", sometimes referred to as a "Doing Business As" or DBA, or also a "trade name". Most importantly, this allows you to set up a bank account and accept check and credit card payments made to the business name, rather than you personally. The registration process varies from country to country, but in the U.S., filings are made with your local county clerk's office for a very small fee (usually between $10 and $50).

You can also use fictitious business names to run multiple businesses under a single corporation, rather than maintaining separate legal structures for each business, e.g., "Joe's Bar", "Joe's Grill" and "Joe's Cafe" could all be DBAs of one corporation, "Joe's Restaurants". This helps reduce the paperwork and other overhead costs vs. multiple corporations.

Learn more: Doing Business As (DBA) a Fictitious Business Name