David Crabill

Usually restaurants and grocery stores are more lucrative if you can get them to carry your products. Most startups just do whatever they can get their hands on, or whatever they have the time for. Selling to individuals takes less time and effort, and can be more rewarding because you develop relationships with your customers. But it just depends on what you want for your business… if you want it to eventually be a full-time thing, you’ll probably want to move into more established venues as soon as possible.

Colorado actually doesn’t specifically say in their online resources that shipping is disallowed, but if you asked the health dept, I’m 95% sure they would say no to shipping. You can interpret it however you want, but interstate sales are definitely not allowed.

I know someone in San Francisco (Cookie Dough Cookies) that was approved to sell cookie dough made with pasteurized eggs. He doesn’t freeze it but that doesn’t matter. Even still, your county might not allow it, but it’s definitely possible.

I know you need a business license and you need to file taxes every month. I don’t know if they require you to get an EIN… usually you only get one if you are an employer of others, but sometimes it’s necessary for other reasons. You should ask about that when you apply for your business license.

This is not a cottage food business since you are not preparing the food. I believe you’d just need to get a seller’s permit or something, and I think the health dept issues them.