Forming your Business

As promised yesterday, today we are going to talk about forming your business and the legal structures you can use. We will be talking about each one of these structures in more detail within the coming weeks, so that you can learn which one is best for you and your business.

• Individual/Sole Proprietorship: This is the simplest way to start a business. It means however, that you personally are responsible for your business. If your business owes taxes, your personal assets, such as your home can be taken from you. Many times, small businesses are easily started like this, and personal assets are not affected. More on this Business Structure on August 17, 2008.
• Partnership: This is the same as an Individual/Sole Proprietorship, except one more person is added as a business owner. The details of a partnership are hammered out with the paperwork, such as who owns what, and who is responsible for what. More on this Business Structure on August 18, 2008.
• Limited Liability Corporation: This type of business is a mixture between a Proprietorship and Corporation. This means that you can legally be held liable for your business on a certain level, while keeping it separate from you on another. More on this Business Structure August 19, 2008.
• Corporation: This is the most complicated type of business to start. You most definitely need legal support to do this. This entity is completely separate from your personal assets, and you as an individual. More on this Business Structure August 20, 2008.

Take a look at this video on different business structures, including the advantages and disadvantages of each form.

Please share with us your experiences with forming businesses. Which ones have you had experience with, and what can you offer for advice as which ones are better and why?

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Starting a business means there are laws to follow, and several things to consider on the legal front. Now, I am by no means a lawyer, so by telling you that, you cannot sue me if you act on something you see here and it’s not the the correct course of action to take. Having said that, I am not going to intentionally steer you in the wrong direction, and you can trust that this information is well researched!

Now, the problem with this is that I cannot provide specific advice for each business type that may be starting, and I certainly cannot offer specific advice based on locality. So, what I am going to do is give you generalized advice on the legalities you need to follow, and point you in the direction of information for some of these specifics!

You are not required to file any doing business as or fictitious name paperwork if your name is part of the business name. For example, if you name your business, “(Insert your First or Last Name Here) (Insert Business Service Here)” you are safe. Something like Smith’s Website Design is safe, but Indigo Website Design, is not. For information on filing DBA or Fictitious Name paperwork, check out: Doing Business As Information @ About.com

Check with your county to find out what you need to do in order to be legal. Then, check with your city to find out what you need to do to be legal. Of course, check with your state, and then finally federal levels. Just because you are legal on the state level, does not mean you are legal in your county or even your city, because each government can have regulations that you need to follow. For instance, living within the city limits of my area, I have to have a permit to operate my business out of my home, which cost $50. I also had to file for a privilege license for tax purposes with the county. When I moved out of the city limits, I no longer have to have the permit for the home business, and the county license still holds. But, because I moved into a township, I now have to file for an additional privilege license for the local tax purposes. See how complex it can get? Google your county, city/town, and find out what you need.

Depending on your business structure, you may have more legalities to follow. Forming your business and business structures will be discussed in tomorrow’s blog. Further detail on those legalities will be discussed in two weeks when we talk about each business structure individually. (See the benefits of planning?)

Share your thoughts below. What legalities have you become aware of about starting a business? Offer what knowledge you can to help fellow aspiring entrepreneurs.

So you want to start a business, and you have a pretty good idea of what’s going on, but you do not have a name! Well, here are some things to consider before doing too much more work on your new business venture.

Make sure the domain name is available. Nothing secures a domain name until you buy it. You cannot legally claim a domain just because that is your business name. So since you are starting anew, you can base your business name around available domain names. Try to avoid hyphens on the basis that they will be hard for your customers to remember; but, if you have to, use them, because they do help the search engines. Consider buying more than just .com because it will ensure that your customers find you.

Keep it short and simple. It will enhance memorability for your customers, and make things easier on you in terms of business branding (to be discussed in future blogs, of course). This will be something you will appreciate as your business grows, and help to establish it.

Think about it. Be sure that you think about the future, and consider facets of expanding your bsuiness later. You want to make sure that you leave room for growth. Also, think about what the name conveys, and other aspects of the name in that respect.

Marketing and Advertising are what you make them! Do not let the name determine your marketing and advertising. You can make it what you want, though some concepts will be easier to work with than others. If your budget allows, you can always hire a firm for help with that. If not, you can force yourself to think outside the box and be a bit more creative.

Consider Copyright and Trademark issues. You want to make sure that you are not infringing on anyone’s rights with this new business venture. You will also want to consider aspects of trademarking now, because even though you may not be able to afford it right now, it may be something that needs to be done in the future as your business grows. If you reach that point and find that you cannot trademark your business, you may have trouble then. Avoid it with some research. We will also discuss this in future blogs.

Of course, these are not the only things you must consider, but this will get you covered for sure. Take plenty of time to consider your business name, because this is a major part of your business. People will recognize you by, and you will be stuck with it.

Next week, we will cover ways to help you come up with your business name.

Share your thoughts about naming your business below.

As the first official blog post for Her Business Blog, I figured we would cover the basics of starting a business. Starting the business blog with starting a business is the logical way to go, right?
Here are the steps you need to take to start your business.

• Develop the business concept. Determine if your business idea is worth pursuing. Check out competitors, and see if you have a fighting chance in the niche or industry. Determine if you have what it takes to compete with whatever your competitors are offering, and go for it!

• Write a Business Plan. Before jumping into anything, you need a plan. I plan the posts for this blog at least a month in advance so that I have time to research and write everything. So, of course, if you plan on such a small scale, you definitely need a plan for a big scale thing like this. Your business plan will be lengthy, and should be well thought out, so that you can cover as much as possible beforehand. More details to come about business plans within the coming weeks!

• Name your Business. Of course your business needs a name. Take some time to consider it, and take a look at tomorrow’s blog for more things to consider when naming your business. Also, consider your business structure here if you have not already considered it in your business plan.

• File the appropriate paperwork. Depending on the nature of your business, and where you live, you may need to secure special permits. Most businesses just require tax licensing, and the filing of a DBA (Doing Business As) or Fictitious Name, which gives you the right to operate under a name other than your own. You can file this paperwork with your County Register of Deeds, and it does not cost too much. Anything other than a Sole Proprietorship requires a bit more, and legal assistance may be a good idea. We’ll discuss this within the coming weeks too, so don’t worry!

• Secure funding. Get loans, find investors, or use your own savings to get the money you need to launch your business. We’ll talk more about determining the amounts of money you may need and how to get it before the end of the month!

• Secure equipment and things you need to run your business. Make sure you have all the computers, and other equipment you need to run your business. Consider all these needs when you write your business plan, and determine how much funding you need.

• Hire employees or independent contractors. Depending on your business structure, your capital, and your legal backing, you will have to choose between hiring employees, and hiring independent contractors. Most often, small businesses do better with independent contractors, but there are some drawbacks to the contractors.

• Market and Advertise. Develop your brand, either on your own or with the assistance of a firm. Then, market and advertise your business, either independently or with the assistance of a firm. Remember, it is what you make it, instead of just relying on the name of your business to to do it for you. Make sure you have business cards and all the necessary materials to do the marketing and advertising.

All of these things are much more detailed than I can talk about here. Therefore, each one of these things will become their own blogs, or series of blogs. This is to give you a general idea of what’s to come in your business planning ventures, as well as what is to come with the blog.