Nellie Akalp

Nellie Akalp is an entrepreneur, small business expert, speaker, and mother of four amazing kids. As CEO of CorpNet.com, she has helped more than half a million entrepreneurs launch their businesses. Akalp is nationally recognized as one of the most prominent experts on small business legal matters, contributing frequently to outlets like Entrepreneur, Forbes, Huffington Post, Mashable, and Fox Small Business. A passionate entrepreneur herself, Akalp is committed to helping others take the reigns and dive into small business ownership. Through her public speaking, media appearances, and frequent blogging, she has developed a strong following within the small business community and has been honored as a Small Business Influencer Champion three years in a row.

What To Do When The Luck Of The Irish Isn’t On Your Side

  With certainty every year, the celebrations of all things Irish in honor of St. Patrick’s Day go into full swing on March 17. But when you’re starting or running a small business, nothing is ever completely certain. Sometimes all things go according to plan...

How to Rekindle Your Love for Your Business

This time of year, a lot of us are thinking about romantic love, or in my case, romantic love + business partner. But what happens when something you love — i.e. your business — isn’t bringing you the joy it once did?

Scramble tiles spelling do more of what makes you happy

4 Gifts You Give Every Day as an Entrepreneur

While your focus this time of year might be on giving your clients gifts, don’t overlook yourself. This year, you don’t need to put a bow on a present and put your name on it under the tree; you’re already reaping the benefit from some pretty fabulous gifts to yourself.

Gold present and bow with gold glitter

Small Businesses & Retirement: What You Need to Know

Did you know that 68 million employees don’t have a retirement savings plan at all? This is often due to the fact that their employers — often small businesses — don’t offer employer-sponsored retirement plans. And small businesses aren’t eager to offer retirement plans for employees, either because they don’t know how to go about doing it or they can’t afford to.

Retirement spelled out in white cards

Where to Start a Business if You’re a Millennial

Have you ever noticed how some cities seem younger than others? Some seem to offer more entertainment and opportunities than others, and therefore appeal to the Millennial generation. And when it comes to entrepreneurs, Millennials are ahead of the pack: more than 25% of them are self-employed.

Hello Name Tag with Millennial Name

Where to Start Your Business? Look at the Fastest Growing Economies

When it comes to determining where you want to start a business, you want to choose a city that has a thriving economy and plenty of potential for you to corner the market in your industry. If you’re not planning to open a business in the town you live in, consider one of these, from WalletHub’s 2015’s Cities with the Fastest Growing Economies list. (And if you’ve already started your business, see how your city stacks up).

Map of the United States

5 Ways to Lower Your Risk When Starting a Business

It’s important to understand when starting a business: there is no 100% guaranteed way to eliminate the risk that entrepreneurship brings. You can’t be sure your customers will pay you on time. Your employees can quit without notice. Your vendors might deliver damaged products. All of these, among other risks, make it difficult for you to know what’s going to happen tomorrow, much less next year.

Man with apple on head and spear approaching

Did You Overlook Trademarking Your Brand?

You probably didn’t come up with the perfect business or product name overnight. Most likely, you brainstormed. You sought the advice of colleagues and friends. You tested out a few options, and checked what domain names were available. In short, you’ve invested a...

Trademark written in wooden cubes

The State of Small Business for Women

It seems like no matter how hard women entrepreneurs try, we will never catch up to our male counterparts. Or will we? The state of small businesses owned by women has risen significantly over the past few decades, and seems to be speeding up.

4 Reasons it’s Time to Leave Your Firm (and Start a Business)

In the back of your mind, you’ve been fantasizing about quitting your job and starting a business for years. So why haven’t you done it yet? If any of the following ring true, it’s time to stop dreaming and make that vision of starting a business a reality!

Man holding write card with I QUIT written on it

Nonprofits: Making Your Mission Into Your Job

While many entrepreneurs focus on making money, others build a business around a cause. When a cause is so important to you that you want to make it your day job, it’s time to start a nonprofit.

Man holding write card with non profit written on it

What Successful Entrepreneurs Know (That You Don’t…Yet)

I spend a lot of time reading articles and books written by successful business owners to learn from them. After all, if they share their wisdom, maybe a little of that success will rub off on me! Here are some of their nuggets of wisdom that you can learn a lot from.

Watering Can Over Growing Success

Starting an LLC in Georgia: Fees for Forming Your New Business

If you’re looking for a great place to launch a business, why not try Georgia? Forming an LLC in Georgia is a great idea because it’s relatively inexpensive to live and work in this peach of a state.

First, Why an LLC in Georgia is Right For Your Business

We see a ton of CorpNet customers that prefer the flexibility the LLC offers. It’s a bit of a hybrid business structure because it offers the best features of a corporation as well as a limited liability partnership, all the while protecting your personal assets.

Business women standing with confidence

Just Starting a Biz? CorpNetNellie’s Top 10 Pieces of Advice

If you’re at the start of your entrepreneurial journey, congratulations. You’ve got a lot of exciting times ahead of you, as well as a lot of lessons to learn. Let me help you get started on the right foot with some advice I’ve learned on my own path to small business ownership.

Nellie Celebrating at Pool

5 Small Biz Secrets of Success When Your Kids are Home for the Summer

Whether you work from home or run your business elsewhere, having your kids at home for three months can create a logistical problem that can threaten your small business’s productivity during the summer.

Short of closing your business for several months (not happenin’, am I right?), here are a few strategies to help you keep your business booming while still being a kick-butt parent.

Nellie and Family Having Fun

5 Tips to Creating Loyal and Long-Term Employees

One of the things that I’m most proud of in running CorpNet is how long our staff has been with us. Many were there at the start. Our turnover is incredibly low. Clearly, we’re doing something right to keep our employees happy! Here are a few of the ways we do that.

Business people giving high fives

Knock Your Next Networking Event Out of the Park with These Tips

All your social media efforts, blogging, and emails might not get you as far as one simple strategy: in-person networking. By building relationships with people in real time, you can pave the way for future sales success.

Still, few people actually master the art of smart networking. I’ve gleaned a few helpful strategies over my years of attending networking events to help you.

Man pointing at male icons

Fees for Incorporating by State: Understand Your Costs to Become a Corporation

Here’s a question I get almost daily: what’s the best state to incorporate in?

The second most asked question I get is: “what are the fees for incorporating in [state]?”

It’s interesting that the fees vary so much. For example, to incorporate in Connecticut, it costs $455. That’s on the high end! On the opposite end is Mississippi, at just $50.

US map made of red dots

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