Nellie Akalp

A pioneer in the online legal document filing space since 1997, Nellie has helped more than half a million small businesses and licensed professionals start and maintain companies across the United States, most recently through her Inc.5000 recognized company, CorpNet. She closely follows trends in the industry and shares her wealth of knowledge across various CPA and small business communities, establishing Nellie as one of the most prominent influential experts on business startup and compliance matters.

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

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

How I Make Time for Myself After the Stress of Tax Day

Thank goodness tax time is over, right? I, like most small business owners, find this time of year a bit stressful. So after April 15 passes, I’m all about rejuvenating and recharging my battery.

When you run a business, whether you’re the only staff or you manage a team of ten, it is essential that you make time for yourself. Otherwise, you’re a stressed out ball of tension that puts your business —and your health — in jeopardy.

We’re all in the same boat here, so I thought I’d share how I decompress.

Woman smiling with arms raised

Small Business Taxes and How Incorporating Affects Them

This time of year, most business owners are thinking about their small business taxes: how much they owe, what they need to do to file them, whether they have enough to pay what they owe. But did you realize that if you incorporate a business, how you file your small business taxes and how much you pay can sway in your favor (depending on the corporate structure you choose)? Let’s take a look at how incorporating affects your taxes.

death by taxes

14 Days Until Tax Day? 14 Things You Must Take Care Of

If you’re like a lot of other small business owners, you drag your feet until the last minute to file and pay your taxes. It’s getting down to the wire, folks, so even if you want to wait until April 15 to file your taxes, you still have a lot of work to do to prepare.

Money Bag and Calendar

How To Find Motivated Employees for Your Small Business

When you first start a business, you may not need to hire, But as you grow, you start looking for people to help you take your business to the next level. But where can you find the right motivated people? Sure, you can post your job on a job board, Craigslist, or career site, but you can’t always know that you’re getting quality applicants.

So where DO you find the right people?

Group of People Holding Hands

Owning Real Estate in a LLC: Pros and Cons

Owning investment properties can be an exciting and lucrative decision. However if you're considering an investment in real estate (whether a vacation rental, long-term rental, or for re-sale), be aware that these properties can also create liabilities.

Short sale real estate for sale sign in from of ranch home

How to Create an LLC

A lot of new small business owners assume that creating an LLC is a complicated thing. It’s not, actually. But it is one of the best things you can do to protect your personal assets and your business. Let’s take a look at what it takes to set your business up as a...

Close up of legal document's signature line

7 Places to Find Inspiration for Your Small Biz

Ah, a new year and a fresh start for your business. I’ll admit, sometimes my ideas for CorpNet get a little stale, so I have to look for inspiration to rejuvenate my brain. Here I share five places you, too, can be inspired with creative ingenuity for your brand.

Woman in sundress leaping in weeds

Let’s Make This Year The One We’re Honest With Ourselves as Entrepreneurs

As people -- more specifically as entrepreneurs -- many of us feel obligated to put up a shield to hide what’s really going on. When we’re asked how things are going with our businesses, we’re more inclined to focus on the highlights rather than the brutal truth. That truth might be that we’re working too much and getting sick a lot. Or that business has ground to a halt. Whatever that truth is, we feel it makes us vulnerable, and we feel like that compromises our ability to succeed.

Successful Woman Celebrating

5 Small Biz Excuses That Shouldn’t Follow You into the New Year

Do you ever find yourself blaming everyone around you when things don’t go the way you want in your business? Maybe it’s “the economy” that kept you from hitting your sales numbers this year. Or your lack of employees that had you in the weeds all year. Whatever your favorite excuse, put the the kibosh on it in 2015.

If any of these sound familiar, make a New Year’s resolution to strike them from your vocabulary.

Highway sign with no excuses words

5 Signs That Your Hobby is Ready to Be a Business

You’re passionate about your hobby, whether that’s hand sewing baby clothes or creating terrariums. And maybe you’ve started to make a little money selling these items. So when should you take your hobby to the next level and build a real business? Five signs that...

Middle age woman working on her blog

10 Inspirational Tips for Entrepreneurs

Ask anyone who knows me, and they’ll tell you I’m full of inspirational advice for entrepreneurs. Now and then, I like to share what I’ve learned here to our blog readers. Hope you find them useful!

Young Female Business Owner

Answering Your Questions About LLCs

If you’re considering forming an LLC, you’ve probably got questions. Fortunately, we’ve got answers. We’ve helped thousands of people form an LLC, so you could say we’re kind of experts on the subject. Here are some of the questions we get the most. What Exactly is...

LLC Letters Built Out of Cubes

Subscribe to Newsletter

Practical business and financial insights, lessons, perspectives, and know-how brought right to your inbox.

Thank you for subscribing!

100% satisfaction guaranteed or we will refund 100% of our service fees with no questions asked!