The Launch Blog
The CorpNet blog offers expert advice for launching and operating your business. From start up information to ongoing compliance, the CorpNet team keeps you up to date!
Can an S Corporation Own an LLC?
When entrepreneurs want to expand their businesses, they face the important decision of how to structure that growth. One approach is to form a separate company under another registered business entity. Some restrictions exist and small business owners may be wondering if an S Corporation can own an LLC (Limited Liability Company). The answer is yes and in today's article, I’ll shed some light on what S Corporation ownership of an LLC means and how an S Corporation may benefit from being a member of an LLC. What is an LLC? A Limited Liability Company is a business entity that provides...
What Is 501(c)(3) Status and How Do You Obtain It?
Have you always dreamed of starting a nonprofit organization so you can give back to your community? Maybe you have a charity that’s close to your heart, such as research for autism or helping the homeless, and you’ve always wanted to have the same kind of impact through your own nonprofit. Whatever your vision, making your nonprofit organization a success starts the same way as any other business—by staying in compliance with government regulations. Your nonprofit organization is accountable to state and federal agencies, including the IRS, which is where 501(c)(3) (also referred to as a...
How to Budget as a Freelancer
Creating a budget as a freelancer shouldn’t be any harder than it is for any other small business. And yet, the rollercoaster ride of finding and keeping clients, collecting invoices, marketing your business, and juggling all of this yourself can create major budgeting headaches. Income predictability is a challenge unique to freelancers. Fortunately, there are many simple steps you can take better learn how to budget as a freelancer. Keep Business and Personal Finances Separate Even if you used personal assets to start your freelance business, it’s important to create a clear boundary...
Ten Tips for Creating a Business Name
Creating a business name is one of the most exciting and important startup tasks that entrepreneurs must tackle. The name you choose for your business will serve to distinguish you from your competitors and give customers insight into the experience they will have with your company. You will want to get it right and follow the necessary steps to ensure you have legal rights to use your name before you start publishing it on all of your documentation and marketing materials. 1. Consider the Personality You Want to Project How do you want people to perceive your company? Hip? Luxurious?...
Do I Need Articles of Organization For a Michigan LLC?
If you're considering forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) in Michigan, you're probably wondering what paperwork the state requires. For example, do you need Articles of Organization for a Michigan LLC? That's one of the common questions we field here at CorpNet—for Michigan and the other 49 states in the U.S. The answer is yes. In the state of Michigan, an LLC must file an Articles of Organization form with the Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau of the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. The Bureau will then assign your business a...
Can a Sole Proprietor Have Employees?
Even when a small business starts as a sole proprietorship with only a solitary business owner who handles everything, growth and expansion are often the ultimate objectives. To achieve those goals, a sole proprietor will likely need some help along the way — which may involve hiring workers. Since a sole proprietorship is not an officially registered business entity nor recognized as its own tax entity, you may be wondering if a sole proprietor can have employees. The answer is yes! Let's explore this further and answer some common requestions that relate to this topic. 1. What is a sole...
How to Register a Business in Oregon
Have you been thinking about making your dream of starting your own business in the beautiful Pacific Northwest a reality but not sure how to begin? This post will help guide you through the process of registering a business in Oregon. That said, let’s get started exploring the steps needed for registering a business in Oregon. 1. Decide on a Business Name Before you submit the necessary forms to register your business, you will need to choose a name for your business. Then you’ll need to check to see if the name is available and meets Oregon’s rules and regulations. Do an Oregon...
What Are Payroll Deductions?
Payroll deductions are monies that employers withhold from an employee’s pay. These deductions include withdrawals such as federal income taxes, state income taxes, local income taxes, FICA tax (Social Security and Medicare taxes), medical benefits, retirement savings plans, or wage garnishments. Some employee pay deductions are mandatory withdrawals such as income taxes, Social Security and Medicare taxes, and court-ordered child support payments. Others are voluntary deductions that the employee has authorized (via written permission) to be taken out of their compensation. Examples of...
What Every Small Business Should Know About 1099s
Every year when tax time rolls around, many business owners wonder whether they must send 1099s to their vendors. As commonly known as 1099 forms are, they remain one of the most misunderstood Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements. Recently, more confusion has surfaced as the IRS changed the type of 1099 form used for reporting nonemployee compensation to vendors. To help entrepreneurs understand the circumstances under which the IRS requires issuing 1099 forms, I will provide some basic “must-know” information here. I encourage business owners to speak with their accountant or...
Is A Real Estate LLC Really Necessary?
A Real Estate LLC (Limited Liability Company) business structure has become a preferred entity of real estate investors for holding title to investment properties. That’s not too surprising considering the advantages of forming an LLC: It limits personal liability. It provides tax treatment flexibility. It’s relatively simple to establish and maintain. It’s less costly to set up and maintain. It offers more flexibility in how you distribute profits. It makes it easier to pass real estate investments to your loved ones. An individual or a company beyond the United States can own it. Let’s...
How to Choose and Legally Use Your Business Name
The name you choose for your business will be one of your most powerful and valuable assets. As one of the primary ways customers distinguish you from your competitors, your business name wields a lot of power. The right name can help propel you to success; the wrong name can put you at a disadvantage. Besides choosing a business name that: Projects how you want people to view your business (e.g., edgy, professional, high-tech, academic, approachable, etc.) Make it easy for customers to identify what you do. Is also simple enough to be memorable. I encourage you to have all your legal I’s...
Will Your Business Need Financing in the New Year?
As you plan and set goals for your small business in 2023, one area to look at is financing. Will you need additional funding at some point in the New Year? If the answer is yes, how will you raise the money? Take a closer look at the two primary means of raising capital — equity financing and debt financing — and what you need to know about each. Equity Financing In equity financing, you give up a piece of your business (equity) in return for an investment of capital. Equity investors may be private investors, venture capital companies, or even your friends and family. Angel investors...
Can a Corporation Be a Member of a Limited Liability Company (LLC)?
Starting and running a business as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) offers some advantages to business owners who want liability protection, taxation flexibility, and credibility without complexity. Next to a Sole Proprietorship, it’s the business legal structure that’s least complicated and void of cumbersome formality. But if you’ve already incorporated a business, can that entity be a member of your LLC? And what could that accomplish for you? Yes! Your corporation can be a member of your LLC. All states allow for other types of business entities (not only individuals) to serve as...
Should You Convert Your Business Structure to an S Corp?
You’ve been chugging along as a Sole Proprietorship for a while now, but you’re beginning to realize that might not be the best idea to protect your business. So you’re considering converting your Sole Proprietorship to another structure, specifically the S Corporation. Ask yourself the following questions to determine if now is the right time to convert your business structure. 1. Do You Want to Bring on Investors? Maybe you bootstrapped your business, but now you’re ready to take the company to the next level and to do that, you need investors. This is an automatic reason to convert to...
5 Reasons to Fall in Love With the LLC
If you’re starting a new business or revisiting your decision to operate as a Sole Proprietorship, you may want to give the Limited Liability Company (LLC) some attention. The LLC legal structure offers advantages that attract entrepreneurs running small businesses in virtually every industry from retail and restaurants to graphic designers, technology, and attorneys. That’s right, even lawyers choose to form their businesses as LLCs. What’s So Crazy Special About the LLC? Plenty. Let us count the ways! Protection of personal assets in the event of legal action – An LLC is a legitimate...
How to Encourage Your Kids to Grow Up to Be Entrepreneurs
My kids have taught me some valuable life lessons that I’ve used as an entrepreneur, and I like to think that a lesson or two has rubbed off on me to them. There’s no guarantee that any of my four children will grow up to become small business owners, though I’d love it if they did. Still, I’m sure that seeing their parents run their own business will plant the seed for entrepreneurship, the way it did for me watching my grandparents own several restaurants while I was growing up. If you’d love to pass on your entrepreneurial passion, try the following suggestions. Get Them Started Early...
How to Hire the Right People
At CorpNet, we pride ourselves on having a stellar team of employees. Many of our staff has been with us since we launched in 2009. We treat our staff like family, and in return, they do everything they can to help make CorpNet a success.
Registering a Business Name vs. Trademarking a Business Name
You spend time coming up with the perfect name for your business then you spend lots of money creating business cards, signs, and other marketing collateral. But what happens if someone else is already using that name or the name is soon adopted by another company? When multiple businesses have the same or similar names, potential customers are confused and this leads to lost sales. It happens to many entrepreneurs, and it’s completely preventable. There are two strategies you can use to protect your business name. One is to register a business name and the other is to trademark a...
6 Tips for Naming Your Business
I can’t tell you how many entrepreneurs I’ve met that didn’t do the research before naming their business. You may think the name you’ve come up for in starting a new business is unique, but what happens if you find out someone else is already using it? If the name is already in use, you’ll have to fight to dominate search results for that name. You may not be able to get the domain name or social media profile names you want. And you’ll risk customers getting confused and taking their business to the other location. You don’t want any of these struggles, do you? Start By Doing Your...
5 Tips to Smarter and More Efficient Business Meetings
Nobody likes business meetings. So why do we have so many? Unfortunately, they’re a necessary evil when it comes to running a business. Having led my fair share of meetings at CorpNet, believe me when I say I hate meetings as much as my employees. When I see an employee's eyes glaze over and stop listening to what I think is essential material, I take note and I take action. Over the years I’ve devised my own strategies for waking meeting participants up and making the meetings more productive. 1. Meet More, Not Less I know how this sounds, but hear me out. When you meet once a month...
6 Hiring Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
As you grow your business, you will inevitably need to hire help. If you’ve never been an employer before, there are certain pitfalls you need to avoid that many business owners make. Here’s your guide to what not to do in hiring staff. 1. Not Knowing Your Needs Once you start a business, your responsibilities will grow quickly. You know you need help, but maybe you assume a part-time secretary will fit the bill. Only you need her to take on your social media management, answer the phones, and manage your accounting. You find out too late, only after you’ve hired her, that the job is more...
Three Tips for Choosing an Advisor for Your Startup
When you run a business, you don’t always know how to make the best decisions. After all, your expertise is in one area, but you might not be well-versed in finance, marketing, management, or growth strategy. That’s where having an advisor for your startup comes in handy. It's important to note that you don't have to have just one advisor for your business. You can build an advisory panel, which would give you access to talented people in all the areas of your business. 1. Identify Your Areas of Weakness The key to success is knowing what you’re not good at. You can’t be an expert at...
Appointing a Board of Directors
If you’ve decided to form a corporation, congratulations to you! You’re on the right track to protecting yourself and taking your business more seriously. But the work’s not done yet. One of the steps you’ll need to do in the incorporating process is to appoint a Board of Directors. By law, your corporation must have a Board of Directors to represent it and to make decisions on behalf of shareholders. The number of members required will vary from state to state. For example, if you incorporate in California, you’re required to have at least one Board member. Having more can be...
5 Mistakes to Avoid When Giving Business Gifts
If you’re planning to give your staff, vendors, or your clients presents this holiday season, think twice before you do. Many businesses make gift-giving blunders, which are completely avoidable. Below are the top five business gift mistakes you should avoid this holiday season. Giving an Inappropriate Gift You may not think there’s anything inappropriate about giving a fluffy robe and bath oils to your client or employee of the opposite sex, but he or she might raise an eyebrow. If the gift can in any way be construed as inappropriate, avoid it like the plague. Instead, we recommend you...
How to Start a Skincare Business
If you plan to start a skincare business, there are several things you'll need to do before you start scheduling customers to come in for facials, waxing, or consultation. Here's a checklist of what you need to know if you want to know how to start a skincare business.
Multiple Ventures? How to Best Structure Your Multi-Brand Business
It's possible to create a separate business entity for each venture you start. However, this can result in excess paperwork and legal filings. And in many cases, each business may not be earning a significant amount of revenue individually, making the paperwork seem especially tedious. To save some headaches and paperwork, this article provides you with great tips to consider when dealing with multiple business types.
What Is FUTA Tax?
FUTA tax is among several employment-related taxes that businesses with payroll must pay to the government. FUTA (the Federal Unemployment Tax Act) initiated a program that works along with state unemployment programs to pay benefits to workers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Employers pay the 6% FUTA tax and no portion of the tax is deducted or withheld from employees’ wages or salaries. The first $7,000 paid to each employee during the year (after deducting any FUTA-exempt payments) is subject to FUTA tax. Employers report their tax liability annually on IRS Form...
A Guide for Starting a Business in Wyoming
Wondering how to start a business in Wyoming? Get all the tips and guidance you’ll need to tackle to start and launch a business in the “Cowboy State".
What Are Texas Annual Franchise Tax Reports?
Texas Comptroller Annual Franchise Tax Reports Requirements If you have a business in the Lone Star state, you may be wondering if you must file a Texas annual franchise tax report and pay a franchise tax. The state’s report filing requirements vary according to the type of business entity, so it’s important to research what obligations your business does (or does not) need to fulfill. Most domestic entities (for example, companies registered as LLCs or corporations in Texas) and foreign entities (companies registered in a different home state but conducting business in Texas) need to...
Does a Sole Proprietorship Need Liability Insurance?
Many entrepreneurs who are the sole owners of their business (or operate a business with their spouse) choose to operate as sole proprietorships. A sole proprietorship is the simplest business structure to manage, which is why it’s popular with self-employed individuals. The sole proprietor (business owner) and the sole proprietorship (the business) are considered the same legal entity and tax-paying entity. The structure has no ongoing entity compliance formalities because it’s not a registered state entity. And tax preparation is typically easier than with other structures as...
