The Launch Blog: Expert Advice from the CorpNet Team
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...
Dissolutions and Moving Your Business to a New State
If you’re planning to move your business to another state or close it altogether, there’s a process you must follow, which varies by the structure of the business. It may seem a bit complex, but we’ll simplify it for you. Feel like it’s too late to close your business and/or move it to a new state this year? Don’t worry; you can still make it happen. Here’s the right way to process a business dissolution and legally move your business to a new state. Closing a Business The steps for business dissolution depend on the legal structure of your business. Let’s look at the steps for each...
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...
How Much Does it Cost to Incorporate Your Business?
So you’ve decided to register your business as a Limited Liability Company or C Corporation. Kudos to you for thinking about the benefits of liability protection and possible tax advantages that come with formally establishing your company as a separate legal entity. Like many small business owners, you may now be wondering how much it will cost to incorporate your business and in what state should register your company. Some entrepreneurs opt to register their Limited Liability Company (LLC) or C Corporation within the state they live in. Others look around for a state with the most...
Breaking Down Business Entity Types
One of the most important steps you’ll need to make when starting your business is reviewing business entity types and deciding which one you should choose for your company. The structure you pick will affect your business from legal and tax obligation standpoints. That’s why it pays to understand the various business entity types—and the potential advantages and downsides of each. I recommend talking with a business attorney and accounting professional for guidance. In the meantime, I’m going to share some information about the most commonly used business structures to give you a head...
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...
What is a Series LLC?
The Series LLC is also known as a Series Limited Liability Company or SLLC for short. It allows multiple Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) within a master LLC to operate as separate entities with their own names, bank accounts, and record keeping. Each series can conduct business independently in this way because the series LLCs’ articles of formation explicitly allow them to have unrestricted segregation of membership interests, assets, liabilities, and operations.
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...
Does an S Corporation Need to File Articles of Organization?
If you’ve spent any time on this blog or researching how to incorporate your business online, you’ve probably found some terms you weren’t really clear on and had questions. What’s the difference between an LLC and a corporation? What paperwork do I need to file annually? What are Articles of Organization, and do I need them? Let’s address that last question and talk about the Articles of Organization. While the LLC and corporation are different, they both provide similar protection and tax benefits. Whether you register an LLC or create a C Corporation you have to fill out an application...
10 Tips to Making Startup Funding Work for You
Whether you plan to create a crowdfunding campaign, pitch venture capitalists or investors, take out a small business loan, or use your own savings, there are strategies to succeed in your efforts. Here we have 10 tips guaranteed to make your startup funding a success.
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...
Why Your Inactive Business is Probably Costing You Money
Someone once told me that a true sign of a successful entrepreneur is the ability to know when it’s time to throw in the towel and move on. One failed business doesn’t define an entrepreneur. Plus, when one door closes, another usually opens. Closing a business doesn’t just mean selling your assets and calling it a day. You’ve got to go through the requisite steps to ensure your business is legally closed and that you’ve properly wound up your business affairs. Otherwise, you could be personally responsible for filing annual reports, filing state/federal tax returns, and maintaining...
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...
