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Information About Incorporating Online

Thursday, July 15th, 2010

This post is intended for those business persons that wish to incorporate online. In this article you will find information that the author feels is most important to keep in mind while incorporating your new business, including a short glossary of corporate terms, an overview of the incorporation process, and a couple warnings that one should be aware of.

Summarized glossary of terms:

Annual Report:
This is a report that lists the directors and officers of a corporation. It is required to be filed with the division of corporations every year so as to maintain the corporation’s “good standing” status. This Report may either be mailed or completed online.

Corporation:
A corporation is a legal business entity that is established for a company with perpetual duration. The corporation is allowed to borrow money and to enter into contracts that are separate and independent of its owners (stockholders). Owners receive profits and elect the directors who run the company through officers that conduct the day-to-day activities. Owners are protected by a “corporate veil” which prevents debts against the company from being held against the owners.

Good Standing:
This term describes a company that has performed certain required tasks, including: filing all necessary reports and documents, having a registered agent (a.k.a. resident agent) and being current in terms of all penalties and fees owed to the state.

Limited Liability Company (LLC):
An L.L.C. is a type of entity that is owned by members, operated by managers and run by an L.L.C. operating agreement. The LLC has the status of a Pass-Through Tax Entity and defaults to a partnership. It is especially suitable for holding investment assets like real estate.

Operating Agreement:
This is a partnership agreement that establishes the rules and regulations of an LLC (Limited Liability Company). The operating agreement is similar to the bylaws of a corporation, but also includes some provisions that are found in Shareholder Agreements.

Registered Agent:
This is the person designated to receive a company’s Series of Process on behalf of a company. The registered agent must be located and available at their provided address (in that state of business). A registered agent is required if a company is to remain in existence.

Overview of the incorporation process:

There are three basic steps to incorporating online:

1. Get the info. This is possible the greatest skill a business person can acquire – getting the information he or she needs. Using search engines such as Google or Yahoo is a great first step in this process, and can be further helped by combining that information with information obtained from reliable sources – government officials, registered agents (un-biased ones), and from others. Only after all of the information is obtained, is the next step possible.

2. Make the corporate decisions for the future – Once you have the information, you can decide what type of formation is best – an L.L.C., a corporation, a partnership, etc. You can also then pick the state that best suits your tax and other needs. If you don’t feel you can make all of these decisions yet, perhaps you should think about going back to step 1.

3. Make the corporate decisions for the present – Much like step 2, in step 3 you must make some decisions based on the information you gathered. Unlike the all-important step 2, however, step 3 involves picking the agent and package that are the best for your budget. Now here’s the key – the one that is best for your budget is not necessarily the cheapest package. In fact, it is usually one of the expensive packages. The reason for this is that many packages leave out some essential, and often required, pieces of the corporate puzzle which you will have to make up for later on. Instead of going through this hassle, pick the most complete package, which will undoubtedly turn out to be the cheapest for you overall.

Warnings:

There are two warnings (or you could say two pieces of advice) that you should be aware of before you venture out into the world of incorporation.

1. Never underestimate the power of Step 1 (above). Now matter how much it is stressed, the importance of step 1 (getting the info) will always be understated. You will never be taken advantage of or make the wrong decision if you are able to get all the information you need.

2. You are the best thing for your business. Only trust yourself – everyone else will be biased in one way or another. Only you truly know what you want in a package, in an agent, in the future, etc.

With all this information now stuffed into your cranium, I will close this post and bid you farewell. Good luck on your corporate journey.

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Start-Up Competitions Give Companies Numerous Benefits

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Companies are using startup competitions to get valuable rewards – even if they don’t win.

The Wall Street Journal says that corporations and nonprofits are now using startup contests to help give promising new companies a way to grow and expand.

These contests can cover any number of categories – from women-owned business to technology companies or even entrepreneurs under 40. While prize money is often the major lure for business owners, the paper says that even those who don’t win earn exposure and potentially helpful advice from judges – good news for small business owners who enter.

Most contests, the paper says, involve both a written application and an oral presentation. The written application gives entrepreneurs a chance to describe how their product sets them apart from the rest of the world, while the speech gives them a chance to give judges their pitch and show their enthusiasm.

“There’s a certain amount of theater involved,” says Jonathan Rosen, executive director of the entrepreneurship program at Boston University. “How well can you get people excited about whether this is an idea worth pursuing?”

Many companies have used contests in a different way – to get entrepreneurs to improve their existing products. Netflix recently offered a $1-million prize to anyone who could improve their movie prediction algorithm by 10 percent. The Huffington Post reports that the company later estimated all the work they received was worth more than ten times that amount.

Written by Resources for Entrepreneurs Staff

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Posted in business plan competitions, business plans, business start-up, entrepreneurism, start-up advice, start-up help, tips and tricks | No Comments »

Tips To Remember When Choosing The Best Franchise

Thursday, June 24th, 2010

When you decide to buy a franchise, you’re giving your business a major head start in so many ways. By trading on an established name, you slash your advertising costs. Because the franchisor wants you to succeed, you have access to everything that they’ve learned in years of doing business to help you choose your site, develop your staff, design your store – in fact, in every aspect of starting up your own business. A franchise business opportunity gives you your best shot at succeeding in owning your own business – if you choose the best franchise opportunity for you.

The start-up costs are part of the arguments against buying into a franchise business opportunity. Other cons include the monthly payments to the main franchisor of the business as well as marketing costs. If you want to use the corporate headquarters clever marketing campaigns, you have to pay for the privilege. Then there are the restrictions on suppliers and such. Usually the corporate headquarters of your franchise business opportunity has a network or pre-approved vendors, suppliers and contractors that you must use. There is also the contract that you have to sign with the corporate headquarters for the right to use the franchise name. It is very tough to break and could have you locked in for years.

How do you evaluate the various franchise opportunities that are out there to find the best fit for you? The first step is to know what you want to do. What resources and skills can you bring to your new business? What kind of business will you enjoy? Keep in mind that the best franchise opportunity is one that will offer you full support, including training in all the business skills that you’ll need to be successful. After all, your success adds to their value.

Once you know what you want to do, it’s time to get down to the serious work of choosing the best franchise opportunity for you. Here are some key points to consider:

1. Choose a product that you love.
Not just like, but love. It’s possible to sell something you don’t care about, but the more you believe in your product, the more successful you’ll be at selling it.

2. Research the industry.
Once you’ve chosen a product that you like, take a long, hard look at the industry of which it’s a part. Sit down and study the brochures and information from the franchisor. Are you interested enough in the business to put in the required time to succeed?

3. Talk to others who already own franchises.
Take a field trip to others who are already involved in the network. Most owners will be happy to talk to you about their business. Ask about their normal day, the obstacles they had to overcome, the parts that were easier than they thought. Ask if the business lives up to their expectation, and ask point-blank if they’d do it again.

4. Get the answers you need from the franchisor’s representative.
Once you’ve expressed an interest by submitting an application, feel free to call the franchise representative with your questions. He’ll be happy to give you the answers you need to make your decision about whether this is the best franchise opportunity for your investment.

5. Meet the franchisor face to face.
Get to know the person you’re going to do business with. They have their own interests at heart, of course, but how sincere are they about helping you make YOUR business a success? Is the training they offer sufficient? Do they respect you as a partner?

The answers to those questions will help you evaluate each business and find the best franchise opportunity for you.

Just make sure before taking the plunge with a promising small business franchise opportunity that you do your research. Make sure you have enough money, not only for investing in the new business, but also for living expenses while your build up your clientele.

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How To Get A Personal Loan For A Business Start-Up

Wednesday, March 31st, 2010

When you have that great idea for a new business, and have the plans worked out, all you need now is the financing and you can get started. Finding financing, however, especially for a new business, can be difficult because lenders have seen many businesses come and go, and may be more than a little reluctant. Another way to get the financing you need, though, would be to get a personal loan. A personal loan can be rather easily obtained and you can get them in large or small sizes.

Personal loans can be obtained for a value of more than $200,000. Of course, they will not lend this much to just anyone, but if you have a good credit rating and a regular strong income, then you could get a lot of money for your business start-up. Lenders, however, may want to see a track record of repayment, and you may need to start with a smaller loan from them and work your way up to a larger loan.

These loans come in both secured and unsecured loans. Secured loans means you need to put a house or a car onto the loan as security. For a new business, though, you may want to think this through very carefully because, if you cannot pay the lender – you may lose the house, too. A secured loan will give you better options and terms than an unsecured loan.

Unsecured personal loans do not require that you place anything as collateral for it. Because the lender is at a greater risk, though, you need to be aware that they charge more. That means you will pay a higher interest rate, get a smaller amount, and have less time to pay it back.

Personal loans are based on your credit report. This means it could really help you if you get a copy of your credit report before applying for a personal loan and verify that there are not any mistakes in reporting on it. Mistakes are common, and it can effect the terms of your loan – especially if there are some negative things involved.

Although a personal loan is one way that you could get money for your new business start-up there are also other ways available that you may want to look into. One of these could be a home equity loan that will give you the lowest interest rate, but again, your home is tied up into the transaction. Be careful. Other ways include special business start up loans, which will require a thorough business plan and a lot of financial details. If you want something quick, though, a personal loan without any security will be the fastest way to go.

Getting any loan means that you should shop around first, and then sign after you are sure it is a good deal. By using the Internet, you can easily get several online quotes for your personal loan in a very short time. Take the time to compare things like interest rates, length of time that you have to repay the loan, and how much money you can get. You will want to consider the overall costs, too, in the event you get any other kind of loan.

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Why The Internet Is A Good Place To Develop Small Business Ideas

Friday, March 19th, 2010

Starting up your own business is quite a lucrative prospect; however you need to have small business ideas to go about it correctly. The good thing about small businesses is that they require very little capital and at the same time can have a world wide market owing to the internet. However before you start putting into practice any small business ideas that you have, it is advisable to gain more knowledge about what you are planning to do.

You can start by searching the net. An online business system can be an extremely lucrative proposition. You can sell your own physical products. Auction sites such as Yahoo! Auctions and eBay are hotspots for millions of shoppers around the world. You can sell your products here.

If you do not have any products to sell, you might want to promote others’ products and earn commissions on this. Affiliate marketing is among the good small business ideas. In fact it will be even better if you choose to promote something that you are passionate about. This way you will be able to generate more content for your site. What basically happens in this kind of marketing is that if a customer is interested in the product that is being promoted by you, he or she will click on that link online. This link redirects them to the company’s sales pages. If this actually leads to sales the company will track the sales made by you and pay you commissions. This makes it one of the most lucrative small business ideas and the best part is that you do not have to invest your own money.

Copywriters are always in great demand online. Hence if you learn the tricks of the trade, you could start your own copywriting venture and work as a freelance copywriter for different companies.

Small business ideas need research on your market’s wants and needs. So you need to learn where to find the answers to the questions. You can start by looking up bulletin boards, forums, chat rooms and so on. You should participate in some of the discussion that takes place in order to gain more knowledge. You could even put up questions. However, do keep in mind that these sites themselves should not be used as selling grounds because that will not work.

A business plan makes for a successful business so do not forget to ignore this while you are drawing up your small business ideas. Do some goal and timeline setting and only then should you plan business strategies. It is a good idea to make a list of potential problems or draw backs that you might face once you are in the business. Knowing these problems before hand would mean that by the time they actually crop up, you will be well prepared to ward them off.

Translating small business ideas into a successful real venture does need a lot of hard work, patience and careful planning. But once it is up and running, you can reap the benefits.

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