05.09.09
First Steps: Legal Structures
It is unfortunate that someone who is starting a business enterprise needs to start out by thinking about legal issues, but such is our society. Some would argue that this is European-style democratic socialism in action. I would argue otherwise, that it is in fact a prelude to a more fascist-style society, a society in which a few favored corporations and their owners will function almost as an extension of the state.
Anyway, I’m not a lawyer, so I can’t give you any real advice here. What I can say is that you need to take care of incorporation or filing your fictitious name or whatever your state requires as early as you can. You need this before you can open a business bank account. (You are planning on using a business bank account, right?)
It is very important that you take steps to establish your business as a legal entity. Not necessarily as a corporation, but at least with its own finances and name (and the right to use that name in its geographical area for the industry it is in).
As you work through the various business forms and the advantages and disadvantages of each, you will find that balance of costs and protections that best fits your situation and temperament. This isn’t meant to be a detailed tutorial, but more of a call to action.
This really is not about a “business” as a multilevel marketing “independent marketing representative”, because the majority of such businesses are really not operated as businesses–having no existence apart from the individual(s) acting as the sales representative. This is about real businesses, the kind that hopefully will replace your job and income with something that you control. You have spent the last decade saying that you could do a better job of running things than Mr. Slate. Now is your chance to prove it.
If you are one who has said for years that you want to start a business, it is time to get moving. This is not the time to keep putting it off. With corporations laying off hundreds of thousands of American workers every month, you might not have much time left until you join the ranks of the unemployed.
There is no economic security except what you make for yourself (with God’s help, of course). Do not rely upon your pension, your health insurance, your bank account, your good credit, or your contacts in key positions to “be there for you” when hardship reaches into your life. They won’t be there. It is you and you alone. So if you are saying that you can’t afford to take a pay cut in order to establish your company, you are wrong.
Despite the better news in the economy, the truth is, we need to completely restructure the way we operate. There is no better driver for this change than small, locally-owned businesses–owner-managed businesses–being formed and built-up all across America. Healing our economy is not a matter of helping large, out-of-area banks and large, out-of-area corporations (LOOABs and LOOACs) escape the consequences of their mismanagement.
Start today. Find out what your state requires in order to establish a business. Set up an appointment with a local attorney to get advice and possibly assistance with the process. Secure the rights to use your chosen business name. Establish a business bank account. Register with the IRS and your state’s authorities. No more waiting.
Check the bookstores for business-startup books, such as this one from Amazon.
