Legal and finance issues

Legal and finance issues

You’re about to fully commit to starting your own business. You’re a retailer at heart with a good idea in mind, a location that will serve your customers. And written plan to implement you dream. The next step is to cross your and dot your is. Today business world is fast and often furious, and laws and regulations are changing all the time. Because of this, it’s impossible for you to run a successful business and be an expert in everything.

You’ll want to line up a number of professionals you can rely on to help put your deal together and keep it moving toward your goals. The professionals you’ll want to hire may include an architect, a lawyer, an interior designer, an accountant, a graphic designer, a merchandiser, and a buyer. To ensure that you get off on the right foot, hire an attorney with startup expertise whose can give you advice to grow on. You can use his or her knowledge of the pros and cons of each business structure to determine which ne is the best for your venture.

Forming a business entity

Forming a business entity is a big step with long-term consequences. While it is possible to change the legal structure anytime in your company’s life, it is time-consuming and costly. Converting from a partnership to a C corporation or limited liability company will pose few problems, as will switching from a sole proprietorship, or partnership to an LLC.

A partnership is formed through an oral or a written agreement, but a written agreement is advisable. To form a limited liability company, you need to file article of organization with the state. A separate document, the operating agreement, outlines the rules for managing the firm. A lawyer will document, the operating agreement, outlines the rules for managing the firm. A lawyer will charge you about $1,000 to $2,000 for filling out the paperwork.

Protect your name

Corporations must register their corporate names with the secretary of state, or commissioner of corporations. Each states laws on this are a little different. But in every state, you must get permission to use your trade name before incorporation. You have to select a permissible name, make sure it’s distinguishable from any corporate name already registered in the state, and then send in an application to reserve the legal right to use that name to identify your business.

Domain name registration

Once you have your business name, you will want to register a domain name for your internet address. This will identify your business on the World Wide Web by a domain name with a .com, .net, .org. commercially, this will mean having your product or service easily accessible to millions of prospective customers worldwide.

What kind of money will it take?

Many startups are financed with less than $100,000. Regardless of outside cash you may be able to raise, it is a general rule of thumb that you will have to put up at least 10 percent of the required cash yourself - maybe even 25 percent, according to the SBA. So what will it take to get you in business? Set up a budget and list your operating expenses for the first three months- the time it will take to stock the store, advertise your opening, and hire help.

Ready, aim

Figuring out how much money you’ll need is the most difficult yet vital step in the process of opening your business. It is, after all, an exercise in goal-setting. You are asked to predict what you think will happen in the first few months of something that doesn’t exist yet.

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