Online Incorporation MaxBlog

by Matt Bacak

The Powerful Promoter

While there are many duties and tasks to fill your hours and days when starting a business with online incorporation, one of the most important tasks that should be handled early on is to obtain a business license or business permit. Unfortunately, many people overlook this necessity and end up getting in legal trouble because they failed to do what was necessary to obtain a small business license.

If you aren’t familiar with the process of how to obtain a business license, we’ll provide you with a few tips below. First; however, let’s take a look at why it’s important to take care of handling your business license permit.

Business permits and business licenses are required by most city, county and state governments. Depending on your situation, you may also be required to obtain a business license or business permit by the Federal government. A local business license, issued by the county or municipal government is a general license that gives you the right to operate a business within the jurisdiction of that county or city. The fees are not usually expensive. This is what you’ll need to do in order to complete a business license application.

First, you’ll need to make sure that you have all of your business paperwork in order. Make sure that you have your Employer Identification Number, also known as EIN. Next, contact your county government or city hall office to find out exactly what kind of business license you need and to obtain a copy of the business permit application. After you have completed the application and filed it along with the appropriate fee, you’ll need to make sure that you stay on top of filing your business permit renewals. They do not automatically renew. This usually must be handled annually.

State business licenses and business permits are required for the operation of business that provide services or products that are regulated by State law. In addition, if your business is required to meet codes or standards, you will most likely be required to obtain a business license. Below are some tips on how to get a business license on the State level.

The process for obtaining a State business license is quite similar to obtaining a local business license. You will need to contact the appropriate office to determine what kind of license you need. Your local government may be able to help you with this. For example, if you are looking to obtain a California business license or business permit, you may need to contact the State of California. Beyond this, the process is exactly the same. File the appropriate paperwork and fee; then make sure you file your renewals each year.

One thing to keep in mind regarding business permit and business license is that they are different. While a business license allows you to legally operate a business within a jurisdiction; a business permit regulates safety and structure. For example, you may be required to obtain a business permit to purchase wholesale merchandise for resale, to remodel or build on a commercial site, to legally prepare food in a restaurant or to operate a business out of your home. Each of these situations requires a different type of business permit. Other than this, the procedure for applying for a business permit is almost exactly the same as applying for a business license.

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Matt Bacak became “#1 Best Selling Author” in just a few short hours. Recent Entrepreneur Magazine’s e-Biz radio show host is turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories. Discover The Secrets

The Powerful Promoter

Corporation

A corporation is a separate legal entity that exists independently from its owners. A corporation is created and comes into existence when articles of incorporation (charter or certificate of incorporation in certain states) are filed with the proscribed fees, and accepted by the proper state authority

S Corporation

An S Corporation is merely a corporation which has elected a special tax status with the federal government. It was created for smaller business owners. The special tax treatment permits the income of the corporation to be treated like the income of a partnership or sole proprietorship in that the income is “passed through” to the shareholders.

In order to be considered an S Corporation, the stockholders of a properly filed corporation must elect such status within 75 days of formation for the current tax year, or at any time during the preceding tax year. This election is made by filing Form 2553 with the IRS. To qualify for S Corporation status:

• Must be a domestic corporation.
  Only one class of stock.
  Not more than 35 stockholders.
  Stockholders must be individuals, estates or certain trusts.
  Except for the above characteristics, an S Corporation follows the same guidelines as a regular “C” Corporation.

Limited Liability Company

A Limited Liability Company (“LLC”) is a separate legal entity that offers an alternative to partnerships and corporations by combining the corporate advantages of limited liability with the partnership advantage of pass-through taxation. An LLC is created and comes into existence when articles of organization are filed with the proscribed fees, and accepted by the proper state authority

STRUCTURE OF EACH

Corporation

A corporation is owned by stockholders. While stockholders do not directly manage the corporation, they influence corporate decisions through indirect actions such as electing and removing directors, approving or disapproving amendments to the articles of incorporation and voting on important corporate decisions.

The members of the Board of Directors are responsible for managing the affairs of the corporation. Usually, directors make only major business decisions, however they supervise and appoint officers who make the
day-to-day business decisions of the corporation.

Officers are responsible for the everyday management of the corporation.

Typically, officers are appointed directly by the Board of Directors.

A stockholder may serve on the Board of Directors and also be an officer of the corporation. In fact, in most states one person is enough to form a corporation, and that person can be the sole officer, director and stockholder

S Corporation ( See DESCRIPTION of S corporation and Corporation above)

An S Corporation follows the same structure as a regular corporation. However, an S Corporation is usually owned and run by a small number of individuals or family members (one or more). Thus, while the above structure applies, the same person or related persons or a small number of persons MAY control all positions.

Limited Liability Company

An LLC is owned by its members. The members of an LLC are like partners in a partnership or shareholders of a corporation. A member will more closely resemble a shareholder if the LLC utilizes a manager or managers, because under that situation the members will not participate in the management of the LLC. However, if the LLC does not utilize managers, then the members will more closely resemble partners because they will have decision making powers in the LLC.

The member’s ownership in the LLC is represented by their respective “membership interest”, in the same manner as a partner has an “interest” in a partnership or a shareholder has stock in corporation.

Number of Members: Most states require LLC’s to have at least two members. The states which allow one member LLC’s are: DE, ID, MO, MN, NY, TX and VT.

Read more Incorporating your Business

FormACorp.com: Online Incorporation Services

by Kim Duke

Maybe everything you need to know you can learn from the movies. A friend of mine is a screenwriter in Los Angeles. Over a glass of wine, we were discussing his business and the nature of the beast in Hollywood. He’s a boy from Canada who gave up his much-loved Honda, his life savings, and his broadcasting career to move to Los Angeles to attend the American Film Institute. Not an easy feat in your mid-30s. After 8 years of hard work he is now becoming the new discovery of LA. He said the most difficult thing to adjust to was all the talking.

Collin slouches into his chair. “Everyone lies in this business. It’s all big Cheshire cat smiles – but essentially people have the ‘Enough about you – more about me’ mentality.” After our conversation I thought about his last statement.

Are You On A Blind Date With Your Customer?

We tend to love what we do. So we get all excited about it and then proceed to tell everything about ourselves to the potential customer. It just reminds me of a really bad date! A one-sided conversation becomes tired pretty quickly. Customers feel like they are on a bad blind date with you if there isn’t a connection to what they need.

Minus the cynicism, our clients are also thinking like the Hollywood set, “ENOUGH ABOUT YOU blabbing about all the wonderful things about your company, your product, your requirements. MORE ABOUT ME – and what I need to survive and thrive!”

The Helium Test

Are you talking your face off when you are speaking with your client? When they ask you on the phone what you have to offer – do they hear a massive intake of air and then you giving your best “I just sucked in helium and can talk really fast” act?

If so – you aren’t making a connection with your customer. You sound like everyone else, you act like everyone else and you aren’t positioning yourself as someone who can help. Because at the end of the day -what you really do is HELP PEOPLE. The only way this is accomplished is by discovering what your customer needs and researching other areas of need – areas your customer may not even have thought of yet!

Questions Are The Answer!

Sounds like a paradox doesn’t it? In order to help your customer you first find out what they need. Or THINK they need. Carrie Fisher, the actress who played Princess Leah in Star Wars said “Instant gratification doesn’t come fast enough. ” Now for a girl with cinnamon buns attached to the side of her head this is a pretty profound statement.

Your customers are demanding instant gratification. They want their needs met. In most cases, it just isn’t happening. The first thing out of your mouth should be “May I ask you a few questions?”

Remember W5?

Who, What, When, Where, Why and How are the foundation of selling. Customers buy when they feel an emotion NOT when they’ve had information dumped on them. How do you do this? By asking questions! Our customers become engaged when they feel curiosity..NOT boredom.

Our customer contact should be handled with this premise – Create Curiosity With Questions.

Would the Academy Want You?

Create your own Academy award winning sales success by talking less and listening more. As Collin says, the best agents ask a multitude of relevant questions. Then they listen to the answers and make it happen. Are you acting like a star with your clients or are you being an agent? Your success lies in the answer.

Copyright© 2005

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Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. Kim works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success! Sign up for her saucy and smart FREE e-zine and receive her FREE Bonus Report “The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make” at http://www.salesdivas.com