Online Incorporation MaxBlog

It kind of sounds underhanded and sneaky—coming up with a fake name to be the public face of your company. Perhaps, it’s because the thought of a fictitious name produces images of high-stakes cons, or depositing laundered and swindled cash into off-shore bank accounts.

But the reality is that filing for a fictitious name, or a doing business as (DBA) name, is perfectly honest and extremely common amongst small business owners.

There are literally hundreds of reasons why business owners decide to get a DBA name. Here are five of the most common ones:

1. Privacy. If you are the sole proprietor and owner of a business, then your legal and business names are the same. For instance, if a graphic designer named Jane Doe starts her own freelance business, the name of her company will be Jane Doe, unless she specifies a different title by filing for a DBA. For some business owners, they prefer not to have their legal name be public information, so changing the business name to a fictitious one protects their privacy.

2. A bank requires DBA name to open a business account. In many cases, banks require a DBA name if an owner wants to open a business account. So, before you are even able to finance your business, you may have to establish a name for your company.

3. A client may require a DBA name to hire you for a job. Some lines of work require the owner of a business to have a DBA name in order to be considered for a job. For example, consider our graphic designer Jane. If she is a freelance artist, and is seeking out projects from different companies, then she may be required to have a DBA name for her company (herself) in order to be contracted to do the work. Different industries have varying rules when it comes to DBA names.

4. Your company is getting involved in other areas of industry. If your company is entering into a new area or focus of business that is not represented by the name of your company currently, then getting a DBA name may be a good solution. Having a descriptive business name is important for attracting potential customers. For example, let’s say you own a lawn care business called The Yard Guys, Inc., but would also like to do backyard planning during the slower winter months. In this case, you can file for another fictitious name, such as The Yard Architects, to describe the other facet of your company.

5. Your company operates another business or website. For business owners who manage one or more companies or websites on top of their primary existing business, having two DBA names may be simpler. For instance, if you own a marketing company, but also run a business incorporation website, filing for a DBA name for the incorporation business will help keep the two separate and make it easier for customers to determine what your companies do. Also, if you own two companies that aim for two different audiences, you may want specific names that reflect the target customers.

How to File a DBA

You can file for a fictitious business name in a couple of ways. The first is by filling out the appropriate paperwork and paying the fees for your state (and sometimes your county) by visiting a local or county agency.

By far the easiest way for a small business owner to file for a DBA name is to consult the incorporation specialists at Max Filings. We can save you precious time and money. All it takes is a quick email for a price quote to get started filing for a DBA name, so visit our website today.

Taking the next step by incorporating your business can be about as tedious, tricky, and tiresome as solving a difficult puzzle (not to mention just as unexciting). But if you put in the hard work and long hours, the final result can make all the effort worth the hassle.

Unfortunately, mistakes and errors can delay the progression of forming your own LLC, and increase the duration of time that you are unable to begin making profit—time that you may not have.

To make the process easier, here are ten items you will need to have in order to successfully incorporate your small business.

1. Business Name

The legal name of your business is required to fill out the necessary government documents, such as the Articles of Organization. Make sure there is not already a business with the name of your choice in your state before deciding on a name. (Check your state government’s website.) Your final legal business name must also include a corporate identifier—LLC, inc., corporation, incorporated, etc.—when you fill out the necessary documents.

2. Address

State laws vary on whether or not an address for your business is required, so review your own state’s regulation on this issue, or ask your incorporator (the agent or company helping you incorporate).

3. List of Directors

You must include a list of people who are involved in forming your business. Their names, addresses, and contact information will all be necessary for your company to be registered by the state.

4. List of Officers

Other officials involved in incorporating your small business may also need to be documented. However, laws on this list vary around the country, so check your own state’s rules.

5. Incorporator

The person or incorporation company who is responsible for helping you form your business by preparing documents and acting as an adviser must also be included in state registration. You will need their legal name, address, phone number, email, signature, and any other contact information.

6. Business Purpose Statement

The state must have an accurate description of what services or goods your business will sell. Write a purpose statement by asking yourself what your business will offer consumers. This description will need to be either general or specific, depending on your state’s requirements.

7. Registered Agent

A registered or statutory agent is responsible for receiving all letters, packages, and official correspondence related to the business. The agent must have a physical address in the state where your business is to be incorporated.

8. Authorized Shares of Stock

In order to register your business, you will need to authorize a specific amount of shares that can be potentially held by your owners or stake holders, if you should choose to award them in the future. Not all shares have to be authorized, but you are required to set a limit, even if you aren’t offering public stock trading.

9. Par Value of Shares

You must also specify the par value of the shares authorized for reward. Par value can be different than actual value.

10. Preferred Shares

Most small business don’t offer preferred shares, but if you chose to do so you must determine the number of shares available, as well as the voting rights for different levels of ownership. Consult your incorporator if you have questions about shares.

Making certain that you have completed these 10 steps will get you well on your way to completing the arduous puzzle of business incorporation. And if you are feeling weary from the hassles of starting your own business, just keep the final picture in mind.

Visit the U.S. Small Business Administrations website to learn more about incorporating your small business.

In addition to the important details and legalities handled by your business incorporation service, your business plan is crucial, especially if you’re starting a business that requires outside funding.

As you begin to create your business plan, be sure to include the following essential elements.

1.            Executive Summary

This section should include a general overview of the services or products your business will provide, as well as a brief statement of the projected return on investment. It should also include subsections detailing the company’s objectives, mission statement and advantages.

Objectives are best presented as a numbered list. Keep the list short, and make sure items are displayed in priority order.

Your mission statement should be no more than two sentences, and convey your company’s mission accurately, but without flowery speech. Make sure this statement is brief, versatile and timeless.

The advantages subsection works best as a short, bulleted list of three to five points you feel will set you apart or give you an advantage over the competition.

2.            Company Summary

The introductory portion of your company summary should be a short statement of the products and services you will provide, and the method in which you will provide them. Be sure to provide the name of the city and state where your business’s operations will primarily be located.

The subsections of your company summary include some of the most important information in your business plan. In subsection one, you will need to state your company’s ownership, including whether you will be a sole proprietorship, LLC or other type of corporation, as well as the names of all official owners.

Subsection two is where much of the research comes in. It is commonly labeled as the start-up summary, and should include a bulleted list of planned equipment purchases, a budget — commonly in graphic table form — detailing other startup expenses, and another table that details your expected financing sources and total amount of financing you expect to receive. If you are using a business incorporation service, be sure to list all associated costs here.

3.            Products and/or Services

This section of your business plan is generally text-based and outlines the specifics of the products or services you intend to provide. Be very detailed here, describing not only products and services, but also the methods you will use to offer convenience or added value to your customers.

If you have any specific innovations that you feel really set your business apart, be sure to explain in detail. This section is your opportunity to show your investors that you are starting a business with positive long-term prospects.

4.            Market Analysis

Another research-intensive section, the market analysis will be useful for your investors, but also offers you an opportunity to research and outline your business’s potential.

Use the introduction to summarize your market analysis, and provide extended detail in the subsections. Discuss market segments in the first subsection — organized by age group, area or whatever other details are appropriate to the type of small business you are opening. Then, in the second subsection, discuss specific strategies targeted toward each market segment.

Finally, include a third subsection where you analyze your competition and provide information on the behavior patterns of your target market segments. Charts and other graphical representations are very helpful to your market analysis, and also give it a professional look that will appeal to prospective investors.

5.            Strategy Summary

The strategy summary details your approach to sales and marketing. This is where you can establish a marketing budget that will make the process of starting a business much easier once your business incorporation service has completed their work and you have acquired funding.

Be sure to include well-researched forecasts here for how quickly your business will grow and how effective you expect your marketing strategy to be.

6.            Management and Personnel

This section should detail the management structure, number of employees and your projected budget for operations and salaries.

7.            Financial Planning

Profit and loss and cash flow projections should be detailed here. Most importantly to investors, be sure to include a break-even analysis that offers a projected timeline for getting your business in the black. Any other financial information you have not yet included in your business plan will fit well in this section.

Putting it All Together

Put the finishing touches on your business plan by printing it on high-quality paper and binding it in an attractive, professional-looking folder. If you have a logo created, use the image as the centerpiece of an attractive cover page.

Starting a business carries its fair share of challenges, but with a thorough and well-prepared business plan and the assistance of a business incorporation service, the road to owning your own small business may be just a bit easier to travel.

Naming your new business is probably the biggest decision you will make about your budding enterprise…it’s what the world will know and remember you as so you want it to be practical and memorable too.

And you will want to spend some time thinking about this too – don’t simply go with the first thing that pops into your head or your gut instinct. Chat it over with friends, do some research and come up with several ideas before making a decision.

Before doing any of this though you may want to do a trademark/name search to find if there are any other businesses out there using that name. You would hate to go through this arduous process just to find out that someone already has that name and has trademarked it.

Incorporating a business with a trademarked can be a costly mistake – at minimum you will be forced to change names and incur all expenses with doing that.  Next, you could be sued by the trademark owner and if you use a federally registered trademark improperly, you could really be in trouble. In this instance, a court will assume you knew the name was federally registered and consider you a “willful infringer,” meaning you could be put on the hook for large damages and the owner’s attorney fees.

If you choose to incorporate a business online with MaxFilings, we do a preliminary name check as part of our online incorporation process.

However, save yourself the trouble before hand when you’re deciding on what to call your new venture and do a quick trademark/name search (U.S. Patent and Trade Office) for your new business or products and also do some general searches on the Internet to see how the name is being used. You can also use a fee-based service like Thomson’s SAEGIS database.

Whatever you do, look into it…it will save you in the long run.

One question that may come to mind for businesses wanting to incorporate is how many “founders” they should have. By “founders”, we mean individuals who have collaborated together to establish a new company.

It really depends on how you structure it as to whether there should be one or two founders or five or more as expressed in the video below.

Simply having several people who come together and say – “We want to start a company that will be successful in the future” – isn’t enough. In this case, having more than one or two founders could be huge mistake. Progress will be elusive and chances are, the venture won’t succeed.

On the other hand though, if each person has their own area of responsibility like one in charge of marketing, another in charge of development and another in charge of fundraising for example, several founders for a company could be a plus.

Watch this quick interview of venture capitalist David Hornik for more. And if you’re ready to incorporate a business, turn to the online incorporation experts at MaxFilings to quick and reliable service.