Online Incorporation MaxBlog

The idea of starting your business during these uncertain economic times may be a non starter for most. You shouldn’t let bad economic times deter you from making that leap, especially if you have a stellar idea. Now may be the best time to incorporate or form an LLC online according to Heleigh Bostwick for the following reasons.

First is the idea, which can be difficult during a recession. One way to consider this is do you have an idea that answers needs for people during an economic downturn? Everyone is looking for ways to get the most of their hard-earned dollars, especially these days. A business that can help folks in that effort would be very valuable.

The next criterion is credit, which is tightening due to the ongoing financial crisis in the U.S. Nevertheless, having low or no balances on your credit cards and an excellent credit rating can be a tremendous plus, allowing you to negotiate good terms for loans and business credit cards.

Continuing on the credit theme, possessing good negotiating skills is a must have in this environment, and even more critical if your credit is less than perfect. Being a good negotiator and providing the bank with a strong marketing plan can be a big help in obtaining favorable loan terms.

Beyond the idea for your small business and financing, managing money is very important. Getting by on a shoestring budget is good practice anyway but a big plus when incorporating a business. And being disciplined and avoiding impulsive decisions is especially important in this current environment.

In the final analysis, if you’re ready to incorporate your business, don’t let the recession stop you. Many of today’s successful companies such as Hewlett-Packard (1934) and Adobe Systems (1982) got their start during major economic hardship in the U.S.

by Albert Streab

All business continuity analysis should be risk based, and risk prioritized to deal with the important business incorporation risks first. This means that any risks to your business need to be identified, examined and dealt with.

There are 4 options for dealing with each risk:

1. Reduce the risk. Reducing the risk falls into 2 categories - reducing the likelihood of the problem occurring and reducing the impact of the problem if it does happen. A simple example is that by having a fire alarm you are reducing the likelihood of a fire spreading unseen and by installing a sprinkler system you are reducing the impact of fire.

Reducing the risk is often referred to as mitigation. For example, data backups are a form of mitigation. They reduce the impact if a problem occurs which affects the primary data source. Any mitigating actions require testing to provide assurance they work when required.

2. Transfer the risk. This is an interesting option which may be seen as a get-out, but which is a perfectly valid thing to do. By transferring a risk it becomes someone else’s problem and you therefore have the risk covered. We are not talking about blaming someone else, or even transferring the risk to someone else in the company.

For example, there could be a risk that office space will not be available in the case of a disaster in the main location. Therefore the risk can be transferred to a third party company which organizes office space for disaster recovery and keeps offices available for companies who need such a recovery service.

3. Accept the risk. By accepting the risk of a potential problem you are at least aware of its existence and can plan for it happening. If it is a risk that would have no impact for an acceptable period of time it should still be noted but you may decide to take no action until it occurs.

Almost by definition, accepting a risk is also reducing the impact of the risk as you are aware of the potential problem and can write it into your business continuity plan.

4. Ignore the risk. This option should never be selected. There is never a reason for ignoring a risk once it has been identified. A risk can be accepted (acknowledged) but must never be ignored.

Once the actions for each risk have been identified, then anything put in place to help cope with a risk needs testing. However, many companies either test nothing at all or try testing every facet of a business continuity plan. Both methods are doomed to failure. The answer is to adopt a risk based testing approach from two perspectives: the business continuity plan is fit for purpose and it will work when invoked.

A health check (testing the plan is fit for purpose) needs to be performed by someone other than the authors of the business continuity plan. Ideally it’s performed by an independent third party that specializes in testing business continuity plans, but it could be a disinterested party from another part of the company. Independence is essential here for an objective assessment.

Testing the plan will work when invoked, must be viewed in a business context and the elements of the plan prioritized so that the risks with the most business impact and likelihood are tested first. This approach and the techniques to perform business continuity testing in a cost effective manner are the subject of other articles.

Copyright Acutest UK 2005

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A Streab is an experienced practitioner of business continuity testing at Acutest, an independent consultancy specializing in business continuity assurance and software testing services. For more information on this topic visit http://www.acutest.co.uk or send an email to enquires@acutest.co.uk

Articles of Incorporation

Also known as “Charter” or “Certificate of Incorporation” in some states. The Article of Incorporation is the legal document that is filed with The Secretary of State (state agency) to start the corporation.

Shareholder

Person who owns shares of a company’s stock. In small corporations, shareholders are officers and directors of the corporations.

Board of Directors

The board of directors oversees major corporate decisions and elects the officers.

Officers

Elected by the board of directors. Officers include president, vice president, secretary and treasurer.

Registered Agent

Also known as “resident agent” in some states; person or incorporation company that is designated by the corporation to receive tax and legal documents on behalf of the corporation. Failure to maintain a Registered Agent in the jurisdiction where the corporation is registered may result in the forfeiture of the corporate status.

Bylaws

Rules and regulations that govern the structure and operation of the corporation.

Considering Incorporation in Delware? Think Delaware South and Delaware West

Delaware incorporation has long enjoyed a reputation as the choice for many businesses, but that is changing as other states make efforts to foster a business-friendly environment for incorporation, says a new article released by MaxFilings Online Incorporation Service.

The Delaware incorporation article looks at points that businesses should consider when deciding where to incorporate, helping you compare and contrast incorporation in Delaware, Nevada and Florida.

You may also be interested to learn when none of these states may be the best choice for incorporation. Check out the article here: Where to Incorporate: The 3-Man Fight between Delaware, Delaware West and Delaware South