How to Register a Business Name

What’s in a name? Well, it’s only your biggest asset in the business world.

Registering your business name, in addition to fulfilling a legal requirement, affords you certain protections and establishes your credibility in the eyes of potential and current customers, partners, and employees.

Precisely why it’s one of the most crucial factors to consider when starting your business.

Although the process may seem straightforward, you must consider several factors, such as availability, business structure, geographical area, and the extent of protection you need.

As someone with decades of experience, I know exactly what goes into choosing and registering an attractive business name.

Read on as I break down every step in detail.

The Easy Part of Registering a Business Name

Your business name will be on everything—from business cards to stationary to loan documents to future contracts and agreements.

It’ll be your permanent identity. Prospects, partners, and other people will connect your business name with you and what you do. 

Naturally, you want to protect such an important aspect of your business. Once you register it, that particular name goes off the market, and no other company in your state can launch a business using the same name.

The obvious benefit of this is your customers, vendors, and the general public won’t get confused between your enterprise and othe… Read More

A Beginner’s Guide to LLC Member Resolutions

Unlike corporations and other business entities, LLCs aren’t legally required to document certain business decisions. However, documenting decisions made between members can protect your LLC and help you avoid expensive disputes.

Since there aren’t any state or federal mandates in place for this procedure, there aren’t specific requirements for drafting an LLC resolution, which can be confusing for members.

This guide will teach you everything you need to know about LLC member resolutions so you can get on the same page with the rest of the LLC owners and formally document important decisions. 

What Are LLC Member Resolutions?

LLC member resolutions are written documents describing decisions and actions taken by the members. The purpose of this documentation is to confirm and record that the members agreed on a decision, which helps avoid disputes and misunderstandings down the road.

Any LLC member can propose a new resolution, and it usually requires a majority vote to pass.

For example, if an LLC member wants to sell a piece of land owned by the company, they’d propose a resolution and formally document the vote by all members. Assuming the vote passed, the resolution would serve as a record if another member claimed the sale wasn’t properly approved. 

The Basics of LLC Member Resolutions

Let’s take a closer look at the core components of LLC member resolutions. The following section … Read More

A Beginner’s Guide to Maintaining Your LLC

Forming an LLC is an exciting accomplishment for any entrepreneur or business owner. 

But the work doesn’t end after the initial business formation process. There are certain steps and requirements to maintain your LLC and ensure the LLC remains in good standing with your state.

Once you’ve identified these requirements, it’s relatively easy to maintain your LLC on an ongoing basis—and this guide will teach you how. 

What is LLC Maintenance?

After the LLC formation, there are various maintenance requirements to protect your LLC and keep everything in good standing with the state and IRS. 

Each state has its own unique rules when it comes to maintaining an LLC. But generally speaking, any requirements, fees, taxes, paperwork, and additional filings are due annually. 

While the majority of LLC maintenance is ongoing, you might need to complete a few one-off tasks to ensure compliance and keep everything organized. 

The Basics of Maintaining Your LLC

Again, LLC requirements vary from state to state. But we’ll take a closer look at the core components of maintaining your LLC that are fairly common across the board. 

Articles of Organization

The articles of organization are a legal component that gets created during the initial LLC formation process. This legal document is formally used to establish limited liability companies at the state level.

Cont… Read More