Registering, Forms, Fees, Oh My!

What is the one thing I usually hear from people wanting to start a business? "I don't know how."
Needless to say, I've kicked this dead horse enough. What we will deal with today is how and when to register, what to do with taxes, business licenses, and more.

If I were to describe every type of business entity, it would take pages and pages to show you the pros/cons of each, as well as the regulations and taxation benefits of each. If you need information on each of the types of entities, please do your research before committing!

You will want to look for: Sole Proprietor (the most basic of business entities); Limited Liability Company (I prefer this type, and I have used this for most of my businesses); Partnership; C-Corporation; S-Corporation; Non-profit. A great site for information: About.com - Inc Info

As you can see, there are a ton of options. The biggest point I want to make is - please do not pay some company to file your papers for you! You're paying someone else to file papers that would take you 20 minutes to do. All you need to do is Do Your Research!
I register in Nevada since my principal business is in Nevada - along with all of the benefits that Nevada offers. A lot of people will go with Nevada or Delaware simply because those states offer great benefits to businesses... but you may hit some snags along the way if you decide to incorporate out of state. I personally don't recommend incorporating outside of your current state.

Some basics you will want to cover:
- Business license for your city, county, state
- DBA registration (doing business as) if you intend to do business other than your assigned name
- Business entity registration and members list (if other than sole proprietor)
- EIN tax registration via the IRS

I feel like I'm forgetting something here, so I'll update when I have a clear head! :)

You may find yourself wondering if you should really register with all the appropriate authorities and such. The short answer is YES! When you cut corners, avoid registering with certain authorities, and you try to keep your operation under the radar, then you're setting yourself up for trouble. If you're still lost - I encourage you to look at those legal filing places online, see what they would file for you, and take that information and do it yourself! Why pay someone $700, what would cost you $250 to do yourself?