Starting a business from scratch is an enormous undertaking. You need to come up with a business idea, identify the niche, find funding — and that’s just the beginning.
You also need to get through all the legal formalities to establish it.
But how can you go about them?
Here’s how.
Steps to Start a Business
Here are all the steps you need to follow to set up your business legally.
1. Register the Business Name
To get started, come up with a unique and catchy name for your business and register it to make it official. You should also consider getting it trademarked and purchase a domain name with the same name.
2. Pick a Structure and Do Filings
After choosing the name, select a business structure and do the state and federal level filings for the same. The most popular business structures along with filing requirements are:
- Sole Proprietorship: Doing Business As (DBA) or Fictitious Business Name (FBN)
- Partnership: Doing Business As (DBA) or Fictitious Business Name (FBN)
- Corporation: Articles of Incorporation
- Limited Liability Company (LLC): Articles of Organization
- Non-Profit: Depends on the state.
3. Get Your Employer Identification Number (EIN)
The next step should be to get your tax ID or EIN. This is the company equivalent of your social security number (SSN) and without it, you can’t do even the most basic tasks like hire employees.
4. Create Agreements
Agreements can be useful when you face any sort of legal hurdles in the future and can help you avoid spending a lot of money on legal fees. Some of the agreements you should create are:
- Employment agreement
- Non-disclosure agreement
- Independent contractor agreement
- Corporate bylaws
- Operating agreement
5. Open a Business Bank Account
Finally, you need to open a business bank account to keep your business finances separate from personal ones.
Do you want to learn more about how to start a business in the United States? Check out this infographic created by GovDocFiling.
