I had a long meeting this morning with two entrepreneurs. Their situation was one of my personal favorites to deal with. A couple of friends, they had talked about going into business together. For years, the timing had never really worked out. But at the end of 2018, one of them lost his job. The other one is out of work but receiving severance from his old job. So they both had lunch, commiserated over their situations, and decided to start a business. If the company works out, it will be a good combination of both of their skill sets.
Apparently over lunch, one of them whipped out a notebook and they sketched out their ideas. When they got to the “legal” aspect of setting up a company is when they realized they needed to come to see me. It wasn’t the proverbial “business plan written on a napkin” but it was close. They knew they wanted to set up an LLC, but they didn’t know their next steps. Their next step was to get those foundation business documents formalized.
An Informal LLC Checklist
When you meet with an attorney who works in this area, they often have a checklist of some type. Some people have a formal document that they review with you line by line. Others have the main issues surrounding an LLC in their brain already and the form isn’t needed. But to get you started even before your meeting with an attorney here’s a few things to consider:
- What will be your company’s name? Is that name already taken?
- Where will the office be? It doesn’t need to be a formal office in an office building.
- Who is going to be the owners of the business?
- What is each person going to invest in the business? Money? Time? Technology?
- Will you be hiring employees? Independent contractors?
- Do you need a license to operate this type of business?
- Will you need to get some investment or financing to get off the ground?
There are many other things to consider when starting a business. But sometimes the above questions are enough to get you thinking about what you need and what your next steps are. You should also talk to an accountant as well to make sure you’ve got the right tax structure for what you are considering. I am also a fan of ensuring you have the right technology as well, so talking to others in your industry can help as well.
But for now, enjoy the excitement of trying to start a new business. There are thousands of professionals out there who are rooting for you to succeed and would love to work with you!
Next Steps
If you are thinking of starting a business or already started your business and want to make sure your legal documents are in order, let's set up a Legal Strategy Session we can sit down to discuss the process and what documents would be best tailored for your company.
