The Five Steps for Starting a Limited Liability Corporation
Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008
In recent years, the most popular form of business organization has been the Liability Corporation (LLC). Since 1977, when the legal structure debuted in the United States, it has been the business type of choice among small businesses.
“If you are looking to turn your individual affiliate marketing business into a more personally protective LLC, then you'll be glad to know that it is a relatively easy and quick process.”
Step 1 -- Filing the Necessary Paperwork
In most states, you can obtain the paperwork for filing your LLC Articles of Organization form by contacting your county's administration office. However, in some states, you can only get the forms through the Secretary of State's office. Contact one or the other to find out how to obtain the forms and find out up front if your state requires you to publish a notice in the local newspaper.
Step 2 -- Choose a Name for Your LLC
In the paperwork you get from the state, there should be information regarding choosing a business name. Some states have certain rules that you must follow in choosing a name. For instance, LLCs cannot contain the words "corporation," "incorporated," "inc." or "insurance." Refer to the paperwork to see the full list of prohibited words. In addition, you will have to check your chosen name against a database to ensure that it is not already in use.
Step 3 -- Complete the LLC Articles of Organization Application
Your next step will be to completely fill out the LLC Articles of Organization form. You will have to submit information like the name and purpose of the business, the physical address and the names of any additional members. With an LLC, you do not have to ordain management structure on your application.
Step 4 -- Inform the Community
If your state requires, you should publish your intent to form the LLC in your local newspaper at this point. You should inform the public in this manner prior to filing your LLC Articles of Organization.
Step 5 -- Filing and Fees
The final step in starting an LLC is to submit the completed LLC Articles of Organization forms with the applicable filing fee to either your state's Secretary of State Office or your county's administration office, whichever handles the processing in your state. The filing fee ranges between $10 and $100 depending on the state. Plus, some states require that you pay a corporate tax at the time of filing. This can be as high as $800 in some cases, so be sure to find out about your state's requirements before filing.
That's all it takes to legally set up your affiliate business as a Limited Liability Corporation! It's fast, easy and with your business organized as an LLC, your personal assets will be protected and you'll be able to take advantage of many of the tax breaks offered each year to small businesses.
