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The Legal Steps You Need to Take to Establish Your Business

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So, you’ve decided to start a business in the USA but don’t know how to go about the entire process.

Well, you’re at the right place. 

Here’s the complete guide that will take you through the process of starting your own business smoothly. 

So, let’s dive right in.

Steps to Start a Business

Let’s take a quick look at the steps that you need to take to start your business.

1. Business Name Registration

You need to first decide on a unique and catchy name for your business and register it. The idea is to formalize your business name. Along with the registration, you should also consider applying for a trademark and a domain name.

2. Decide on a Legal Entity

Connolly Suthers, lawyers in Townsville advise that based on the type and scale of your business, you need to decide on a company structure. This structure determines the various things you can do with your business such as give employee shares, raise funds, etc. The most common entity types are:

  • Sole proprietorship
  • Partnership
  • Limited Liability Company (LLC)
  • Corporations

3. Do Your State Filings

After selecting a legal entity type, you need to complete the state filings to formalize the company. The various filings you need to do are:

  1. Corporations: Articles of Incorporation
  2. LLCs: Articles of Organization
  3. Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships: Doing Business As (DBA) or Fictitious Business Name (FBN)
  4. Non-Profits: Check with the state for the filing requirements.

4. Apply for a Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN)

An EIN is compulsory for businesses and serves as the identification for your company. It’s the Tax ID of your company and is needed for opening bank accounts, hiring employees, earning income, and more. 

5. Formalize Contracts and Agreements

This would also be a good time to create some essential contracts and agreements to avoid troubles like security and contract breach in the future.. Some agreements you should formalize are:

  • LLCs: Operating Agreements
  • Corporations: Corporate Bylaws
  • Independent Contractor Agreements
  • Non-Disclosure Agreements
  • Employment Agreements
  • Confidentiality Agreements

6. Open a Bank Account

To be able to earn money, you need to open a separate bank account for your business. For this, you need to have an EIN, state formation documents, ownership agreements, etc. 

To learn more about how you can start your business in the USA without any hassle, check out this detailed infographic designed by GovDocFiling.

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