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Forming A Business Involving Embarrassing Subjects

by Mike in Henderson
10 replies
I just read through many of the Warrior Topics regarding the subject of forming a business (such as an LLC).

Most of the advice is "go see an attorney/accountant" and tell them everything you are going to be doing, just to be safe and get the right advice for your own situation.


I am going to throw my hat in the ring and form a business. I have a few information products that look promising after some testing (without collecting any $).

Now that I want to form the business and give it a go, I really do not care to disclose the subjects of my products with an attorney or tax consultant.

My products are very specific niche's, and they might be considered "embarrassing" subjects to average joe and jane's. I would simply rather not disclose the subjects of these information products.

I have never dealt with an attorney or tax professional in a matter such as business formation. I am not sure if I can get by with just telling them I want to "publish information products", or if they are going to require me to discuss the subjects involved (for the purposes of liability?).

"Yes Mr. Lawyer... I'm writing a series of books on how to live with HIV..... or how to get rid of Herpes.... etc."

Those are not the subjects, but that is an illustration of what I'm talking about.

What advice do you guys and girls have for me?
#business #embarrassing #forming #involving #subjects
  • Profile picture of the author Ken Strong
    My guess is anybody who's easily offended or shocked would never become a lawyer in the first place -- or if they did, they wouldn't last long.
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  • Profile picture of the author j hogan
    Just say you sell information products in various health related niches. Thats all they need to know.
    besides that, unless you're doing anything that could be bordering on illegal it's not going to make a difference to them, in thier business I'm sure they are pretty unshockable.
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  • Profile picture of the author MichaelHiles
    lol... if attorneys were offended by the things their clients did, nobody would ever get representation in court.

    Trust me, attorney's don't give a crap what you're selling as long as it's legal, and even some don't even care about that. Attorney/Client priv.
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  • Profile picture of the author HeySal
    Just because a subject is embarrassing doesn't mean people don't need to know about them. Look how sensitive a subject menopause was until just the last decade. Many women refused to discuss the subject even with their daughters and the result was a lot of women getting hit with symptoms they had no clue about and didn't know what to expect.

    Just forget about "embarrassed". This is the 2000's and people have a right to know facts they need even if the subject is sensitive. Save embarrassment for when you experience public flatulence instead of for information dissemination.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steve Faber
    You should tell your attorney. He can not only evaluate the legality of what you're doing, he can provide you with a more valuable service if he knows all about your business. If he's a business lawyer, he can give you solid advice about possible legal challenges and problems you may face down the road. In my experience, most good business attorneys have been in so many different situations in the past, they can give you great advice about what you may come up against in the future. They can only do this ifg they know all about your business.
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  • Profile picture of the author Marty S
    Originally Posted by Mike in Henderson View Post

    Now that I want to form the business and give it a go, I really do not care to disclose the subjects of my products with an attorney or tax consultant.
    Unless you are in a business marketing products or content that has additional legal requirements (PORN), your lawyer and accountant aren't going to give a rat's ass what you are selling.

    The lawyer sets up your corporate structure, and the accountant tells you what you have to do to pay as little tax as possible. Whether your ebook is about masturbation or magic is of no concern to them.

    "There are all kinds of products marketed perfectly legitimately for "unusual niches", and it's not worth being embarrassed about this kind of thing, whatever it is!"

    This kind of advice is completely irrelevant in setting up a business structure. I DO have a corporation for my online income and have actually been through this. If your topics are so sensitive you may actually need a different lawyer than your business lawyer to look into it, but I highly doubt it.
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  • Profile picture of the author artwebster
    I hear so much rubbish spoken of in these forums about the need 'to form a business'.

    What you guys are really talking about is creating a second tax paying individual to be audited by the tax authorities.

    There are few advantages in 'forming a business' when you don't really have a business - only a plan that might result in one. At the start of any endeavour, there are distinct advantages in remaining a sole trader and indemnity insurance is a damn site cheaper than double taxation and all the bills associated with it - especially if the business model doesn't work. Now, THAT would be embarrasing!
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hill
    Originally Posted by Mike in Henderson View Post

    I just read through many of the Warrior Topics regarding the subject of forming a business (such as an LLC).

    Most of the advice is "go see an attorney/accountant" and tell them everything you are going to be doing, just to be safe and get the right advice for your own situation.


    I am going to throw my hat in the ring and form a business. I have a few information products that look promising after some testing (without collecting any $).

    Now that I want to form the business and give it a go, I really do not care to disclose the subjects of my products with an attorney or tax consultant.

    My products are very specific niche's, and they might be considered "embarrassing" subjects to average joe and jane's. I would simply rather not disclose the subjects of these information products.

    I have never dealt with an attorney or tax professional in a matter such as business formation. I am not sure if I can get by with just telling them I want to "publish information products", or if they are going to require me to discuss the subjects involved (for the purposes of liability?).

    "Yes Mr. Lawyer... I'm writing a series of books on how to live with HIV..... or how to get rid of Herpes.... etc."

    Those are not the subjects, but that is an illustration of what I'm talking about.

    What advice do you guys and girls have for me?

    You don't have to disclose your products... Get an LLC name as a publisher or something like that...
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  • Profile picture of the author mikemcmillan
    First, I know you just used HIV and Herpes as examples, but few would consider them to be embarrassing subjects. Unless it's PORN, I don't see where the embarrassing thing comes in. I'm not sure what your purpose of forming the LLC is. You don't need to form a business to be in business other than getting a DBA and things like that. I mean, there may be reasons for forming an LLC, but you didn't state your reasons.
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