Creating an LLC

I've created several llc's through mycorporation.com (6 to be exact). At most you're paying like $250, which is really next to nothing for a business. The real incentive to start other companies is when your revenue grows so large it would be a bad idea to maintain it all in one location, so by that time $250 isn't very much

Edit: The legal stuff you have to do for an llc is really easy, you can get a packet from them with a list of everything you need to do each year. Of course they upsell it though.

Legalzoom.com is another service that will help you out. They start out at $149 plus state fees and go up from there depending on what you want.

Oh yeah, some states do have forms online, I would advise checking that first, I setup a business in florida for a friend through sunbiz.org, was $120

Yeah, for me I went to Missouri's Secretary of Sate website and set mine up... it was like $110 or something.

This is great information on LLC's. I have been thinking about that myself and it looks like these websites provide a cheaper way to go. Thanks.

Shirley

EJ,

I just want to add that this should be the way to go for any online business that is out there. Not only do you get your personal assets protected but you get a whole lot more tax benefits than your average joe working 40 hours a week and paying uncle sam on his personal income.

Jeff

Yes, there is in fact a way to do it on the cheap. You can set up what are called DBA's (Doing Business As). This allows you to do business as a different name, and even accept checks in that new business name. One thing you have to keep in mind though, is that all the dba's are in theory laid out as:

Original LLC name D.B.A. new niche name

So the original name always hangs around, but that is only when it gets technical. You do have to register DBA's too, they are just much cheaper. At least that is how I understand it in my state..

As people here seems knowledgeable on LLCs I would like to ask a question:

Is it possible for a foreigner to create a LLC in the states? That's something I was thinking to do on the far future, but I don't know if one could do it from another country by hiring a lawyer in USA, like an american citizen living abroad, or not.

Cashtech29,

I agree with most of what is being said here about LLCs. I own several. The basic LLC is very easy to set up. The only caution I give you is that you have to be very, very clear when you indicate the purpose of the LLC and what is being held in it.

For example, if you set up an LLC for your IM business and you simply state that the purpose of the LLC is to own the assets of the business, you may be including assets you really don't want in the LLC.

To take this example further, let's say you own 500 domain names and they are good domain names with a total value of $250,000. They have nothing to do with your main IM business. But if you don't indicate that in your LLC filing or if you don't set up a separate LLC just for your domain names, they could be unexpectedly included in a lawsuit.

I am not a lawyer, so this is not legal advice. This is just what I've observed from having my LLCs set up.

I have never set up an LLC on my own. I have always had some level of legal advice to be sure everything was set up correctly.

Don't go cheap on this. If you set it up the wrong way or if you include or don't include the right things, you may think you are protected, but you could get a nasty surprise if you're sued.

My opinion is that the few hundred dollars extra it will cost you to have an attorney or accountant with lots of LLC experience review your LLC application will be well worth it.

My accountant sets up LLCs for $400. If he has legal questions, he has a lawyer he trusts give him the advice he needs.

There are things to go cheap on, but, in my opinion, legal protection is not one of them.

Cashtech29,

I just noticed your additional question about using PO Boxes in your LLC application.

You are correct that PO Boxes usually can't be used. In my case, my attorney is the registered agent. His address is listed everywhere which makes sense to me. If I'm going to be sued, what am I going to do with the legal papers? I'm going to turn them over to my attorney. So his address might as well be listed in the application. This is perfectly acceptable and, in my opinion, a smart and efficient way to go.

My attorney does not charge me extra for this.

Look into the advantages of a Nevada corp. Complete and total privacy, no state tax, no corp tax.
Talk to Natasha at Nevada Corporation - $283 Full service with Registered Agent.
Its like 200 for the first year including registered agent fees.

I've create plenty of LLC's and Corporations in my time and I pay $100-$150 to get the paper work registered. Then I create the Operating Agreement the way I like "from experience" and with my business partners roles in mind.

Just PM and I can tell you where to register for an LLC for $100 !!!

Legal Zoom will cost you an arm and a leg!

Richfit mentions the Operating Agreement. This is a MAJOR part of any LLC. If you have experience creating them and are comfortable doing it, fine. I'm not. I want to be sure it's done right and covers what should be covered.

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not shopping for price when it comes to medical, legal or financial advice. I want quality, not cheap.

Forming an LLC (limited liability company) is not as hard as most people think. Here are the steps you need to take to make your LLC a legal reality.

1. Choose an available business name that complies with your state's LLC rules.
2. File formal paperwork, usually called articles of organization, and pay the filing fee (ranging from about $100 to $800, depending on your state's rules).
3. Create an LLC operating agreement, which sets out the rights and responsibilities of the LLC members.
4. Publish a notice of your intent to form an LLC (required in only a few states).
5. Obtain licenses and permits that may be required for your business.

Interesting thread.

I want to create multiple adsense business accounts. Assuming, I have 4 web sites major ones. which is better- get 4 DBAs or should I need one LLC and 4DBAs.

if you file yourself by the secretary of state, you will be the "state fees" only.

What did when i started was pay one attorney $1500 or so to open an llc and provide all the advice- then i used that as a template for the next 20 corporation or so.. while still having the attorney accessible with any questions...

blumberg.com is a good option if they do your state (NY for sure)..

Last week one of the major incorporation service companies was offering free services-- did i read about that here on WF?? I think i did, hmm...

What is this thing about DBAs? As LonNaylor mentioned above, if all you have is a DBA, you only have a sole proprietorship. If you have any assets at all and you're in business only as a sole proprietor, I think you're nuts. But again, that's just my not-so-humble opinion.

As for how many LLCs you need, that's actually a factor of what you are protecting, how you want to protect it, etc. So there's no simple answer.

Again, let me give you an example.

Let's say you own an IM business, a laundromat, you invest in real estate and you own a batch of valuable domain names. If you put all of your assets under one LLC and you're sued and you lose, you could also lose all of your businesses, even though you were only being sued because of something that happened in your laundromat. If you did something wrong in your laundromat causing injury, you probably deserve to be sued and to pay damages. But should you also lose all of your other business interests? That's why people, including me, protect assets in various LLC groups.

Real estate investors very commonly set up separate LLCs for each property they buy. Very smart, in my opinion.

Plus, smart business owners have insurance. Most people misunderstand insurance. They feel that if they have a $3 million dollar insurance policy, they have a company behind them who will pay $3 million in case of a problem.

Wrong.

When you have a $3 million insurance policy, you have a company full of lawyers who will defend themselves (and therefore you) against having to pay $3 million to anybody.

So, for all of you reading this thread thinking you will go to some online service, pay a couple of hundred dollars and be protected, you are, in my opinion, delusional. As I mentioned in an earlier post in this thread, if you write your Operating Agreement wrong, you're screwed. My guess is not 1 in 100 people on this forum know what an operating agreement is, no less how to write one. I'll be very frank and tell you that although I know what an operating agreement is, I do not feel confident enough to write one myself without it being reviewed by an attorney very familiar with LLCs.

I apologize in advance to all attorneys reading this, but I'm no big fan of writing huge checks to attorneys. So I'm not trying to drum up business for them. But, I am a huge fan of being responsible, protecting myself in a repsonsible way and then sleeping well at night.

As LonNaylor suggested, will some of you stop cheaping out and get what you truly need, not what's the cheapest. I don't hesitate to whip out my credit card or checkbook to get what I need from the best people who provide it.

If I'm looking to fill my car with gas, of course I'll go to the cheapest gas station. Gas is gas.

But when it comes to my health, my finances and my protection, I have no interest whatsoever in cheap. I want the best - and I'm willing to pay for it.

I've done business with many of you Warriors. You know that if you provided me with excellence, you were paid well - and often. And because of that I have a great life, live in a beautiful house and have the thing I value the most - my freedom.

I'm all for building your business, wanting to make a pile of money, wanting to learn. But far too many people focus only on sales, product development, etc. while leaving themselves open to problems by not taking the simple steps (and paying the money) to protect themselves.

I'd love all of you Warriors to have thriving businesses, but I also want you to be protected.

I close with the same disclaimer I've made above. I am not an attorney. This is not legal advice. This is all my opinion based on my experience and the experiences of others.

If you want multiple LLC's what you could do is get the first one registered via your accountant and sit in on it. Learn the basics.

Then you can do all or most of the rest of it yourself.

If needed you can then get his review for just an hour or two.

Great information, I was just looking into this and was getting lost with the all the information around. Nice to have people who are actually using it explain what it does and how to get it done.

Kevin