Practice
Forming a company
Starting a business takes a filing. Starting one that can take on a partner, a loan or a buyer takes a little more thought, and it's cheaper to do now than later.
Choosing the entity
LLC, corporation or partnership, weighed against how you'll be taxed, how you'll raise money and who will own it. Your accountant is welcome on that call.
Operating and shareholder agreements
Who decides what, who puts in what, and what happens when an owner leaves, dies or wants out. Written for your company, not copied from a form.
Filings and registrations
Formation documents, a registered agent, an EIN, and the assumed-name filing if you trade under another name.
A start-up binder
Your signed documents, minutes and a one-page summary of what you agreed, so the next lawyer, lender or buyer can find it all.
Built to take on a partner later
Most of the trouble I see in older companies was set in the first month: a fifty-fifty split with no tiebreaker, or a co-founder who left with a third of the business. A few extra pages at the start settle those questions while everyone still gets along.
Often settled at formation
How a deadlock is broken
What a departing owner is paid
Who can sign for the company
How new owners come in
Questions owners ask
Can't I just file online myself?
You can, and for a one-owner business with no outside money that may be enough. What the filing doesn't give you is the agreement between owners, and that's where most disputes start.
Should I be an LLC or a corporation?
It depends on how you'll be taxed, whether you'll raise money from investors, and how you plan to pay yourself. We'll go through it with your accountant if you have one.
We already formed. Is it too late?
No. I can review what you have and write the agreement you skipped. It's easier before anyone disagrees.
Starting something?
Bring the idea and the people involved. We'll work out the right shape for it.