Last night I attended an exciting networking mixer for entrepreneurs in Reno, NV. I hadn’t expected to stay very long except for the chance to visit with the CEO of the networking group. I thought I’d breeze in, set up a time to meet with this fellow, and then breeze out. Instead, I ended up being the last guy out the door. The vibrancy of the group was amazing. People from all kinds of different business from all types of industries were there telling their stories and asking for new business. It just doesn’t get any more electric than that.

Many of the small business owners that attended this event ran companies that were start-ups and had recently experienced some form of downsizing like so many other American companies. And with the nation’s highest unemployment rate, downsizing is certainly a term that has run rampant in Nevada. What I loved was that so many of the people I talked to had taken a challenging career set-back and turned it into an opportunity to start something of their own. We are seeing this same thing play out all over the country as entrepreneurial minded people take the plunge and start a business.

Interestingly, this morning I received an article from our friends at the corporate office of H&R Block. The article lays out some really great advice for start-up companies. It advices budding entrepreneurs not to make novice mistakes that can end up killing your business even when you’re just starting out. An important example is figuring out whether you are ready to take on the risk of running a sole proprietorship. Or, on the other hand, you can take a step towards increasing your liability protection and tax benefits and consider forming an S Corporation, C Corporation or an LLC for your business.

Resources like this article are available everywhere through the Internet, but in order to run a successful business you have to do your homework. Read up on the laws and regulations in your state and find out what is required of you to keep your company in good standing. Gather a team of mentors and advisors around you to keep yourself on solid footing.  And most importantly, separate yourself from your business by forming a business entity like a Corporation or an LLC so you can spend your time building your company and not battling lawsuits and the IRS.

 As a business owner myself, it is always interesting for me to hear about the successes and challenges you face in your business. Please write to me at aaronyoung@laughlinusa.com to share your stories.

Aaron S. Young, CEO

Laughlin Associates, Inc.

How to Incorporate in Nevada – Starting a Business Right

When it comes to how to incorporate in Nevada, you need to start at the very beginning so that you can ensure that you handle the process as it should be handled. There are many different elements of business incorporation to consider, but your first decision to make will be whether it is right for you to incorporate or not. By taking the time to learn about how to incorporate in Nevada, you can see all the different benefits and its advantages of having an incorporated business and then determine whether it’s the right move for you or not. Once you have determined that incorporation is the right step, there is plenty more to be done.

One of the most critical steps that you will take is getting a Federal tax ID number, also known as and Employer Identification Number. This number is how your business will be identified for tax purposes, and it can do so much to set your business apart from the rest of the companies out there like yours that are not incorporated. Another thing to consider is all the paperwork that needs to be filed. For example, you will need to file information about available stocks, directors’ resolutions, and the standard articles of incorporation for the state of Nevada.

Once you have gotten all the necessary paperwork taken care of, there is still a lot left to do to figure out how to incorporate in Nevada. Taking the time to learn about the process will help you to start your business off on the right foot and perhaps give you a leading edge over your competition that has yet to incorporate. Within this paperwork, there is another important decision to be made: the type of corporation that you will be forming.

There are many different types of corporations that are available for you to choose from. While you might think that information on how to incorporate in Nevada will give you the right answer, you will still need to do a lot of research about the different types of corporations and licensing for your business so that you choose the right one. Every business is different, which means that every business will have different needs for their incorporation process. Taking the time to understand your own business and how it relates to the process will save you a lot of trouble in the end.