21d (edited) • Modules
#6 - I'm Officially in Business!
There are some steps in business that you only have to do once.
Marketing? Forever.
Building? Neverending.
Sales? Stop and you die.
But some things in the beginning you can get done, check off your list, and never really have to deal with it again. Today's progress has to do with some of those steps. I officially started my LLC and got my EIN (Employer Identification Number - sort of like a Social Security Number for businesses). It cost me about $300 (In Tennessee) for the LLC, and $0 for the EIN.
Arcade Everywhere, LLC now officially exists. I'm legit!
Of course, now I'll have to do a bit of bookkeeping and file a few extra reports each year, but that's not too big of a headache.
Note: I did hear about something called a BOI report (Beneficial Ownership Information) that needs to be filed to declare anyone who has an ownership interest in a company or I'd face a hefty fine of $500 per DAY it went unfiled (Yikes!). It was required by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) to sort of suss out foreign-owned entities in the USA, but apparently it has run it's course now, as it has been officially un-required.
Back to business.
I chose to go ahead and start the LLC only because of the nature of the business I'm starting. It will involve people physically doing things and interacting with things I've built. Therefore, there is the chance that someone could somehow get hurt in the process. And in today's overly-litigious society, that leaves me open to lawsuits and such. (Hopefully it never happens, but I want to be prepared early just in case.)
One of the primary benefits of creating an LLC is that it separates what I own and what the business owns. So, if someone does ever sue me, they can't take my house, cars, bank accounts, investments, etc.
You may be perfectly okay starting as a Sole Proprietor initially and only choose to form an LLC later on, once your business takes off. That's entirely up to you. I'm no attorney, or tax advisor, or any other title that qualifies me to give legal or tax advice, so you should consult with one yourself to get advice on exactly what to do and when. I did.
Takeaway: All those tasks that we can just do once and then never have to worry about again are best gotten out of the way early, before the day-to-day tasks of building a business start getting in the way. These are things like starting your LLC, applying for your EIN, opening bank accounts, getting insurance, buying your web domain, locking in Social Media accounts, setting up accounting software or hiring an accountant, choosing a payment processor, getting state and local business licenses, creating a company logo, coming up with a company tagline/vision statement/mission statement, creating documents (contracts, media releases, cancellation/refund/privacy policies, creating SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) for the tasks you will eventually hire others to complete for you, equipment purchases, set up your shop (garage or rented unit), defining your ideal customer avatar, defining critical KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that you can track to get an idea of the health of your business, draft a business plan (this will evolve over time), etc.
Takeaway: There are a lot of these tasks that, once out of the way, will provide some clarity and definition for your business to grow and prosper. You can go into the early stages of your business with real direction and excitement because you took the time to clarify what you want the business to become, set up the infrastructure to facilitate this, and then got to work on the fun stuff.
Most of us start out as creators first and business people second. We imagine that, just because we are good at our craft, business success must automatically follow. Not so. Whatever you are going to build as your "thing", you will be far better served later on by being able to focus on actually building, marketing and selling it than if you are just winging it on the business side. Knock out all the "one-and-done" tasks early so that you can focus on the daily work later.
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#6 - I'm Officially in Business!
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