General advice: winning mostly means not losing for long enough. Avoid over extending. Almost everyone I know that has lost their shirt did it because they over-extended on a deal that went sour. You can be 100% right and still get squished if you can't ride it out.
That's some sound advice. I've seen it in other people's businesses, but I will definitely try to keep my eagerness in check when/if large deals appear. Thanks!
I'm in the process of starting a small business! I'm planning to do set up in January. I used to work for an attorney who did business formation, so I'm somewhat familiar with the process. Here's my list of stuff to do:
Line up any vendors I need so I can spend money on them after LLC formation. Includes CPA, graphic designer, manufacturers, web stuff. Set up email address to receive confirmations for everything below. My pre-formation work includes doing small time testing of some stuff that I'm just going to eat as a personal cost. This includes formulating per-product costs to determine financial and time feasibility. It's not worth pulling the trigger if the per-product cost is too high for a customer to contemplate paying. (I know how much I'd be willing to pay and I'm going to need to keep it under that.)
LLC formation. My advice here is that it's crucial to have an operating agreement, as that will be an important document that outlines what needs to happen in various situations.
Business licenses for my state and city.
Business bank account(s).
Business insurance. For me this will include specific stuff related to making my products and liability for them (cosmetics).
EIN - will discuss with my CPA if I need one. It varies depending on your business structure.
Figure out when I need to file taxes/estimated taxes.
Buy all the supplies I need. Keep receipts obviously. Talk with CPA about start up costs and how those factor into taxes BEFORE filing your LLC.
Set up website and whatever. Social media etc.
Put products together.
Scream and hit the launch button.
The good news is that most of these are renewable yearly or you only need to do them once, so you can hopefully focus on making your stuff and getting it out the door! I suggest learning about shipping well in advance.
I hadn't heard of this, I'll have to look into it. Otherwise, this list looks much like my own, so I'm glad to see I'm on somewhat the right track.
note about registered agents... Pick someone with a good reputation, not the cheapest option.
That's a good heads up. I'm actually planning to meet with a local small business development organization, I'll have to see if they can give me recommendations.
My charity uses a registered agent. It’s safe and not expensive. However, registered agents technically have a narrow scope: receiving documents from the Secretary of State and other legal process serving. The agent may prohibit its address for use as a business address. Of course, small organizations have been known to ignore this; as long as they receive most/all mail digitally, the RA doesn’t notice.
There are various full-service compliance companies that will maintain a “virtual office” for your LLC and handle a majority of compliance tasks. These are convenient but pricey. (Some will let you pick and choose which services to offload vs. handle yourself.) In your case, a P.O. Box or CMRA address may suffice for paper mail. Financial accounts often request a “physical address where the majority of business activity occurs” as an identity verification/fraud prevention mechanism (KYC), which if you don’t have an office might end up being your personal address, but that information wouldn’t be public.
It’s quite a muddle. The business compliance industry really squeezes small-scale enterprises. I advise speaking to a transactional attorney familiar with business formation in your state. I’m sure the development corp you mention is a great resource.
An additional and separate note about registered agents: there are many, many companies out there that offer a registered agent service. It's important to know that the registered agent is the party that may receive things like renewal notices and service of process. This means that if you get sued, the registered agent will be served. It is important that if you are going to use a service for this role, they be a responsive company that will alert you as soon as possible, and also that they're generally proactive. If they're going to file your annual report as well, for example, you want them to do that before it's due, not a month late... Pick someone with a good reputation, not the cheapest option.
If your company is formed on your state it could be you as agent. If you form a Delaware C-Corp company make sure you don't make too many shares or you get a huge tax bill. You'll very likely want at least an LLC, maybe S-Corp. C-Corp is only needed if you want to raise money.
On my first company the best advice was from my grandfather (who'd done multiple companies): get an attorney and accountant first.
I plan to make my business an LLC to help with this.
This is definitely a good plan, might be worth checking with a CPA to determine how taxes would work since I think rules surrounding LLCs are state-dependent.
What sort of product are you looking at? A chemical formulation could be protected as a trade secret, and for some items you might be able to protect the production/process parameters, but most items I suspect you’ll have to either patent or copyright it. Keep in mind that there’s a zillion Chinese companies that could make a cheap clone. You’ll need to make it as difficult for them to do so.
It's a physical product that would be trivial to replicate, but from my (admittedly inexpert) research there aren't any patents for something quite like it. Fortunately, the customer base is niche enough that it might not be advantageous for a large player to steal it, and I have a unique level of access to the customer base and my distribution channel that means it will mostly go from my hands to the customer's without much travel or advertising needed. I don't need a huge customer base for my own definition of success, so I think I can get where I want to be faster than anyone is likely to find out about it and copy it. Plus, there's a ton of distribution loyalty in my line of work, so I'd make sales even if a cheap alternative arose. The only reason I'm even considering a patent is to give myself the opportunity to sell said patent later if I wanted to get out of the manufacturing part of the business and focus on other projects.
You can do the provisional patent filing yourself for very cheap (<$500). That sets the -date for registration. Gives you 12months to get a real one ($25000?) and if you don't makes it so other folk cannot either because of your prior art.
I don't have any good advice about business but I remember your story in a career thread and it was really inspirational.
Best of luck with the business. Doors cannot stop you, and neither can the administrative burden of setting up your business.
You will break open this market using your mind and skills like a tension wrench, or a "twist-flex" tension wrench, or an offset diamond pick, or a ball pick, or a half-diamond pick, or a short hook, or a medium hook, or a city rake, or even - dare I say it - a snake rake
You can search trade mark databases in most countries for free. While the laws differ in different countries, the general tests for a “good” trade marks are:
it is distinctive and capable of acting as a “badge of origin”. That is, when people see it, the think of you as the source. Descriptive trade marks or words/phrases that other businesses would have a legitimate need to use are no good. (“Smartphone” is never going to get registered, “Galaxy” is a good TM for phones)
can’t be similar to currently registered trade marks, for similar goods and services claimed.
Basically, when you file for a trade marks, you choose a word/phrase/image and the class of goods or services you want. Generally you want to claim a “class heading”, as that will give you the broadest protection, but they means you will be more likely to butt up against other registered TMs.
Also, be aware that just because the IP Office might grant you a right, it doesn’t stop other companies taking you to court. Apple does this a lot for cases they would 100% lose, but they can destroy small businesses with legal fees and time.
TL:DR, try and be as unique and non-descriptive as possible.
bme | 22 hours ago
General advice: winning mostly means not losing for long enough. Avoid over extending. Almost everyone I know that has lost their shirt did it because they over-extended on a deal that went sour. You can be 100% right and still get squished if you can't ride it out.
[OP] doors_cannot_stop_me | 21 hours ago
That's some sound advice. I've seen it in other people's businesses, but I will definitely try to keep my eagerness in check when/if large deals appear. Thanks!
crialpaca | 23 hours ago
I'm in the process of starting a small business! I'm planning to do set up in January. I used to work for an attorney who did business formation, so I'm somewhat familiar with the process. Here's my list of stuff to do:
The good news is that most of these are renewable yearly or you only need to do them once, so you can hopefully focus on making your stuff and getting it out the door! I suggest learning about shipping well in advance.
[OP] doors_cannot_stop_me | 21 hours ago
Holy cow thanks for all the info!
I hadn't heard of this, I'll have to look into it. Otherwise, this list looks much like my own, so I'm glad to see I'm on somewhat the right track.
That's a good heads up. I'm actually planning to meet with a local small business development organization, I'll have to see if they can give me recommendations.
Thank you, and good luck with your new business!
Atvelonis | 5 hours ago
My charity uses a registered agent. It’s safe and not expensive. However, registered agents technically have a narrow scope: receiving documents from the Secretary of State and other legal process serving. The agent may prohibit its address for use as a business address. Of course, small organizations have been known to ignore this; as long as they receive most/all mail digitally, the RA doesn’t notice.
There are various full-service compliance companies that will maintain a “virtual office” for your LLC and handle a majority of compliance tasks. These are convenient but pricey. (Some will let you pick and choose which services to offload vs. handle yourself.) In your case, a P.O. Box or CMRA address may suffice for paper mail. Financial accounts often request a “physical address where the majority of business activity occurs” as an identity verification/fraud prevention mechanism (KYC), which if you don’t have an office might end up being your personal address, but that information wouldn’t be public.
It’s quite a muddle. The business compliance industry really squeezes small-scale enterprises. I advise speaking to a transactional attorney familiar with business formation in your state. I’m sure the development corp you mention is a great resource.
crialpaca | 23 hours ago
An additional and separate note about registered agents: there are many, many companies out there that offer a registered agent service. It's important to know that the registered agent is the party that may receive things like renewal notices and service of process. This means that if you get sued, the registered agent will be served. It is important that if you are going to use a service for this role, they be a responsive company that will alert you as soon as possible, and also that they're generally proactive. If they're going to file your annual report as well, for example, you want them to do that before it's due, not a month late... Pick someone with a good reputation, not the cheapest option.
edoceo | 10 hours ago
If your company is formed on your state it could be you as agent. If you form a Delaware C-Corp company make sure you don't make too many shares or you get a huge tax bill. You'll very likely want at least an LLC, maybe S-Corp. C-Corp is only needed if you want to raise money.
On my first company the best advice was from my grandfather (who'd done multiple companies): get an attorney and accountant first.
Zorind | a day ago
This is definitely a good plan, might be worth checking with a CPA to determine how taxes would work since I think rules surrounding LLCs are state-dependent.
[OP] doors_cannot_stop_me | 21 hours ago
I will definitely need to do that. I have a good friend that's a CPA, maybe he can advise me. Thanks!
nukeman | 22 hours ago
What sort of product are you looking at? A chemical formulation could be protected as a trade secret, and for some items you might be able to protect the production/process parameters, but most items I suspect you’ll have to either patent or copyright it. Keep in mind that there’s a zillion Chinese companies that could make a cheap clone. You’ll need to make it as difficult for them to do so.
[OP] doors_cannot_stop_me | 21 hours ago
It's a physical product that would be trivial to replicate, but from my (admittedly inexpert) research there aren't any patents for something quite like it. Fortunately, the customer base is niche enough that it might not be advantageous for a large player to steal it, and I have a unique level of access to the customer base and my distribution channel that means it will mostly go from my hands to the customer's without much travel or advertising needed. I don't need a huge customer base for my own definition of success, so I think I can get where I want to be faster than anyone is likely to find out about it and copy it. Plus, there's a ton of distribution loyalty in my line of work, so I'd make sales even if a cheap alternative arose. The only reason I'm even considering a patent is to give myself the opportunity to sell said patent later if I wanted to get out of the manufacturing part of the business and focus on other projects.
edoceo | 9 hours ago
You can do the provisional patent filing yourself for very cheap (<$500). That sets the -date for registration. Gives you 12months to get a real one ($25000?) and if you don't makes it so other folk cannot either because of your prior art.
mysterylevel | 9 hours ago
Please contact a patent attorney if possible and discuss options if you think you really have a corner locked down :)
Edit, it's likely cheaper than you think for a consultation
picketship | 8 hours ago
I don't have any good advice about business but I remember your story in a career thread and it was really inspirational.
Best of luck with the business. Doors cannot stop you, and neither can the administrative burden of setting up your business.
You will break open this market using your mind and skills like a tension wrench, or a "twist-flex" tension wrench, or an offset diamond pick, or a ball pick, or a half-diamond pick, or a short hook, or a medium hook, or a city rake, or even - dare I say it - a snake rake
DoubleSupercool | 9 hours ago
You can search trade mark databases in most countries for free. While the laws differ in different countries, the general tests for a “good” trade marks are:
it is distinctive and capable of acting as a “badge of origin”. That is, when people see it, the think of you as the source. Descriptive trade marks or words/phrases that other businesses would have a legitimate need to use are no good. (“Smartphone” is never going to get registered, “Galaxy” is a good TM for phones)
can’t be similar to currently registered trade marks, for similar goods and services claimed.
Basically, when you file for a trade marks, you choose a word/phrase/image and the class of goods or services you want. Generally you want to claim a “class heading”, as that will give you the broadest protection, but they means you will be more likely to butt up against other registered TMs.
Also, be aware that just because the IP Office might grant you a right, it doesn’t stop other companies taking you to court. Apple does this a lot for cases they would 100% lose, but they can destroy small businesses with legal fees and time.
TL:DR, try and be as unique and non-descriptive as possible.