Ok, one of the first things people ask me with a surprise look is “You have your own company?” Yes, it is not hard to setup a company; it’s the easiest part of the American Dream.
I have been asked numerous times, and I explain that it is very easy to setup a company. Unfortunately, I have set up many, some worked out, some have not. One company I actually created the corporate documents, federal required number, and opened up the bank account while waiting for my plane in Dusseldorf, Germany. Meanwhile, our German company, a GmbH that we have been processing for two months still doesn’t have its final bank account, but this is about the American corporate structures and how to set one up in Florida, not about the flaws in the German business system.
First you may want to read over the difference in a LLC versus S Corp, you can do that here: http://www.diffen.com/difference/LLC_vs_S_Corporation
I personally recommend an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). LLCs are very flexible and can be filed in many ways in the future. See a tax accountant, or do your own research, but don’t create any excuses to keep you from moving forward.
After that, its three easy things:
- File Articles of Organization
- Get an Employer Identification Number
- Open business account
First you need to file your Articles of Organization under the company. This elects who is liable for the company, who is managing it, etc. If it’s a simple company you are creating (one owner LLC) it only takes about three min to do this via the web.
Do it the old school way, fill this out by hand: ($125)
http://form.sunbiz.org/pdf/cr2e047.pdf
Or do it online now: (same price, via credit card)
https://efile.sunbiz.org/llc_file.html
Second you need to get you Employer Identification Number (EIN). The EIN number is required to open up the bank account. This is what you get for taxes of that company, or if you hire people, etc.
After you get your Corporation documents, you can go file for the EIN on the IRS website.
Get your EIN number here:
https://sa1.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp
Congrats, you now have a corporation. This took 10 min to do.
Third, make the bank account. Now you have your corporation filed with the State. You have your EIN number filed with the IRS. With both of these documents, you can go to a local bank and open an account. I personally recommend Bank of America, because of their mobile application and they have fast wire transfers.
In a week or two, you should have your new company account created, your checks with your company name, your personal bankcard for your company, etc.
Now, while this was processing, hopefully you started getting business cards, flyers, emails, websites, etc setup for the company.
For more information or questions, drop me a message or post a comment.