SHREVEPORT, La. -- Have you ever thought about leaving your corporate job and starting your own company?
It turns out that New Year's is a time when a lot of people consider doing just that and becoming their own boss. Roughly 30% of those who start a new business do so in the month of January.
But the help site LegalZoom said if you do branch out on your own, you'd better be following a smart playbook, including taking the following steps:òòò½ÊÓƵ
- Create a business plan, that shows where the profits will come from.
- Name your business and do a trademark search and social media platform search to make sure it's unique.
- Figure out your company structure, which may be anything from a corporation to a sole proprietorship. LegalZoom says the majority of people who form with them do it as a limited liability corporation, or LLC.
- Get all the legal documents filled out.
- Do your compliance, if needed, such as obtaining insurance or filing for permits.
Your personal situation also may play a part. Whether you're married or single doesn't determine what kind of entity you would choose.
But LegalZoom senior marketing director Erin Mrozek said if you are doing this as a married couple, you must decide if you both want to be listed as owners of the company.
"Whether it's an LLC, or a corporation, you yourself could be listed, your partner could be listed, or both of you could be listed. That's really what you need to determine, do you both want to be owners and if so, the tax implications? How you can pay yourself out for earnings, that sort of thing," said Mrozek.òòò½ÊÓƵòòò½ÊÓƵ
She added that if you don't take the proper legal precautions before you're into it too far, and the business goes belly up or someone sues, it could put you in a bad position financially and legally.
Some of the more popular self-employment categories are consultant, content producer, ride-share driver or specialty baker.
More information is available at .
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