Here are the 5 basic steps to starting a corporation. I know this looks super basic, but the corporate formalities and maintaining your corporation are a completely other story. We’ll get into that in a future post.
1. Check whether the company name you want to use is available.
2. Submit the proper paperwork to the filing office of the state.
A Corporation should file “Articles of Incorporation,” whereas an LLC files “Articles of Organization.” The information included in the Articles of Incorporation is:
- The name of the company,
- The address of the company,
- A list of corporate contact persons, referred to as Registered Agents, along with their names and addresses, and
- A list of the company’s directors and officers (some states require this information).
3. A “Meeting of the Organization” should be held to adopt the company’s bylaws or operating agreement (in the case of corporations and LLC’s).
There are specific ways in which corporations must operate by law. Meetings of shareholders and directors are one corporate formality requiring minutes and the recording of important decisions.
4. Get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) and open a company account.
5. Obtain a local business license and contractor’s license from your county.
