Small Business Resources, Business Advice and Forms from AllBusiness.com
 

Checklist: Incorporation Basics

Incorporating your business can be complicated, but following this checklist can help ensure you don't get overwhelmed or miss any critical steps.

  • Write a solid business plan. This may be the single most important step in starting a successful business.
  • Choose your management team. Make sure the team members are capable and competent, with skill sets that complement one another.
  • Decide on a business structure. Check with your accountant and lawyer before making any final decisions.
  • Select a corporate name. Check to see if the name you have selected is available from the Secretary of State in your state, and do a Google or Yahoo search to make sure that name is available.
  • Select a state in which to incorporate. While many businesses decide to incorporate in the state in which they reside, many are choosing Delaware or Nevada, which have the most corporate-friendly state laws.
  • Create a capitalization plan for the corporation. By creating a carefully researched business plan that includes realistic cash flow and other financial projections, you will be on your way to success.

In addition, make sure to read these articles:

  • Nash Shares Knowledge, Supports Start-Up...
  • For John Nash, the most meaningful rewards in life come from helping others. It is this philosophy that led him to win a 2002 Entrepreneurial ......
  • 'Angel Groups' Provide Funding Option for Business...
  • KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Angel investment groups, formed by individual angel investors banding together, are emerging as an attractive seed-stage funding alternative for start-up companies, ......
  • Synapta Kicks-Off 2000-2001 Season of New...
  • Business Editors/Technology Writers PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 29, 2000 Startup-Focused Web Developer Backs a Series of Entrepreneurial Events, Business Plan Competition and Job Fair at ......
  • Tips: Incorporation Basics
  • After you have incorporated your business, it must remain financially and legally separate from any of its shareholders in order to preserve the benefits and ......
  • Small business--choosing your business structure
  • Small business--choosing your business structure Choosing your business structure should not be an afterthought. There are a few tasks every entrepreneur tackles when launching ......
  • First steps to developing your business plan
  • Developing a business plan will force you to think through some important issues that you may not otherwise consider. Your plan will become a valuable ......
  • First steps to developing your business plan.
  • Developing a business plan will force you to think through some important issues that you may not otherwise consider. Your plan will become a valuable ......
  • First steps to developing your business plan.
  • Developing a business plan will force you to think through some important issues that you may not otherwise consider. Your plan will become a valuable ......
  • The Engineer Entrepreneur.
  • Daniel T. Koenig. ASME Press, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990. 350 pages. 2003. ISBN 0-7918-0193-4. Members, $52; list, $65. Although there are many ......
  • Managing technology during a downturn: time to...
  • "Would you tell me, please; which way I ought to go from here?" said Alice. "That depends a good deal on where you want to ......
  • EVOLVING SKILL SETS.
  • EVOLVING SKILL SETS CFOs were asked, "Other than financial expertise, which one of the following do you think will be the most critical to an ......
  • Questions to Answer in Your Business Plan
  • This section of the AllBusiness.com Buyer's Guide to Business Planning Tools tells you how to start your business plan by defining the elements of your ......
  • Quicken.com - Incorporation Basics
  • Incorporation Basics : "Incorporation Basics" "There are three major requirements for incorporating your business: securing your corporate name, filing the necessary documentation and paying ......
  • Managed-Care Organizations Take Gamble with...
  • Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers FRISCO, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 18, 2003 With the date of a government-mandated deadline rapidly approaching, a large percentage of managed-care organizations are taking ......