can anyone help or point to sites for information on what are the steps to starting a company? registering the company name…etc?
dept of labor . gov
business license dept in your local city hall.
Depending on what state you’re in the process is different.
In Missouri you go to the website for the Secretary of State and establish a fictitious name for the company
ex. 123 Design
You then register 123 Design as an LLC or S-Corp or whatever you decide (talk to a CPA to figure out which is best for you). You will then pay and receive your certificate, here you get a pdf online to print out.
The state then lists you as 123 Design LLC.
Next go to your local bank and open a free small business checking account using the fictitious name that you registered. This will let you accept and cash checks made out to either you or the company and you can assign other users.
Whenever you do a project, deposit the payment into the business account and then pay yourself buy moving the cash to your personal checking. This helps you track everything for when tax season comes around. It also protects you from getting sued and having your business funds attacked.
Thats pretty much it.
does that protect u from others using 123 Design in MO only? or nationwide or even international?
should u also submit your logotype and name to the USPTO for trademark protection?
thanks for your answers, as well as others that did, they were helpful…
Talk to a CPA (certified public accountant) and they should be able to help you answer these questions. Depending on what you do there are different risks, liabilities, etc. Too many for me to go into here.