Start A Business

You have the idea and the drive. Now you need to figure out your next steps. From defining the type of business entity you should create to all the proper paperwork you need to support your business, Schooley Law Firm is ready to help you build your dreams.

CHOOSING A TYPE OF BUSINESS ENTITY

Limited liability companies, corporations, partnerships, and sole proprietorships have different requirements, strengths, weaknesses, and tax treatment.  Which type of business entity is right for your company will depend on many factors, such as the number of owners and employees and the type of work performed by the company. Choosing the wrong one can cause setbacks down the road, both due to the unforeseen consequences of the choice of entity and the expense of changing the company to the more appropriate entity type.

 

CREATING ORGANIZATIONAL DOCUMENTS

The more time you spend setting parameters for your new company’s operations, the better prepared it will be to handle disputes, complications, and growth.  When a business does not have clear rules at the outset governing the responsibilities of the company’s leadership and employees, disagreements that arise later can result in lawsuits that are far more costly than setting those boundaries at the outset.  Depending on its circumstances, your new company could benefit from:

  • Employment contracts: setting both the company’s expectations and the employee’s expectations, including compensation, vacation and sick leave, responsibilities of the employee, and termination of employment
  • Confidentiality agreements: putting executives and employees on notice of their obligation to keep trade secrets, customer lists, and other proprietary information of the company confidential
  • Purchase agreements or buy-sell agreements: providing the company a way forward if one of the owners wishes to leave the company or dies
  • Corporate bylaws/operating agreements/partnership agreements: these documents allow you to customize default state law on how the company itself will take actions, from setting out what percentage of ownership must agree before certain changes, expenses, or decisions are made, to determining the company’s practice of recordkeeping.