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SuccessfulStartup101The Know-How You Need to Lead You On Your Path To Business Success

There are many different reasons for considering the birth of a sole proprietorship an lsquoSrsquo or a lsquoCrsquo corporation Many of those reasons will deal with things such as liability for debts damages and the ever present need to limit the tax liability you and others will incur

A brief discussion about some of these will be appropriate and then we will get down into the actual setting up of the type of corporation you are thinking about

Which Type of Corporation Is Right for You

How To Set Up A CorporationForming Your LLC S or C Corp

By Tedd Johnson incomecom

There are many different reasons for considering the birth of a sole proprietorship an lsquoSrsquo or a lsquoCrsquo corporation Many of those reasons will deal with things such as liability for debts damages and the ever present need to limit the tax liability you and others will incur

A brief discussion about some of these will be appropriate and then we will get down into the actual setting up of the type of corporation you are thinking about

Which Type of Corporation Is Right for You

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPThis is the most common form of ownership used by many of the Internet Marketers and most other very small business people This is often what is entered into even for some of the large companies as start ups They will usually quickly change this form into something else however it is helpful in the beginning This form of ownership ties the owner and the business together as one entity You as the owner are responsible for all debts and enjoy all the profits The tax liability is yours for the entire amount of net profits

The lsquoSrsquo CORPORATIONThis form of corporation will allow you to pass all of the profits to the

shareholders so that not all earnings of the corporation are a tax liability for you personally You are one of the shareholders possibly the controlling shareholder and you are taxed on only the amount you receive as an employee of the corporation There are restrictions on what companies cannot be lsquoSrsquo corporations however if you have less than 75 shareholders and all of them are US citizens and you are not a bank or other financial institution this will be a popular choice for you

The lsquoCrsquo CORPORATIONThis is the standard form of corporation in the United States The primary advantage of course is the shield it provides for liability in the

case of someone slipping on your floor and hurting themselves One of the disadvantages based on your point of view is the double taxation

When the lsquoCrsquo corporation makes money it pays corporate taxes on that money Whatever is left over after retained earnings are either saved or spent on capitol investments or other expenses is distributed to the share or stock holders As an employee of the corporation you receive a lsquosalaryrsquo which is then taxed at the normal personal tax rate you currently enjoy ()

Consulting your attorney or having a conversation with your accountant or tax expert would be appropriate to identify the best form of corporation

ADVANTAGES amp LIMITATIONS C CORPORATION SUBCHAPTER S

CORPORATION LIMITED LIABILITY

COMPANY

(What most

corporations are be default)

(A special corporation owned by only a few

persons)

Double Taxation Yes No (Although it

sometimes does on state taxes)

No (Unless the owners chose to set it

up differently)

Protects owners from personal liability Yes Yes Yes

Can sell different classes of ownership

in the company Yes No Yes

Can sell different classes of ownership

in the company Yes No Yes

Has tax exemptions No Yes (From self

employment tax on profits)

No

Limit on number of owners No Yes (No more than

100) No

Can be owned by other companies or Yes No Yes

to take It is necessary to point out that many companies start with one form and move to another to safeguard their interests and make for the best liability tax treatment A brief discussion of some of the tax benefits will be held at the end of this exercise

There will be intermediate steps we will be going through as we proceed with this process

1 Choosing a Corporate Name and Address

A corporate name must end with the suffix of lsquoInc Incorporated Limited Corporationrsquo or the like Whatever name you have come up with must be verified with the state you will be incorporating in to ensure it is available for use and not being used or

contested by some other entity It also can not have any word that could imply it is part of a governmental entity such as lsquoFederal government USrsquo or anything that could confuse people about association with official entities

A quick check with the Corporation Board in the state oincorporation may cost a few dollars for the search however it will save a lot of time and embarrassment The address must be a physical location where the offices will be located and where any person to person business will be conducted This address can change later however to get the ball rolling a solid address is necessary

2 Select a State in Which to Incorporate

Identify which State you will be incorporating in The best of all answers is the State in which you reside This will make it a lot easier and a few less questions that you will have to answer

3 File lsquoFictitious Namersquo Registration

If you are naming your corporation after your own name this will not be necessary But what is fun about that You will be selling products or services as the ABC Company or something so your State needs to know that that means you As you proceed along with this process you will be telling them that you are actually going to be ABC Company Inc

4 Determine Company Directors

Deciding on the Directors for your corporation is sometimes as easy as naming the owners as directors Most States do not require that the owner or owners must be directors These are usually selected as a means of ensuring you have enough expertise to handle all of the major decisions that need to be

made They will be involved in deciding all financial matters They will also have the say in issuing stock and when that can be done The policy decisions that must be made will usually come from this august body Be sure to identify the regulations in your State of incorporation as to the minimum usually one and the maximum number of directors These will be listed in the business plan and in the Articles of Incorporation you prepare for various reasons

Choose these individuals carefully It is recommended that the first one chosen is then enlisted for assistance in choosing the others It would help although not required that some have a background in law and others have demonstrated abilities in advertising Website construction e-commerce management and all other areas of need to complement you and can help provide direction as their namesake would indicate

5 File lsquoArticles of Incorporationrsquo

The filing of this paperwork can be done in a few minutes by filling out a form in the state capitol usually at the corporate board or Secretary of Statersquos office This is sometimes called a lsquocharterrsquo or a lsquocertificate of incorporationrsquo As a single owner you would fill this out and sign your name as the owner and lsquoincorporatorrsquo If there is more than one owner they may all sign or one can be designated to sign for the whole body

This simple form will require information such as the name of company its physical address and the name of the Directors There will also be a designation of a lsquoregistered agentrsquo for the corporation This will be you or one of the other owners It might also be one of the Directors This person will be the point person for contacting the Corporation for any and all legal matters and must be empowered by it to address those matters This is simply notice that official incorporation papers will be coming later

6 Create Corporate lsquoBy-Lawsrsquo

The By Laws are the rules that the board of directors will use in the day to day operation of the corporation It addresses issues such as when the shareholders meetings are held and what voting rights are allowed for classes of board members In addition to these it puts into plain language

1 The issuance of stock and how each class will be treated in relation to all meetings held

2 How to deal with proxy votes3 Specifies how Special meetings

are to be called and who should attend

4 How dividends if any are to be considered

5 What constitutes a Quorum for purposes of conducting meetings

6 Conduct meetings quorums and business activities of the Board of Directors will also be put into this document

7 Compensation to the Board of Directors as well as the election of all officers will be spelled out

8 Other issues spelled out as needed

There are several websites that will allow you to download a formatted By-Laws form All of the normal lsquoboiler platersquo is already present which will stand in any State within the United States There will be blanks for names addresses and the various dates that will need to be filled in You

can also get an attorney to do this for you however the various forms are appropriate for most applications

7 Hold First Shareholder Meeting

The first meeting of the Shareholders will need to be held fairly soon In this first meeting several things will have to be decided in order to move forward

1 The appointment of Directors This can be as informal as you simply making them aware that they are what you have asked them to be There can also be an election if there are more members present than Board members needed

2 Adopt the By-Laws This will have been put together already or it can be discussed and formed within this meeting and then formally accepted by means of vote or by acclamation

3 Decide on the fiscal year4 Appoint or elect officers of the

board 5 Identify the type of stock being

issued whether common or preferred and how many will be offered and at what price

6 Authorize the issuance of the stocks previously established and creating the certificate itself and a corporate seal for them

7 If the new corporation will be an lsquoSrsquo corporation a unanimous election of the lsquoSrsquo corporation status must also be made

In accordance with the laws in every State minutes should always be taken for each meeting and the tallies of any legally binding votes will also be made (For this reason the secretary is almost always voted on first)

As you are issuing the stocks it is important to maintain detailed records

of the person purchasing the stock how many and what price as well as how the shareholder will be paying for them In some States a statement must be made to the State corporation board as to these transactions

It is important to note that you should not operate in the Corporationrsquos name until these stocks have been issued even if they are only issued to you This activity is the means whereby the corporation is indeed a corporation and you must have that to enjoy the benefits that a corporation gives you Large amounts of stock being sold or any public offerings of stocks must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in your State of incorporation

8 Process and file all incorporation paperwork with registered agent

An Articles of Incorporation must be prepared to announce all that you

have developed to the State corporation board It may seem like you are simply reporting all of the many details you have hammered out however it is important for the registering all of that with the State so they know about you and the new corporation you have started In this form you will set out the following

1 Your new corporation name address and the lsquoincorporatorrsquosrsquo name and contact information along with the form of the corporation taken such as lsquoSrsquo or lsquoCrsquo

2 The type of business in which you are involved as will as a specific description of this business A statement such as lsquoThe ABC Company Inc will be selling Internet Marketing lessons products and services to a World Wide marketrsquo

3 State whether the corporation will be or stay private or whether it will go public and approximately when that may occur

4 Indicate the number and classification of stock certificates that have been sold and the par value of those

5 A statement of the form of your corporation will need to be made

6 The management structure will be listed and how taxes are to be paid

7 The By-Laws that have been established and accepted by your shareholders will be attached as well as a listing of the major stockholders

8 Also list any of the many regulations that may exist that could restrict your activities in major areas

Upon the completion and submission of this form the State will issue the Certificate of Incorporation

9 Obtain the Certificate of IncorporationThis will be mailed to you and it can be hung up in a nice frame

10 Obtain appropriate licenses and permitsNow that you have a new business entity all of the licenses must either be renewed under that new name or new applications made This would include a business license in the City County and or State you will be operating in This will also be a permit for the building you will be occupying if appropriate You will also need an employerrsquos identification number from the IRS and a resellerrsquos number if appropriate

Notes of Conclusion

There are definite benefits to incorporating your business and some of these will help business men and women make this decision It is not entered into lightly as there are legal restrictions and some element of control of the business being lost This is made up for by some of the better tax treatments and do not forget the possible reputation enhancement that comes with lsquoIncrsquo being associated with your new enterprise

Some Benefits of Incorporation

The ability to raise capitol easily or at least easier The ability to gain investors in a way as to limit their liability is a matter of offering stock Many investors will appreciate this way to multiply their money without having to work for it

The choice of a tax year that is closely associated with the cycle of

your industry is beneficial in many areas This can be selected as a lsquoCrsquo corporation but not an lsquoSrsquo corp

The ability of stock owners to be able to sell their stocks without permission makes for a flexible and ever changing ownership base

The corporation can outlive its owners The ownership through stocks and controlling shares can be passed down to allow family ownership to continue

The protection of liability is one of the top reasons This allows the corporation to be liable for things that go wrong or losses to be absorbed by it as a separate entity

Favorable tax treatment This is probably the best reasons people find to incorporate In the lsquoCrsquo corporation type you along with all other owners are employees of the corporation You get a check every month just like everyone else The corporation can be very profitable with most of the earnings going back into capitol expenditures and you will only pay personal income taxes on that check you get

Without the corporation you would be on the hook for all of the taxes for all of the profits you make and still have to make those capitol expenditures

With the Sub-chapter lsquoSrsquo Corporation all of the profits are passed through the corporation to each of the owners if that selection has been made by all members of the shareholders This will allow them to only pay taxes on the income they receive in their paychecks

Furthermore in an lsquoSrsquo corporation if there are losses they can be passed back to the shareholders so they can be reported as losses and reduce their tax liability

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPThis is the most common form of ownership used by many of the Internet Marketers and most other very small business people This is often what is entered into even for some of the large companies as start ups They will usually quickly change this form into something else however it is helpful in the beginning This form of ownership ties the owner and the business together as one entity You as the owner are responsible for all debts and enjoy all the profits The tax liability is yours for the entire amount of net profits

The lsquoSrsquo CORPORATIONThis form of corporation will allow you to pass all of the profits to the

shareholders so that not all earnings of the corporation are a tax liability for you personally You are one of the shareholders possibly the controlling shareholder and you are taxed on only the amount you receive as an employee of the corporation There are restrictions on what companies cannot be lsquoSrsquo corporations however if you have less than 75 shareholders and all of them are US citizens and you are not a bank or other financial institution this will be a popular choice for you

The lsquoCrsquo CORPORATIONThis is the standard form of corporation in the United States The primary advantage of course is the shield it provides for liability in the

case of someone slipping on your floor and hurting themselves One of the disadvantages based on your point of view is the double taxation

When the lsquoCrsquo corporation makes money it pays corporate taxes on that money Whatever is left over after retained earnings are either saved or spent on capitol investments or other expenses is distributed to the share or stock holders As an employee of the corporation you receive a lsquosalaryrsquo which is then taxed at the normal personal tax rate you currently enjoy ()

Consulting your attorney or having a conversation with your accountant or tax expert would be appropriate to identify the best form of corporation

to take It is necessary to point out that many companies start with one form and move to another to safeguard their interests and make for the best liability tax treatment A brief discussion of some of the tax benefits will be held at the end of this exercise

There will be intermediate steps we will be going through as we proceed with this process

1 Choosing a Corporate Name and Address

A corporate name must end with the suffix of lsquoInc Incorporated Limited Corporationrsquo or the like Whatever name you have come up with must be verified with the state you will be incorporating in to ensure it is available for use and not being used or

contested by some other entity It also can not have any word that could imply it is part of a governmental entity such as lsquoFederal government USrsquo or anything that could confuse people about association with official entities

A quick check with the Corporation Board in the state oincorporation may cost a few dollars for the search however it will save a lot of time and embarrassment The address must be a physical location where the offices will be located and where any person to person business will be conducted This address can change later however to get the ball rolling a solid address is necessary

2 Select a State in Which to Incorporate

Identify which State you will be incorporating in The best of all answers is the State in which you reside This will make it a lot easier and a few less questions that you will have to answer

3 File lsquoFictitious Namersquo Registration

If you are naming your corporation after your own name this will not be necessary But what is fun about that You will be selling products or services as the ABC Company or something so your State needs to know that that means you As you proceed along with this process you will be telling them that you are actually going to be ABC Company Inc

4 Determine Company Directors

Deciding on the Directors for your corporation is sometimes as easy as naming the owners as directors Most States do not require that the owner or owners must be directors These are usually selected as a means of ensuring you have enough expertise to handle all of the major decisions that need to be

made They will be involved in deciding all financial matters They will also have the say in issuing stock and when that can be done The policy decisions that must be made will usually come from this august body Be sure to identify the regulations in your State of incorporation as to the minimum usually one and the maximum number of directors These will be listed in the business plan and in the Articles of Incorporation you prepare for various reasons

Choose these individuals carefully It is recommended that the first one chosen is then enlisted for assistance in choosing the others It would help although not required that some have a background in law and others have demonstrated abilities in advertising Website construction e-commerce management and all other areas of need to complement you and can help provide direction as their namesake would indicate

5 File lsquoArticles of Incorporationrsquo

The filing of this paperwork can be done in a few minutes by filling out a form in the state capitol usually at the corporate board or Secretary of Statersquos office This is sometimes called a lsquocharterrsquo or a lsquocertificate of incorporationrsquo As a single owner you would fill this out and sign your name as the owner and lsquoincorporatorrsquo If there is more than one owner they may all sign or one can be designated to sign for the whole body

HOW TO SET UP A CORPORATION FOR AND BY YOURSELF

The basic steps to take in setting up a corporation will be

1 Choosing a corporate name and address

2 Select a State in which to incorporate

3 File lsquoFictitious namersquo registration

4 Determine company Directors

5 File lsquoArticles of Incorporationrsquo

6 Create Corporate lsquoBy-Lawsrsquo7 Hold first Shareholder

meeting8 Process and file all

incorporation paperwork with registered agent

9 Obtain the Certificate of Incorporation and

10 Obtain appropriate licenses and permits

them that you are actually going to be

Deciding on the Directors for your corporation is sometimes as easy as naming the owners as directors Most States do not require that the owner or owners must be directors

This simple form will require information such as the name of company its physical address and the name of the Directors There will also be a designation of a lsquoregistered agentrsquo for the corporation This will be you or one of the other owners It might also be one of the Directors This person will be the point person for contacting the Corporation for any and all legal matters and must be empowered by it to address those matters This is simply notice that official incorporation papers will be coming later

6 Create Corporate lsquoBy-Lawsrsquo

The By Laws are the rules that the board of directors will use in the day to day operation of the corporation It addresses issues such as when the shareholders meetings are held and what voting rights are allowed for classes of board members In addition to these it puts into plain language

1 The issuance of stock and how each class will be treated in relation to all meetings held

2 How to deal with proxy votes3 Specifies how Special meetings

are to be called and who should attend

4 How dividends if any are to be considered

5 What constitutes a Quorum for purposes of conducting meetings

6 Conduct meetings quorums and business activities of the Board of Directors will also be put into this document

7 Compensation to the Board of Directors as well as the election of all officers will be spelled out

8 Other issues spelled out as needed

There are several websites that will allow you to download a formatted By-Laws form All of the normal lsquoboiler platersquo is already present which will stand in any State within the United States There will be blanks for names addresses and the various dates that will need to be filled in You

can also get an attorney to do this for you however the various forms are appropriate for most applications

7 Hold First Shareholder Meeting

The first meeting of the Shareholders will need to be held fairly soon In this first meeting several things will have to be decided in order to move forward

1 The appointment of Directors This can be as informal as you simply making them aware that they are what you have asked them to be There can also be an election if there are more members present than Board members needed

2 Adopt the By-Laws This will have been put together already or it can be discussed and formed within this meeting and then formally accepted by means of vote or by acclamation

3 Decide on the fiscal year4 Appoint or elect officers of the

board 5 Identify the type of stock being

issued whether common or preferred and how many will be offered and at what price

6 Authorize the issuance of the stocks previously established and creating the certificate itself and a corporate seal for them

7 If the new corporation will be an lsquoSrsquo corporation a unanimous election of the lsquoSrsquo corporation status must also be made

In accordance with the laws in every State minutes should always be taken for each meeting and the tallies of any legally binding votes will also be made (For this reason the secretary is almost always voted on first)

As you are issuing the stocks it is important to maintain detailed records

of the person purchasing the stock how many and what price as well as how the shareholder will be paying for them In some States a statement must be made to the State corporation board as to these transactions

It is important to note that you should not operate in the Corporationrsquos name until these stocks have been issued even if they are only issued to you This activity is the means whereby the corporation is indeed a corporation and you must have that to enjoy the benefits that a corporation gives you Large amounts of stock being sold or any public offerings of stocks must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in your State of incorporation

8 Process and file all incorporation paperwork with registered agent

An Articles of Incorporation must be prepared to announce all that you

have developed to the State corporation board It may seem like you are simply reporting all of the many details you have hammered out however it is important for the registering all of that with the State so they know about you and the new corporation you have started In this form you will set out the following

1 Your new corporation name address and the lsquoincorporatorrsquosrsquo name and contact information along with the form of the corporation taken such as lsquoSrsquo or lsquoCrsquo

2 The type of business in which you are involved as will as a specific description of this business A statement such as lsquoThe ABC Company Inc will be selling Internet Marketing lessons products and services to a World Wide marketrsquo

3 State whether the corporation will be or stay private or whether it will go public and approximately when that may occur

4 Indicate the number and classification of stock certificates that have been sold and the par value of those

5 A statement of the form of your corporation will need to be made

6 The management structure will be listed and how taxes are to be paid

7 The By-Laws that have been established and accepted by your shareholders will be attached as well as a listing of the major stockholders

8 Also list any of the many regulations that may exist that could restrict your activities in major areas

Upon the completion and submission of this form the State will issue the Certificate of Incorporation

9 Obtain the Certificate of IncorporationThis will be mailed to you and it can be hung up in a nice frame

10 Obtain appropriate licenses and permitsNow that you have a new business entity all of the licenses must either be renewed under that new name or new applications made This would include a business license in the City County and or State you will be operating in This will also be a permit for the building you will be occupying if appropriate You will also need an employerrsquos identification number from the IRS and a resellerrsquos number if appropriate

Notes of Conclusion

There are definite benefits to incorporating your business and some of these will help business men and women make this decision It is not entered into lightly as there are legal restrictions and some element of control of the business being lost This is made up for by some of the better tax treatments and do not forget the possible reputation enhancement that comes with lsquoIncrsquo being associated with your new enterprise

Some Benefits of Incorporation

The ability to raise capitol easily or at least easier The ability to gain investors in a way as to limit their liability is a matter of offering stock Many investors will appreciate this way to multiply their money without having to work for it

The choice of a tax year that is closely associated with the cycle of

your industry is beneficial in many areas This can be selected as a lsquoCrsquo corporation but not an lsquoSrsquo corp

The ability of stock owners to be able to sell their stocks without permission makes for a flexible and ever changing ownership base

The corporation can outlive its owners The ownership through stocks and controlling shares can be passed down to allow family ownership to continue

The protection of liability is one of the top reasons This allows the corporation to be liable for things that go wrong or losses to be absorbed by it as a separate entity

Favorable tax treatment This is probably the best reasons people find to incorporate In the lsquoCrsquo corporation type you along with all other owners are employees of the corporation You get a check every month just like everyone else The corporation can be very profitable with most of the earnings going back into capitol expenditures and you will only pay personal income taxes on that check you get

Without the corporation you would be on the hook for all of the taxes for all of the profits you make and still have to make those capitol expenditures

With the Sub-chapter lsquoSrsquo Corporation all of the profits are passed through the corporation to each of the owners if that selection has been made by all members of the shareholders This will allow them to only pay taxes on the income they receive in their paychecks

Furthermore in an lsquoSrsquo corporation if there are losses they can be passed back to the shareholders so they can be reported as losses and reduce their tax liability

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPThis is the most common form of ownership used by many of the Internet Marketers and most other very small business people This is often what is entered into even for some of the large companies as start ups They will usually quickly change this form into something else however it is helpful in the beginning This form of ownership ties the owner and the business together as one entity You as the owner are responsible for all debts and enjoy all the profits The tax liability is yours for the entire amount of net profits

The lsquoSrsquo CORPORATIONThis form of corporation will allow you to pass all of the profits to the

shareholders so that not all earnings of the corporation are a tax liability for you personally You are one of the shareholders possibly the controlling shareholder and you are taxed on only the amount you receive as an employee of the corporation There are restrictions on what companies cannot be lsquoSrsquo corporations however if you have less than 75 shareholders and all of them are US citizens and you are not a bank or other financial institution this will be a popular choice for you

The lsquoCrsquo CORPORATIONThis is the standard form of corporation in the United States The primary advantage of course is the shield it provides for liability in the

case of someone slipping on your floor and hurting themselves One of the disadvantages based on your point of view is the double taxation

When the lsquoCrsquo corporation makes money it pays corporate taxes on that money Whatever is left over after retained earnings are either saved or spent on capitol investments or other expenses is distributed to the share or stock holders As an employee of the corporation you receive a lsquosalaryrsquo which is then taxed at the normal personal tax rate you currently enjoy ()

Consulting your attorney or having a conversation with your accountant or tax expert would be appropriate to identify the best form of corporation

to take It is necessary to point out that many companies start with one form and move to another to safeguard their interests and make for the best liability tax treatment A brief discussion of some of the tax benefits will be held at the end of this exercise

There will be intermediate steps we will be going through as we proceed with this process

1 Choosing a Corporate Name and Address

A corporate name must end with the suffix of lsquoInc Incorporated Limited Corporationrsquo or the like Whatever name you have come up with must be verified with the state you will be incorporating in to ensure it is available for use and not being used or

contested by some other entity It also can not have any word that could imply it is part of a governmental entity such as lsquoFederal government USrsquo or anything that could confuse people about association with official entities

A quick check with the Corporation Board in the state oincorporation may cost a few dollars for the search however it will save a lot of time and embarrassment The address must be a physical location where the offices will be located and where any person to person business will be conducted This address can change later however to get the ball rolling a solid address is necessary

2 Select a State in Which to Incorporate

Identify which State you will be incorporating in The best of all answers is the State in which you reside This will make it a lot easier and a few less questions that you will have to answer

3 File lsquoFictitious Namersquo Registration

If you are naming your corporation after your own name this will not be necessary But what is fun about that You will be selling products or services as the ABC Company or something so your State needs to know that that means you As you proceed along with this process you will be telling them that you are actually going to be ABC Company Inc

4 Determine Company Directors

Deciding on the Directors for your corporation is sometimes as easy as naming the owners as directors Most States do not require that the owner or owners must be directors These are usually selected as a means of ensuring you have enough expertise to handle all of the major decisions that need to be

made They will be involved in deciding all financial matters They will also have the say in issuing stock and when that can be done The policy decisions that must be made will usually come from this august body Be sure to identify the regulations in your State of incorporation as to the minimum usually one and the maximum number of directors These will be listed in the business plan and in the Articles of Incorporation you prepare for various reasons

Choose these individuals carefully It is recommended that the first one chosen is then enlisted for assistance in choosing the others It would help although not required that some have a background in law and others have demonstrated abilities in advertising Website construction e-commerce management and all other areas of need to complement you and can help provide direction as their namesake would indicate

5 File lsquoArticles of Incorporationrsquo

The filing of this paperwork can be done in a few minutes by filling out a form in the state capitol usually at the corporate board or Secretary of Statersquos office This is sometimes called a lsquocharterrsquo or a lsquocertificate of incorporationrsquo As a single owner you would fill this out and sign your name as the owner and lsquoincorporatorrsquo If there is more than one owner they may all sign or one can be designated to sign for the whole body

This simple form will require information such as the name of company its physical address and the name of the Directors There will also be a designation of a lsquoregistered agentrsquo for the corporation This will be you or one of the other owners It might also be one of the Directors This person will be the point person for contacting the Corporation for any and all legal matters and must be empowered by it to address those matters This is simply notice that official incorporation papers will be coming later

6 Create Corporate lsquoBy-Lawsrsquo

The By Laws are the rules that the board of directors will use in the day to day operation of the corporation It addresses issues such as when the shareholders meetings are held and what voting rights are allowed for classes of board members In addition to these it puts into plain language

1 The issuance of stock and how each class will be treated in relation to all meetings held

2 How to deal with proxy votes3 Specifies how Special meetings

are to be called and who should attend

4 How dividends if any are to be considered

5 What constitutes a Quorum for purposes of conducting meetings

6 Conduct meetings quorums and business activities of the Board of Directors will also be put into this document

7 Compensation to the Board of Directors as well as the election of all officers will be spelled out

8 Other issues spelled out as needed

There are several websites that will allow you to download a formatted By-Laws form All of the normal lsquoboiler platersquo is already present which will stand in any State within the United States There will be blanks for names addresses and the various dates that will need to be filled in You

can also get an attorney to do this for you however the various forms are appropriate for most applications

7 Hold First Shareholder Meeting

The first meeting of the Shareholders will need to be held fairly soon In this first meeting several things will have to be decided in order to move forward

1 The appointment of Directors This can be as informal as you simply making them aware that they are what you have asked them to be There can also be an election if there are more members present than Board members needed

2 Adopt the By-Laws This will have been put together already or it can be discussed and formed within this meeting and then formally accepted by means of vote or by acclamation

3 Decide on the fiscal year4 Appoint or elect officers of the

board 5 Identify the type of stock being

issued whether common or preferred and how many will be offered and at what price

6 Authorize the issuance of the stocks previously established and creating the certificate itself and a corporate seal for them

7 If the new corporation will be an lsquoSrsquo corporation a unanimous election of the lsquoSrsquo corporation status must also be made

In accordance with the laws in every State minutes should always be taken for each meeting and the tallies of any legally binding votes will also be made (For this reason the secretary is almost always voted on first)

As you are issuing the stocks it is important to maintain detailed records

of the person purchasing the stock how many and what price as well as how the shareholder will be paying for them In some States a statement must be made to the State corporation board as to these transactions

It is important to note that you should not operate in the Corporationrsquos name until these stocks have been issued even if they are only issued to you This activity is the means whereby the corporation is indeed a corporation and you must have that to enjoy the benefits that a corporation gives you Large amounts of stock being sold or any public offerings of stocks must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in your State of incorporation

8 Process and file all incorporation paperwork with registered agent

An Articles of Incorporation must be prepared to announce all that you

have developed to the State corporation board It may seem like you are simply reporting all of the many details you have hammered out however it is important for the registering all of that with the State so they know about you and the new corporation you have started In this form you will set out the following

1 Your new corporation name address and the lsquoincorporatorrsquosrsquo name and contact information along with the form of the corporation taken such as lsquoSrsquo or lsquoCrsquo

2 The type of business in which you are involved as will as a specific description of this business A statement such as lsquoThe ABC Company Inc will be selling Internet Marketing lessons products and services to a World Wide marketrsquo

3 State whether the corporation will be or stay private or whether it will go public and approximately when that may occur

4 Indicate the number and classification of stock certificates that have been sold and the par value of those

5 A statement of the form of your corporation will need to be made

6 The management structure will be listed and how taxes are to be paid

7 The By-Laws that have been established and accepted by your shareholders will be attached as well as a listing of the major stockholders

8 Also list any of the many regulations that may exist that could restrict your activities in major areas

Upon the completion and submission of this form the State will issue the Certificate of Incorporation

9 Obtain the Certificate of IncorporationThis will be mailed to you and it can be hung up in a nice frame

10 Obtain appropriate licenses and permitsNow that you have a new business entity all of the licenses must either be renewed under that new name or new applications made This would include a business license in the City County and or State you will be operating in This will also be a permit for the building you will be occupying if appropriate You will also need an employerrsquos identification number from the IRS and a resellerrsquos number if appropriate

Notes of Conclusion

There are definite benefits to incorporating your business and some of these will help business men and women make this decision It is not entered into lightly as there are legal restrictions and some element of control of the business being lost This is made up for by some of the better tax treatments and do not forget the possible reputation enhancement that comes with lsquoIncrsquo being associated with your new enterprise

Some Benefits of Incorporation

The ability to raise capitol easily or at least easier The ability to gain investors in a way as to limit their liability is a matter of offering stock Many investors will appreciate this way to multiply their money without having to work for it

The choice of a tax year that is closely associated with the cycle of

your industry is beneficial in many areas This can be selected as a lsquoCrsquo corporation but not an lsquoSrsquo corp

The ability of stock owners to be able to sell their stocks without permission makes for a flexible and ever changing ownership base

The corporation can outlive its owners The ownership through stocks and controlling shares can be passed down to allow family ownership to continue

The protection of liability is one of the top reasons This allows the corporation to be liable for things that go wrong or losses to be absorbed by it as a separate entity

Favorable tax treatment This is probably the best reasons people find to incorporate In the lsquoCrsquo corporation type you along with all other owners are employees of the corporation You get a check every month just like everyone else The corporation can be very profitable with most of the earnings going back into capitol expenditures and you will only pay personal income taxes on that check you get

Without the corporation you would be on the hook for all of the taxes for all of the profits you make and still have to make those capitol expenditures

With the Sub-chapter lsquoSrsquo Corporation all of the profits are passed through the corporation to each of the owners if that selection has been made by all members of the shareholders This will allow them to only pay taxes on the income they receive in their paychecks

Furthermore in an lsquoSrsquo corporation if there are losses they can be passed back to the shareholders so they can be reported as losses and reduce their tax liability

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPThis is the most common form of ownership used by many of the Internet Marketers and most other very small business people This is often what is entered into even for some of the large companies as start ups They will usually quickly change this form into something else however it is helpful in the beginning This form of ownership ties the owner and the business together as one entity You as the owner are responsible for all debts and enjoy all the profits The tax liability is yours for the entire amount of net profits

The lsquoSrsquo CORPORATIONThis form of corporation will allow you to pass all of the profits to the

shareholders so that not all earnings of the corporation are a tax liability for you personally You are one of the shareholders possibly the controlling shareholder and you are taxed on only the amount you receive as an employee of the corporation There are restrictions on what companies cannot be lsquoSrsquo corporations however if you have less than 75 shareholders and all of them are US citizens and you are not a bank or other financial institution this will be a popular choice for you

The lsquoCrsquo CORPORATIONThis is the standard form of corporation in the United States The primary advantage of course is the shield it provides for liability in the

case of someone slipping on your floor and hurting themselves One of the disadvantages based on your point of view is the double taxation

When the lsquoCrsquo corporation makes money it pays corporate taxes on that money Whatever is left over after retained earnings are either saved or spent on capitol investments or other expenses is distributed to the share or stock holders As an employee of the corporation you receive a lsquosalaryrsquo which is then taxed at the normal personal tax rate you currently enjoy ()

Consulting your attorney or having a conversation with your accountant or tax expert would be appropriate to identify the best form of corporation

to take It is necessary to point out that many companies start with one form and move to another to safeguard their interests and make for the best liability tax treatment A brief discussion of some of the tax benefits will be held at the end of this exercise

There will be intermediate steps we will be going through as we proceed with this process

1 Choosing a Corporate Name and Address

A corporate name must end with the suffix of lsquoInc Incorporated Limited Corporationrsquo or the like Whatever name you have come up with must be verified with the state you will be incorporating in to ensure it is available for use and not being used or

contested by some other entity It also can not have any word that could imply it is part of a governmental entity such as lsquoFederal government USrsquo or anything that could confuse people about association with official entities

A quick check with the Corporation Board in the state oincorporation may cost a few dollars for the search however it will save a lot of time and embarrassment The address must be a physical location where the offices will be located and where any person to person business will be conducted This address can change later however to get the ball rolling a solid address is necessary

2 Select a State in Which to Incorporate

Identify which State you will be incorporating in The best of all answers is the State in which you reside This will make it a lot easier and a few less questions that you will have to answer

3 File lsquoFictitious Namersquo Registration

If you are naming your corporation after your own name this will not be necessary But what is fun about that You will be selling products or services as the ABC Company or something so your State needs to know that that means you As you proceed along with this process you will be telling them that you are actually going to be ABC Company Inc

4 Determine Company Directors

Deciding on the Directors for your corporation is sometimes as easy as naming the owners as directors Most States do not require that the owner or owners must be directors These are usually selected as a means of ensuring you have enough expertise to handle all of the major decisions that need to be

made They will be involved in deciding all financial matters They will also have the say in issuing stock and when that can be done The policy decisions that must be made will usually come from this august body Be sure to identify the regulations in your State of incorporation as to the minimum usually one and the maximum number of directors These will be listed in the business plan and in the Articles of Incorporation you prepare for various reasons

Choose these individuals carefully It is recommended that the first one chosen is then enlisted for assistance in choosing the others It would help although not required that some have a background in law and others have demonstrated abilities in advertising Website construction e-commerce management and all other areas of need to complement you and can help provide direction as their namesake would indicate

5 File lsquoArticles of Incorporationrsquo

The filing of this paperwork can be done in a few minutes by filling out a form in the state capitol usually at the corporate board or Secretary of Statersquos office This is sometimes called a lsquocharterrsquo or a lsquocertificate of incorporationrsquo As a single owner you would fill this out and sign your name as the owner and lsquoincorporatorrsquo If there is more than one owner they may all sign or one can be designated to sign for the whole body

This simple form will require information such as the name of company its physical address and the name of the Directors There will also be a designation of a lsquoregistered agentrsquo for the corporation This will be you or one of the other owners It might also be one of the Directors This person will be the point person for contacting the Corporation for any and all legal matters and must be empowered by it to address those matters This is simply notice that official incorporation papers will be coming later

6 Create Corporate lsquoBy-Lawsrsquo

The By Laws are the rules that the board of directors will use in the day to day operation of the corporation It addresses issues such as when the shareholders meetings are held and what voting rights are allowed for classes of board members In addition to these it puts into plain language

1 The issuance of stock and how each class will be treated in relation to all meetings held

2 How to deal with proxy votes3 Specifies how Special meetings

are to be called and who should attend

4 How dividends if any are to be considered

5 What constitutes a Quorum for purposes of conducting meetings

6 Conduct meetings quorums and business activities of the Board of Directors will also be put into this document

7 Compensation to the Board of Directors as well as the election of all officers will be spelled out

8 Other issues spelled out as needed

There are several websites that will allow you to download a formatted By-Laws form All of the normal lsquoboiler platersquo is already present which will stand in any State within the United States There will be blanks for names addresses and the various dates that will need to be filled in You

can also get an attorney to do this for you however the various forms are appropriate for most applications

7 Hold First Shareholder Meeting

The first meeting of the Shareholders will need to be held fairly soon In this first meeting several things will have to be decided in order to move forward

1 The appointment of Directors This can be as informal as you simply making them aware that they are what you have asked them to be There can also be an election if there are more members present than Board members needed

2 Adopt the By-Laws This will have been put together already or it can be discussed and formed within this meeting and then formally accepted by means of vote or by acclamation

3 Decide on the fiscal year4 Appoint or elect officers of the

board 5 Identify the type of stock being

issued whether common or preferred and how many will be offered and at what price

6 Authorize the issuance of the stocks previously established and creating the certificate itself and a corporate seal for them

7 If the new corporation will be an lsquoSrsquo corporation a unanimous election of the lsquoSrsquo corporation status must also be made

In accordance with the laws in every State minutes should always be taken for each meeting and the tallies of any legally binding votes will also be made (For this reason the secretary is almost always voted on first)

As you are issuing the stocks it is important to maintain detailed records

of the person purchasing the stock how many and what price as well as how the shareholder will be paying for them In some States a statement must be made to the State corporation board as to these transactions

It is important to note that you should not operate in the Corporationrsquos name until these stocks have been issued even if they are only issued to you This activity is the means whereby the corporation is indeed a corporation and you must have that to enjoy the benefits that a corporation gives you Large amounts of stock being sold or any public offerings of stocks must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in your State of incorporation

8 Process and file all incorporation paperwork with registered agent

An Articles of Incorporation must be prepared to announce all that you

have developed to the State corporation board It may seem like you are simply reporting all of the many details you have hammered out however it is important for the registering all of that with the State so they know about you and the new corporation you have started In this form you will set out the following

1 Your new corporation name address and the lsquoincorporatorrsquosrsquo name and contact information along with the form of the corporation taken such as lsquoSrsquo or lsquoCrsquo

2 The type of business in which you are involved as will as a specific description of this business A statement such as lsquoThe ABC Company Inc will be selling Internet Marketing lessons products and services to a World Wide marketrsquo

3 State whether the corporation will be or stay private or whether it will go public and approximately when that may occur

4 Indicate the number and classification of stock certificates that have been sold and the par value of those

5 A statement of the form of your corporation will need to be made

6 The management structure will be listed and how taxes are to be paid

7 The By-Laws that have been established and accepted by your shareholders will be attached as well as a listing of the major stockholders

8 Also list any of the many regulations that may exist that could restrict your activities in major areas

Upon the completion and submission of this form the State will issue the Certificate of Incorporation

9 Obtain the Certificate of IncorporationThis will be mailed to you and it can be hung up in a nice frame

10 Obtain appropriate licenses and permitsNow that you have a new business entity all of the licenses must either be renewed under that new name or new applications made This would include a business license in the City County and or State you will be operating in This will also be a permit for the building you will be occupying if appropriate You will also need an employerrsquos identification number from the IRS and a resellerrsquos number if appropriate

Notes of Conclusion

There are definite benefits to incorporating your business and some of these will help business men and women make this decision It is not entered into lightly as there are legal restrictions and some element of control of the business being lost This is made up for by some of the better tax treatments and do not forget the possible reputation enhancement that comes with lsquoIncrsquo being associated with your new enterprise

Some Benefits of Incorporation

The ability to raise capitol easily or at least easier The ability to gain investors in a way as to limit their liability is a matter of offering stock Many investors will appreciate this way to multiply their money without having to work for it

The choice of a tax year that is closely associated with the cycle of

your industry is beneficial in many areas This can be selected as a lsquoCrsquo corporation but not an lsquoSrsquo corp

The ability of stock owners to be able to sell their stocks without permission makes for a flexible and ever changing ownership base

The corporation can outlive its owners The ownership through stocks and controlling shares can be passed down to allow family ownership to continue

The protection of liability is one of the top reasons This allows the corporation to be liable for things that go wrong or losses to be absorbed by it as a separate entity

Favorable tax treatment This is probably the best reasons people find to incorporate In the lsquoCrsquo corporation type you along with all other owners are employees of the corporation You get a check every month just like everyone else The corporation can be very profitable with most of the earnings going back into capitol expenditures and you will only pay personal income taxes on that check you get

Without the corporation you would be on the hook for all of the taxes for all of the profits you make and still have to make those capitol expenditures

With the Sub-chapter lsquoSrsquo Corporation all of the profits are passed through the corporation to each of the owners if that selection has been made by all members of the shareholders This will allow them to only pay taxes on the income they receive in their paychecks

Furthermore in an lsquoSrsquo corporation if there are losses they can be passed back to the shareholders so they can be reported as losses and reduce their tax liability

About IncomecomIncomecom is a forward thinking community promoting entrepreneurialism in America The platform incomecom hosts is based on synergistic education and learning for those desiring to start or enhance the American economy one small business at a time

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPThis is the most common form of ownership used by many of the Internet Marketers and most other very small business people This is often what is entered into even for some of the large companies as start ups They will usually quickly change this form into something else however it is helpful in the beginning This form of ownership ties the owner and the business together as one entity You as the owner are responsible for all debts and enjoy all the profits The tax liability is yours for the entire amount of net profits

The lsquoSrsquo CORPORATIONThis form of corporation will allow you to pass all of the profits to the

shareholders so that not all earnings of the corporation are a tax liability for you personally You are one of the shareholders possibly the controlling shareholder and you are taxed on only the amount you receive as an employee of the corporation There are restrictions on what companies cannot be lsquoSrsquo corporations however if you have less than 75 shareholders and all of them are US citizens and you are not a bank or other financial institution this will be a popular choice for you

The lsquoCrsquo CORPORATIONThis is the standard form of corporation in the United States The primary advantage of course is the shield it provides for liability in the

case of someone slipping on your floor and hurting themselves One of the disadvantages based on your point of view is the double taxation

When the lsquoCrsquo corporation makes money it pays corporate taxes on that money Whatever is left over after retained earnings are either saved or spent on capitol investments or other expenses is distributed to the share or stock holders As an employee of the corporation you receive a lsquosalaryrsquo which is then taxed at the normal personal tax rate you currently enjoy ()

Consulting your attorney or having a conversation with your accountant or tax expert would be appropriate to identify the best form of corporation

to take It is necessary to point out that many companies start with one form and move to another to safeguard their interests and make for the best liability tax treatment A brief discussion of some of the tax benefits will be held at the end of this exercise

There will be intermediate steps we will be going through as we proceed with this process

1 Choosing a Corporate Name and Address

A corporate name must end with the suffix of lsquoInc Incorporated Limited Corporationrsquo or the like Whatever name you have come up with must be verified with the state you will be incorporating in to ensure it is available for use and not being used or

contested by some other entity It also can not have any word that could imply it is part of a governmental entity such as lsquoFederal government USrsquo or anything that could confuse people about association with official entities

A quick check with the Corporation Board in the state oincorporation may cost a few dollars for the search however it will save a lot of time and embarrassment The address must be a physical location where the offices will be located and where any person to person business will be conducted This address can change later however to get the ball rolling a solid address is necessary

2 Select a State in Which to Incorporate

Identify which State you will be incorporating in The best of all answers is the State in which you reside This will make it a lot easier and a few less questions that you will have to answer

3 File lsquoFictitious Namersquo Registration

If you are naming your corporation after your own name this will not be necessary But what is fun about that You will be selling products or services as the ABC Company or something so your State needs to know that that means you As you proceed along with this process you will be telling them that you are actually going to be ABC Company Inc

4 Determine Company Directors

Deciding on the Directors for your corporation is sometimes as easy as naming the owners as directors Most States do not require that the owner or owners must be directors These are usually selected as a means of ensuring you have enough expertise to handle all of the major decisions that need to be

made They will be involved in deciding all financial matters They will also have the say in issuing stock and when that can be done The policy decisions that must be made will usually come from this august body Be sure to identify the regulations in your State of incorporation as to the minimum usually one and the maximum number of directors These will be listed in the business plan and in the Articles of Incorporation you prepare for various reasons

Choose these individuals carefully It is recommended that the first one chosen is then enlisted for assistance in choosing the others It would help although not required that some have a background in law and others have demonstrated abilities in advertising Website construction e-commerce management and all other areas of need to complement you and can help provide direction as their namesake would indicate

5 File lsquoArticles of Incorporationrsquo

The filing of this paperwork can be done in a few minutes by filling out a form in the state capitol usually at the corporate board or Secretary of Statersquos office This is sometimes called a lsquocharterrsquo or a lsquocertificate of incorporationrsquo As a single owner you would fill this out and sign your name as the owner and lsquoincorporatorrsquo If there is more than one owner they may all sign or one can be designated to sign for the whole body

This simple form will require information such as the name of company its physical address and the name of the Directors There will also be a designation of a lsquoregistered agentrsquo for the corporation This will be you or one of the other owners It might also be one of the Directors This person will be the point person for contacting the Corporation for any and all legal matters and must be empowered by it to address those matters This is simply notice that official incorporation papers will be coming later

6 Create Corporate lsquoBy-Lawsrsquo

The By Laws are the rules that the board of directors will use in the day to day operation of the corporation It addresses issues such as when the shareholders meetings are held and what voting rights are allowed for classes of board members In addition to these it puts into plain language

1 The issuance of stock and how each class will be treated in relation to all meetings held

2 How to deal with proxy votes3 Specifies how Special meetings

are to be called and who should attend

4 How dividends if any are to be considered

5 What constitutes a Quorum for purposes of conducting meetings

6 Conduct meetings quorums and business activities of the Board of Directors will also be put into this document

7 Compensation to the Board of Directors as well as the election of all officers will be spelled out

8 Other issues spelled out as needed

There are several websites that will allow you to download a formatted By-Laws form All of the normal lsquoboiler platersquo is already present which will stand in any State within the United States There will be blanks for names addresses and the various dates that will need to be filled in You

can also get an attorney to do this for you however the various forms are appropriate for most applications

7 Hold First Shareholder Meeting

The first meeting of the Shareholders will need to be held fairly soon In this first meeting several things will have to be decided in order to move forward

1 The appointment of Directors This can be as informal as you simply making them aware that they are what you have asked them to be There can also be an election if there are more members present than Board members needed

2 Adopt the By-Laws This will have been put together already or it can be discussed and formed within this meeting and then formally accepted by means of vote or by acclamation

3 Decide on the fiscal year4 Appoint or elect officers of the

board 5 Identify the type of stock being

issued whether common or preferred and how many will be offered and at what price

6 Authorize the issuance of the stocks previously established and creating the certificate itself and a corporate seal for them

7 If the new corporation will be an lsquoSrsquo corporation a unanimous election of the lsquoSrsquo corporation status must also be made

In accordance with the laws in every State minutes should always be taken for each meeting and the tallies of any legally binding votes will also be made (For this reason the secretary is almost always voted on first)

As you are issuing the stocks it is important to maintain detailed records

of the person purchasing the stock how many and what price as well as how the shareholder will be paying for them In some States a statement must be made to the State corporation board as to these transactions

It is important to note that you should not operate in the Corporationrsquos name until these stocks have been issued even if they are only issued to you This activity is the means whereby the corporation is indeed a corporation and you must have that to enjoy the benefits that a corporation gives you Large amounts of stock being sold or any public offerings of stocks must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in your State of incorporation

8 Process and file all incorporation paperwork with registered agent

An Articles of Incorporation must be prepared to announce all that you

have developed to the State corporation board It may seem like you are simply reporting all of the many details you have hammered out however it is important for the registering all of that with the State so they know about you and the new corporation you have started In this form you will set out the following

1 Your new corporation name address and the lsquoincorporatorrsquosrsquo name and contact information along with the form of the corporation taken such as lsquoSrsquo or lsquoCrsquo

2 The type of business in which you are involved as will as a specific description of this business A statement such as lsquoThe ABC Company Inc will be selling Internet Marketing lessons products and services to a World Wide marketrsquo

3 State whether the corporation will be or stay private or whether it will go public and approximately when that may occur

4 Indicate the number and classification of stock certificates that have been sold and the par value of those

5 A statement of the form of your corporation will need to be made

6 The management structure will be listed and how taxes are to be paid

7 The By-Laws that have been established and accepted by your shareholders will be attached as well as a listing of the major stockholders

8 Also list any of the many regulations that may exist that could restrict your activities in major areas

Upon the completion and submission of this form the State will issue the Certificate of Incorporation

9 Obtain the Certificate of IncorporationThis will be mailed to you and it can be hung up in a nice frame

10 Obtain appropriate licenses and permitsNow that you have a new business entity all of the licenses must either be renewed under that new name or new applications made This would include a business license in the City County and or State you will be operating in This will also be a permit for the building you will be occupying if appropriate You will also need an employerrsquos identification number from the IRS and a resellerrsquos number if appropriate

Notes of Conclusion

There are definite benefits to incorporating your business and some of these will help business men and women make this decision It is not entered into lightly as there are legal restrictions and some element of control of the business being lost This is made up for by some of the better tax treatments and do not forget the possible reputation enhancement that comes with lsquoIncrsquo being associated with your new enterprise

Some Benefits of Incorporation

The ability to raise capitol easily or at least easier The ability to gain investors in a way as to limit their liability is a matter of offering stock Many investors will appreciate this way to multiply their money without having to work for it

The choice of a tax year that is closely associated with the cycle of

your industry is beneficial in many areas This can be selected as a lsquoCrsquo corporation but not an lsquoSrsquo corp

The ability of stock owners to be able to sell their stocks without permission makes for a flexible and ever changing ownership base

The corporation can outlive its owners The ownership through stocks and controlling shares can be passed down to allow family ownership to continue

The protection of liability is one of the top reasons This allows the corporation to be liable for things that go wrong or losses to be absorbed by it as a separate entity

Favorable tax treatment This is probably the best reasons people find to incorporate In the lsquoCrsquo corporation type you along with all other owners are employees of the corporation You get a check every month just like everyone else The corporation can be very profitable with most of the earnings going back into capitol expenditures and you will only pay personal income taxes on that check you get

Without the corporation you would be on the hook for all of the taxes for all of the profits you make and still have to make those capitol expenditures

With the Sub-chapter lsquoSrsquo Corporation all of the profits are passed through the corporation to each of the owners if that selection has been made by all members of the shareholders This will allow them to only pay taxes on the income they receive in their paychecks

Furthermore in an lsquoSrsquo corporation if there are losses they can be passed back to the shareholders so they can be reported as losses and reduce their tax liability

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPThis is the most common form of ownership used by many of the Internet Marketers and most other very small business people This is often what is entered into even for some of the large companies as start ups They will usually quickly change this form into something else however it is helpful in the beginning This form of ownership ties the owner and the business together as one entity You as the owner are responsible for all debts and enjoy all the profits The tax liability is yours for the entire amount of net profits

The lsquoSrsquo CORPORATIONThis form of corporation will allow you to pass all of the profits to the

shareholders so that not all earnings of the corporation are a tax liability for you personally You are one of the shareholders possibly the controlling shareholder and you are taxed on only the amount you receive as an employee of the corporation There are restrictions on what companies cannot be lsquoSrsquo corporations however if you have less than 75 shareholders and all of them are US citizens and you are not a bank or other financial institution this will be a popular choice for you

The lsquoCrsquo CORPORATIONThis is the standard form of corporation in the United States The primary advantage of course is the shield it provides for liability in the

case of someone slipping on your floor and hurting themselves One of the disadvantages based on your point of view is the double taxation

When the lsquoCrsquo corporation makes money it pays corporate taxes on that money Whatever is left over after retained earnings are either saved or spent on capitol investments or other expenses is distributed to the share or stock holders As an employee of the corporation you receive a lsquosalaryrsquo which is then taxed at the normal personal tax rate you currently enjoy ()

Consulting your attorney or having a conversation with your accountant or tax expert would be appropriate to identify the best form of corporation

to take It is necessary to point out that many companies start with one form and move to another to safeguard their interests and make for the best liability tax treatment A brief discussion of some of the tax benefits will be held at the end of this exercise

There will be intermediate steps we will be going through as we proceed with this process

1 Choosing a Corporate Name and Address

A corporate name must end with the suffix of lsquoInc Incorporated Limited Corporationrsquo or the like Whatever name you have come up with must be verified with the state you will be incorporating in to ensure it is available for use and not being used or

contested by some other entity It also can not have any word that could imply it is part of a governmental entity such as lsquoFederal government USrsquo or anything that could confuse people about association with official entities

A quick check with the Corporation Board in the state oincorporation may cost a few dollars for the search however it will save a lot of time and embarrassment The address must be a physical location where the offices will be located and where any person to person business will be conducted This address can change later however to get the ball rolling a solid address is necessary

2 Select a State in Which to Incorporate

Identify which State you will be incorporating in The best of all answers is the State in which you reside This will make it a lot easier and a few less questions that you will have to answer

3 File lsquoFictitious Namersquo Registration

If you are naming your corporation after your own name this will not be necessary But what is fun about that You will be selling products or services as the ABC Company or something so your State needs to know that that means you As you proceed along with this process you will be telling them that you are actually going to be ABC Company Inc

4 Determine Company Directors

Deciding on the Directors for your corporation is sometimes as easy as naming the owners as directors Most States do not require that the owner or owners must be directors These are usually selected as a means of ensuring you have enough expertise to handle all of the major decisions that need to be

made They will be involved in deciding all financial matters They will also have the say in issuing stock and when that can be done The policy decisions that must be made will usually come from this august body Be sure to identify the regulations in your State of incorporation as to the minimum usually one and the maximum number of directors These will be listed in the business plan and in the Articles of Incorporation you prepare for various reasons

Choose these individuals carefully It is recommended that the first one chosen is then enlisted for assistance in choosing the others It would help although not required that some have a background in law and others have demonstrated abilities in advertising Website construction e-commerce management and all other areas of need to complement you and can help provide direction as their namesake would indicate

5 File lsquoArticles of Incorporationrsquo

The filing of this paperwork can be done in a few minutes by filling out a form in the state capitol usually at the corporate board or Secretary of Statersquos office This is sometimes called a lsquocharterrsquo or a lsquocertificate of incorporationrsquo As a single owner you would fill this out and sign your name as the owner and lsquoincorporatorrsquo If there is more than one owner they may all sign or one can be designated to sign for the whole body

This simple form will require information such as the name of company its physical address and the name of the Directors There will also be a designation of a lsquoregistered agentrsquo for the corporation This will be you or one of the other owners It might also be one of the Directors This person will be the point person for contacting the Corporation for any and all legal matters and must be empowered by it to address those matters This is simply notice that official incorporation papers will be coming later

6 Create Corporate lsquoBy-Lawsrsquo

The By Laws are the rules that the board of directors will use in the day to day operation of the corporation It addresses issues such as when the shareholders meetings are held and what voting rights are allowed for classes of board members In addition to these it puts into plain language

1 The issuance of stock and how each class will be treated in relation to all meetings held

2 How to deal with proxy votes3 Specifies how Special meetings

are to be called and who should attend

4 How dividends if any are to be considered

5 What constitutes a Quorum for purposes of conducting meetings

6 Conduct meetings quorums and business activities of the Board of Directors will also be put into this document

7 Compensation to the Board of Directors as well as the election of all officers will be spelled out

8 Other issues spelled out as needed

There are several websites that will allow you to download a formatted By-Laws form All of the normal lsquoboiler platersquo is already present which will stand in any State within the United States There will be blanks for names addresses and the various dates that will need to be filled in You

can also get an attorney to do this for you however the various forms are appropriate for most applications

7 Hold First Shareholder Meeting

The first meeting of the Shareholders will need to be held fairly soon In this first meeting several things will have to be decided in order to move forward

1 The appointment of Directors This can be as informal as you simply making them aware that they are what you have asked them to be There can also be an election if there are more members present than Board members needed

2 Adopt the By-Laws This will have been put together already or it can be discussed and formed within this meeting and then formally accepted by means of vote or by acclamation

3 Decide on the fiscal year4 Appoint or elect officers of the

board 5 Identify the type of stock being

issued whether common or preferred and how many will be offered and at what price

6 Authorize the issuance of the stocks previously established and creating the certificate itself and a corporate seal for them

7 If the new corporation will be an lsquoSrsquo corporation a unanimous election of the lsquoSrsquo corporation status must also be made

In accordance with the laws in every State minutes should always be taken for each meeting and the tallies of any legally binding votes will also be made (For this reason the secretary is almost always voted on first)

As you are issuing the stocks it is important to maintain detailed records

of the person purchasing the stock how many and what price as well as how the shareholder will be paying for them In some States a statement must be made to the State corporation board as to these transactions

It is important to note that you should not operate in the Corporationrsquos name until these stocks have been issued even if they are only issued to you This activity is the means whereby the corporation is indeed a corporation and you must have that to enjoy the benefits that a corporation gives you Large amounts of stock being sold or any public offerings of stocks must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in your State of incorporation

8 Process and file all incorporation paperwork with registered agent

An Articles of Incorporation must be prepared to announce all that you

have developed to the State corporation board It may seem like you are simply reporting all of the many details you have hammered out however it is important for the registering all of that with the State so they know about you and the new corporation you have started In this form you will set out the following

1 Your new corporation name address and the lsquoincorporatorrsquosrsquo name and contact information along with the form of the corporation taken such as lsquoSrsquo or lsquoCrsquo

2 The type of business in which you are involved as will as a specific description of this business A statement such as lsquoThe ABC Company Inc will be selling Internet Marketing lessons products and services to a World Wide marketrsquo

3 State whether the corporation will be or stay private or whether it will go public and approximately when that may occur

4 Indicate the number and classification of stock certificates that have been sold and the par value of those

5 A statement of the form of your corporation will need to be made

6 The management structure will be listed and how taxes are to be paid

7 The By-Laws that have been established and accepted by your shareholders will be attached as well as a listing of the major stockholders

8 Also list any of the many regulations that may exist that could restrict your activities in major areas

Upon the completion and submission of this form the State will issue the Certificate of Incorporation

9 Obtain the Certificate of IncorporationThis will be mailed to you and it can be hung up in a nice frame

10 Obtain appropriate licenses and permitsNow that you have a new business entity all of the licenses must either be renewed under that new name or new applications made This would include a business license in the City County and or State you will be operating in This will also be a permit for the building you will be occupying if appropriate You will also need an employerrsquos identification number from the IRS and a resellerrsquos number if appropriate

Notes of Conclusion

There are definite benefits to incorporating your business and some of these will help business men and women make this decision It is not entered into lightly as there are legal restrictions and some element of control of the business being lost This is made up for by some of the better tax treatments and do not forget the possible reputation enhancement that comes with lsquoIncrsquo being associated with your new enterprise

Some Benefits of Incorporation

The ability to raise capitol easily or at least easier The ability to gain investors in a way as to limit their liability is a matter of offering stock Many investors will appreciate this way to multiply their money without having to work for it

The choice of a tax year that is closely associated with the cycle of

your industry is beneficial in many areas This can be selected as a lsquoCrsquo corporation but not an lsquoSrsquo corp

The ability of stock owners to be able to sell their stocks without permission makes for a flexible and ever changing ownership base

The corporation can outlive its owners The ownership through stocks and controlling shares can be passed down to allow family ownership to continue

The protection of liability is one of the top reasons This allows the corporation to be liable for things that go wrong or losses to be absorbed by it as a separate entity

Favorable tax treatment This is probably the best reasons people find to incorporate In the lsquoCrsquo corporation type you along with all other owners are employees of the corporation You get a check every month just like everyone else The corporation can be very profitable with most of the earnings going back into capitol expenditures and you will only pay personal income taxes on that check you get

Without the corporation you would be on the hook for all of the taxes for all of the profits you make and still have to make those capitol expenditures

With the Sub-chapter lsquoSrsquo Corporation all of the profits are passed through the corporation to each of the owners if that selection has been made by all members of the shareholders This will allow them to only pay taxes on the income they receive in their paychecks

Furthermore in an lsquoSrsquo corporation if there are losses they can be passed back to the shareholders so they can be reported as losses and reduce their tax liability

About IncomecomIncomecom is a forward thinking community promoting entrepreneurialism in America The platform incomecom hosts is based on synergistic education and learning for those desiring to start or enhance the American economy one small business at a time

SOLE PROPRIETORSHIPThis is the most common form of ownership used by many of the Internet Marketers and most other very small business people This is often what is entered into even for some of the large companies as start ups They will usually quickly change this form into something else however it is helpful in the beginning This form of ownership ties the owner and the business together as one entity You as the owner are responsible for all debts and enjoy all the profits The tax liability is yours for the entire amount of net profits

The lsquoSrsquo CORPORATIONThis form of corporation will allow you to pass all of the profits to the

shareholders so that not all earnings of the corporation are a tax liability for you personally You are one of the shareholders possibly the controlling shareholder and you are taxed on only the amount you receive as an employee of the corporation There are restrictions on what companies cannot be lsquoSrsquo corporations however if you have less than 75 shareholders and all of them are US citizens and you are not a bank or other financial institution this will be a popular choice for you

The lsquoCrsquo CORPORATIONThis is the standard form of corporation in the United States The primary advantage of course is the shield it provides for liability in the

case of someone slipping on your floor and hurting themselves One of the disadvantages based on your point of view is the double taxation

When the lsquoCrsquo corporation makes money it pays corporate taxes on that money Whatever is left over after retained earnings are either saved or spent on capitol investments or other expenses is distributed to the share or stock holders As an employee of the corporation you receive a lsquosalaryrsquo which is then taxed at the normal personal tax rate you currently enjoy ()

Consulting your attorney or having a conversation with your accountant or tax expert would be appropriate to identify the best form of corporation

to take It is necessary to point out that many companies start with one form and move to another to safeguard their interests and make for the best liability tax treatment A brief discussion of some of the tax benefits will be held at the end of this exercise

There will be intermediate steps we will be going through as we proceed with this process

1 Choosing a Corporate Name and Address

A corporate name must end with the suffix of lsquoInc Incorporated Limited Corporationrsquo or the like Whatever name you have come up with must be verified with the state you will be incorporating in to ensure it is available for use and not being used or

contested by some other entity It also can not have any word that could imply it is part of a governmental entity such as lsquoFederal government USrsquo or anything that could confuse people about association with official entities

A quick check with the Corporation Board in the state oincorporation may cost a few dollars for the search however it will save a lot of time and embarrassment The address must be a physical location where the offices will be located and where any person to person business will be conducted This address can change later however to get the ball rolling a solid address is necessary

2 Select a State in Which to Incorporate

Identify which State you will be incorporating in The best of all answers is the State in which you reside This will make it a lot easier and a few less questions that you will have to answer

3 File lsquoFictitious Namersquo Registration

If you are naming your corporation after your own name this will not be necessary But what is fun about that You will be selling products or services as the ABC Company or something so your State needs to know that that means you As you proceed along with this process you will be telling them that you are actually going to be ABC Company Inc

4 Determine Company Directors

Deciding on the Directors for your corporation is sometimes as easy as naming the owners as directors Most States do not require that the owner or owners must be directors These are usually selected as a means of ensuring you have enough expertise to handle all of the major decisions that need to be

made They will be involved in deciding all financial matters They will also have the say in issuing stock and when that can be done The policy decisions that must be made will usually come from this august body Be sure to identify the regulations in your State of incorporation as to the minimum usually one and the maximum number of directors These will be listed in the business plan and in the Articles of Incorporation you prepare for various reasons

Choose these individuals carefully It is recommended that the first one chosen is then enlisted for assistance in choosing the others It would help although not required that some have a background in law and others have demonstrated abilities in advertising Website construction e-commerce management and all other areas of need to complement you and can help provide direction as their namesake would indicate

5 File lsquoArticles of Incorporationrsquo

The filing of this paperwork can be done in a few minutes by filling out a form in the state capitol usually at the corporate board or Secretary of Statersquos office This is sometimes called a lsquocharterrsquo or a lsquocertificate of incorporationrsquo As a single owner you would fill this out and sign your name as the owner and lsquoincorporatorrsquo If there is more than one owner they may all sign or one can be designated to sign for the whole body

This simple form will require information such as the name of company its physical address and the name of the Directors There will also be a designation of a lsquoregistered agentrsquo for the corporation This will be you or one of the other owners It might also be one of the Directors This person will be the point person for contacting the Corporation for any and all legal matters and must be empowered by it to address those matters This is simply notice that official incorporation papers will be coming later

6 Create Corporate lsquoBy-Lawsrsquo

The By Laws are the rules that the board of directors will use in the day to day operation of the corporation It addresses issues such as when the shareholders meetings are held and what voting rights are allowed for classes of board members In addition to these it puts into plain language

1 The issuance of stock and how each class will be treated in relation to all meetings held

2 How to deal with proxy votes3 Specifies how Special meetings

are to be called and who should attend

4 How dividends if any are to be considered

5 What constitutes a Quorum for purposes of conducting meetings

6 Conduct meetings quorums and business activities of the Board of Directors will also be put into this document

7 Compensation to the Board of Directors as well as the election of all officers will be spelled out

8 Other issues spelled out as needed

There are several websites that will allow you to download a formatted By-Laws form All of the normal lsquoboiler platersquo is already present which will stand in any State within the United States There will be blanks for names addresses and the various dates that will need to be filled in You

can also get an attorney to do this for you however the various forms are appropriate for most applications

7 Hold First Shareholder Meeting

The first meeting of the Shareholders will need to be held fairly soon In this first meeting several things will have to be decided in order to move forward

1 The appointment of Directors This can be as informal as you simply making them aware that they are what you have asked them to be There can also be an election if there are more members present than Board members needed

2 Adopt the By-Laws This will have been put together already or it can be discussed and formed within this meeting and then formally accepted by means of vote or by acclamation

3 Decide on the fiscal year4 Appoint or elect officers of the

board 5 Identify the type of stock being

issued whether common or preferred and how many will be offered and at what price

6 Authorize the issuance of the stocks previously established and creating the certificate itself and a corporate seal for them

7 If the new corporation will be an lsquoSrsquo corporation a unanimous election of the lsquoSrsquo corporation status must also be made

In accordance with the laws in every State minutes should always be taken for each meeting and the tallies of any legally binding votes will also be made (For this reason the secretary is almost always voted on first)

As you are issuing the stocks it is important to maintain detailed records

of the person purchasing the stock how many and what price as well as how the shareholder will be paying for them In some States a statement must be made to the State corporation board as to these transactions

It is important to note that you should not operate in the Corporationrsquos name until these stocks have been issued even if they are only issued to you This activity is the means whereby the corporation is indeed a corporation and you must have that to enjoy the benefits that a corporation gives you Large amounts of stock being sold or any public offerings of stocks must be registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission in your State of incorporation

8 Process and file all incorporation paperwork with registered agent

An Articles of Incorporation must be prepared to announce all that you

have developed to the State corporation board It may seem like you are simply reporting all of the many details you have hammered out however it is important for the registering all of that with the State so they know about you and the new corporation you have started In this form you will set out the following

1 Your new corporation name address and the lsquoincorporatorrsquosrsquo name and contact information along with the form of the corporation taken such as lsquoSrsquo or lsquoCrsquo

2 The type of business in which you are involved as will as a specific description of this business A statement such as lsquoThe ABC Company Inc will be selling Internet Marketing lessons products and services to a World Wide marketrsquo

3 State whether the corporation will be or stay private or whether it will go public and approximately when that may occur

4 Indicate the number and classification of stock certificates that have been sold and the par value of those

5 A statement of the form of your corporation will need to be made

6 The management structure will be listed and how taxes are to be paid

7 The By-Laws that have been established and accepted by your shareholders will be attached as well as a listing of the major stockholders

8 Also list any of the many regulations that may exist that could restrict your activities in major areas

Upon the completion and submission of this form the State will issue the Certificate of Incorporation

9 Obtain the Certificate of IncorporationThis will be mailed to you and it can be hung up in a nice frame

10 Obtain appropriate licenses and permitsNow that you have a new business entity all of the licenses must either be renewed under that new name or new applications made This would include a business license in the City County and or State you will be operating in This will also be a permit for the building you will be occupying if appropriate You will also need an employerrsquos identification number from the IRS and a resellerrsquos number if appropriate

Notes of Conclusion

There are definite benefits to incorporating your business and some of these will help business men and women make this decision It is not entered into lightly as there are legal restrictions and some element of control of the business being lost This is made up for by some of the better tax treatments and do not forget the possible reputation enhancement that comes with lsquoIncrsquo being associated with your new enterprise

Some Benefits of Incorporation

The ability to raise capitol easily or at least easier The ability to gain investors in a way as to limit their liability is a matter of offering stock Many investors will appreciate this way to multiply their money without having to work for it

The choice of a tax year that is closely associated with the cycle of

your industry is beneficial in many areas This can be selected as a lsquoCrsquo corporation but not an lsquoSrsquo corp

The ability of stock owners to be able to sell their stocks without permission makes for a flexible and ever changing ownership base

The corporation can outlive its owners The ownership through stocks and controlling shares can be passed down to allow family ownership to continue

The protection of liability is one of the top reasons This allows the corporation to be liable for things that go wrong or losses to be absorbed by it as a separate entity

Favorable tax treatment This is probably the best reasons people find to incorporate In the lsquoCrsquo corporation type you along with all other owners are employees of the corporation You get a check every month just like everyone else The corporation can be very profitable with most of the earnings going back into capitol expenditures and you will only pay personal income taxes on that check you get

Without the corporation you would be on the hook for all of the taxes for all of the profits you make and still have to make those capitol expenditures

With the Sub-chapter lsquoSrsquo Corporation all of the profits are passed through the corporation to each of the owners if that selection has been made by all members of the shareholders This will allow them to only pay taxes on the income they receive in their paychecks

Furthermore in an lsquoSrsquo corporation if there are losses they can be passed back to the shareholders so they can be reported as losses and reduce their tax liability

About IncomecomIncomecom is a forward thinking community promoting entrepreneurialism in America The platform incomecom hosts is based on synergistic education and learning for those desiring to start or enhance the American economy one small business at a time

1 DELEGATE When youre in startup phase you are handling everything To become a going concern you have to start investing in people to do tasks you can no longer do Three quarters of all small businesses have zero employees which underscores the resistance people have to delegating You have to grow your business It is a misnomer to think people cost money A lack of production and failure to grow your business costs far more

2 PICK YOUR BATTLES Dont get wrapped up for a week deciding on a logo when it ultimately doesnt matter Your brand will evolve as your business evolves so your logo is likely to change There are more important things to obsess over -- gaining customers and making money When you are hunting big game dont swat mosquitoes

3 GET ATTENTION The single biggest problem every startup has is becoming known Your most import-ant task is to get attention for you and your company Its the gateway to every dollar you raise Muhammed Ali told the world he was the greatest long before anyone knew him He got attention and infuriated people But he proved himself which turned criticism into world admiration Get attention Get critics Then get admiration

4 CHANGE YOUR PITCH Instead of saying I own a small web design company say I own a web design company like none other that guaran-tees your company increased sales Notice the difference The first makes you seem small and insignificant It makes no claim The second makes you seem unique confident and capable of being a money maker Know how to pitch yourself and your

business Be ready to quickly explain what your company does that is better faster and of value to the marketplace Then make big claims to the world

5 CREATE URGENCY If you start a business venture without setting specific timelines for action and achievements you will be stuck forever with excuses One of the biggest mistakes I have made in business was not operating with enough urgency Being an entrepreneur is a marathon activity with lots of sprints Win a lot of little races and you will provide your people and company with momentum We recently shot a television show at my office and I told the editing staff that I wanted rough cuts in half the time they thought necessary Then I called everyday for a progress update This pressure to perform doesnt lead to inferior products it get products to be finished Urgency is key to getting things done

Remember Your vision is not improved by staying in startup mode Its time to accelerate and become a going concern that is grabbing market share from the other bigger more established players It used to be the big who ate the small Today it is the fast who eat the slow

This article originally appeared on Entrepreneurcom

Entrepreneurs stay in startup mode way too long Keeping a small business in startup mode requires you to stand on the brake If you keep telling people youre just a startup you will never take actions for real growth

Its time to move from startup to grown up mode and from planning to doing In two years you want to look back at your startup phase as an important part of your thriving business history You want to sayI remember when I was sitting on my floor packing boxes myself Now I employ over 100 people This is the mindset to move towards and here are five ways to do it

5 Ways to Get Out of Startup Mode And Grow Your BusinessBY GRANT CARDONE

About the Author

Grant Cardone is an international business and sales expert He has authored 4 business books and customized sales training programs for Fortune 500 companies small businesses success-minded individuals and entrepreneurs

He is a New York Times best-selling author regularly appearing on Fox News Fox Business NBC and MSNBC offering commentary and insights on a slew of topics affecting the economy business leadership and matters affecting the middle class For more author insights please visit wwwgrantcardonecom

Mobile Marketing Use the Four Media Types in Promotion

By Gini Dietrich

DO I NEED A MOBILE SITE

During a Marketing Over Coffee episode this summer Christopher Penn and John Wall talked about how to know when itrsquos time to build a mobile site

Go into Google analytics and click on audience mobile overview Set your date range for the past month If less than 10 percent of people are visiting your site on their phones or tablets yoursquore still okay not to have a mobile sitehellipyet Though you should consider responsive design at the very least

If more than 10 percent are using their mobile devices to visit your site yoursquore behind the curve ball and need to consider a site specific to those visitors

The Spin Sucks mobile visitors are nearly 30 percent which is why you have a different experience there than on your computer (see image above the mobile site is on the left and the website is on the right)

MARKETING YOUR MOBILE SITE

As you build your mobile site you have to think about advertising options that introduce your app

In the agency world we talk a lot about the four media types Paid earned owned and shared There is lots of

content written about how to use each of the four how to

integrate them and what they mean for increased

revenue

But unless you live and breath mobile marketing itrsquos rare for that conversation to

leave an organizationrsquos website and reach itrsquos mobile

site (assuming of course there is a mobile site)

product service or organization to a wider audience You have to think about ways you can improve what yoursquore selling through content you create to increase awareness and usage trials andor sales You have to think about how to engage current customers or users in social spaces to help you spread the word And you have to think about what will interest journalists and bloggers to help you tell your story

The key of course is to strike the right balance to achieve your goals

USE PAID MEDIA COST EFFICIENTLY

In many cases paid media is out of reach for organizations Letrsquos say for example you have an app and you want to get it into the top one or two pages of your key category A display media blitz might be too expensive on iTunes

What do you do

Look for more affordable paid media options where people might look for what yoursquore selling online such as review sites forums discussion groups and communities

Buy ads on review sites on YouTube channels that have something to do with your industry and sponsor Facebook or Twitter posts

INTEGRATE WITH OWNED MEDIA

If you have an app you want to optimize your landing page with iTunes This of course isnrsquot technically owned media because iTunes owns ithellipnot you But an estimate 80 percent of app search happens within the app store so

be sure your landing page is up to snuff

If you donrsquot have an app you can do something similar with your mobile site Consider the following

bull Use the same keywords you use in your paid media on your mobile site

bull Create a landing page that is specific to your product or service

bull Have contextual calls-to-action that drive people back to the landing pages

bull Create content that is interesting valuable and engaging for your visitorshellipand is something different than they can get on your website

USE EARNED MEDIA

There are right ways and wrong ways to work with influential bloggers and journalists

The wrong way is to go online Google ldquohow to write a news releaserdquo create one and then send it to everyone you can find who might write about what you do

The right way is to build relationships with the people who

can help you Just like you wouldnrsquot go to a networking event introduce yourself to someone new and ask them to buy your product the same goes with earned media

Figure out who you think can help you comment on their content share it find something in common and build a relationship Theyrsquoll be much more willing to help you if they consider you a friend (even an online friend) than

if you pitch them blindly

When stories and blog posts do run make sure there are links to your app landing page or to your

mobile website

FOLLOW-UP WITH SHARED MEDIA

Itrsquos likely not a surprise the most effective shared media tactic is to integrate social tools into your mobile website This turns every visitor into a brand ambassador and every social share into an endorsement

Yoursquod think this would go without saying in 2013 but do a test on your own Look at 10 mobile websites How many have social share buttons Irsquom willing to guess not even half

Of course you have to orchestrate all of this to work together and at once It will look like ndash to the outside world ndash you came out of nowhere To make it look that way takes a good six to nine months of preparation

Give yourself enough time plan and execute flawlessly

This article was originally published at httpspinsuckscommarketingmobile-marketing-use-the-four-media-types-in-promotion

DO I NEED A MOBILE SITE

During a Marketing Over Coffee episode this summer Christopher Penn and John Wall talked about how to know when itrsquos time to build a mobile site

Go into Google analytics and click on audience mobile overview Set your date range for the past month If less than 10 percent of people are visiting your site on their phones or tablets yoursquore still okay not to have a mobile sitehellipyet Though you should consider responsive design at the very least

If more than 10 percent are using their mobile devices to visit your site yoursquore behind the curve ball and need to consider a site specific to those visitors

The Spin Sucks mobile visitors are nearly 30 percent which is why you have a different experience there than on your computer (see image above the mobile site is on the left and the website is on the right)

MARKETING YOUR MOBILE SITE

As you build your mobile site you have to think about advertising options that introduce your app

ABOUT GINI DIETRICH

Gini Dietrich is the founder and CEO of Arment Dietrich a Chicago-based integrated marketing communications firm She is the lead blogger here at

Spin Sucks and is the founder of Spin Sucks Pro She is the co-author of Marketing in the Round and co-host of Inside PR Her second book Spin Sucks is due out in on December 18 2013

product service or organization to a wider audience You have to think about ways you can improve what yoursquore selling through content you create to increase awareness and usage trials andor sales You have to think about how to engage current customers or users in social spaces to help you spread the word And you have to think about what will interest journalists and bloggers to help you tell your story

The key of course is to strike the right balance to achieve your goals

USE PAID MEDIA COST EFFICIENTLY

In many cases paid media is out of reach for organizations Letrsquos say for example you have an app and you want to get it into the top one or two pages of your key category A display media blitz might be too expensive on iTunes

What do you do

Look for more affordable paid media options where people might look for what yoursquore selling online such as review sites forums discussion groups and communities

Buy ads on review sites on YouTube channels that have something to do with your industry and sponsor Facebook or Twitter posts

INTEGRATE WITH OWNED MEDIA

If you have an app you want to optimize your landing page with iTunes This of course isnrsquot technically owned media because iTunes owns ithellipnot you But an estimate 80 percent of app search happens within the app store so

be sure your landing page is up to snuff

If you donrsquot have an app you can do something similar with your mobile site Consider the following

bull Use the same keywords you use in your paid media on your mobile site

bull Create a landing page that is specific to your product or service

bull Have contextual calls-to-action that drive people back to the landing pages

bull Create content that is interesting valuable and engaging for your visitorshellipand is something different than they can get on your website

USE EARNED MEDIA

There are right ways and wrong ways to work with influential bloggers and journalists

The wrong way is to go online Google ldquohow to write a news releaserdquo create one and then send it to everyone you can find who might write about what you do

The right way is to build relationships with the people who

can help you Just like you wouldnrsquot go to a networking event introduce yourself to someone new and ask them to buy your product the same goes with earned media

Figure out who you think can help you comment on their content share it find something in common and build a relationship Theyrsquoll be much more willing to help you if they consider you a friend (even an online friend) than

if you pitch them blindly

When stories and blog posts do run make sure there are links to your app landing page or to your

mobile website

FOLLOW-UP WITH SHARED MEDIA

Itrsquos likely not a surprise the most effective shared media tactic is to integrate social tools into your mobile website This turns every visitor into a brand ambassador and every social share into an endorsement

Yoursquod think this would go without saying in 2013 but do a test on your own Look at 10 mobile websites How many have social share buttons Irsquom willing to guess not even half

Of course you have to orchestrate all of this to work together and at once It will look like ndash to the outside world ndash you came out of nowhere To make it look that way takes a good six to nine months of preparation

Give yourself enough time plan and execute flawlessly

This article was originally published at httpspinsuckscommarketingmobile-marketing-use-the-four-media-types-in-promotion

journalists and bloggers to help

The key of course is to strike the

In many cases paid media is out of reach for organizations Letrsquos

into the top one or two pages of your key category A display

common and build a relationship Theyrsquoll be much more willing to help you if they consider you a friend (even an online friend) than

if you pitch them blindly

When stories and blog posts do run make sure there are links to your app landing page or to your

mobil

FOLLOW-UP WITH SHARED MEDIA

Itrsquos likely noteffective shared media tactic is to integrate social tools into your mobile website This turns every visitor into a brand ambassador

Mark Di Somma talks with Tom AsackerBRANDS AND BELIEFS

I caught up with Tom recently and asked him to tell me more Herersquos my ldquogreatest hitsrdquo from what he had to say

1 WISHES DRIVE BELIEFS

Tom The word ldquobeliefrdquo comes from the Middle English ldquoliefrdquo which means to wish Belief is simply a working assumption about something or someone hellip driven by what we would wish something to be

2 PEOPLE FORGE MEANING OUT OF PARTIAL INFORMATION

Tom Stories are powerful because they express our beliefs We make meaning out of partial information hellip We have past experiences which we spin into a coherent story and revise when necessary to rationalize previous actions and make us feel good about ourselves our associations and decisions I refer to this as ldquoconnecting the dotsrdquo

Some brands are very good at presenting us with ldquodotsrdquo mdash through their varied and evolving

communications and behaviors mdash such that we create a coherent and motivating whole Apple is the classic example People wanted to believe in the exclusive and unique quality of the Apple brand so much so that they were willing to pay a premium and evangelize the brand So Steve Jobs orchestrated every single touch point including something as seemingly insignificant as the product packaging to communicate and enhance that belief

3 BRANDS ARE ACTUALLY IN THE BUSINESS OF GENERATING MEANING

Tom Peoplersquos expectations change because their experiences in the marketplace change and their desires evolve Great brands lead [that] change Itrsquos a process of continuous learning discovery and creation of new meaning which drives profitable growth and adds value to the lives of customers employees owners partners and the community [Brands work for us because] itrsquos impossible to consciously evaluate all

of our daily choices and decisions However when the choices we make are not giving us the outcomes we desire itrsquos time to pay very close attention to [our] beliefs

4 FINANCES MEASURE OPINIONS

Tom [Brands] need to be very opinionated today especially about what they are in business to accomplish beyond making money Financial measurement is simply a way to gauge how well a brand is executing on its opinions on its theories about how the marketplace is evolving and its unique role in that evolution

5 YOU ARE NOT YOUR HISTORY

Tom We all become the stories we tell ourselves Changes in belief are always prompted by experiences feelings and thoughts Great designers are in tune with our present beliefs and design new ones that make it easy for us to adopt and evangelize

For me brands and more particularly the cultures that support them should be seen as belief systems rather than pure-play marketing systems Purpose values and ethics are the oxygen of successful marques because they inspire consumers

to see qualities in the brands they choose that make them feel more human more real and more desirable

This year one of my favorite thinkers Tom Asacker published a new book his fifth titled The Business of Beliefs Itrsquos an examination of how and why we

assimilate beliefs and what we do with them And of course itrsquos a discussion that is highly pertinent to all marketers because not only are brands today in the business of belief but they only work if the people in the business believe in

what they are there to achieve

6 IDENTITY IS NOT THE SAME AS NARRATIVE

Tom Narrative is something the mind invents from past experiences Identity is the result of what someone does and creates in the here and now Whatrsquos Nokiarsquos identity They were a manufacturer of paper then cables then rubber boots They were also the worldrsquos

leading manufacturer of mobile phones Those were their identities Their identity today is much different You are what you do not who you were

7 BRANDS DIE BECAUSE THEY FORGET HOW TO DREAM

Tom Expectations evolve therefore so do beliefs If established brands

wonrsquot or canrsquot innovate to satisfy these emerging beliefs and desires others will step in to make it happen Customers lose belief when their desires are not being met or when something or someone else is better at stimulating and satisfying those latent desires When brands forget how to dream the passion for the possible and for the customer typically goes with it

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mark Di Somma is a creative strategist He works with senior corporate decision makers and communication agencies at critical moments of change Through his blog Upheavals he writes about creative strategies for brands in a shifting and social world To find out more you can subscribe to his newsletter or follow him on Twitter at markdisomma

Tom Asacker writes and teaches about radically new practices and ideas for marketplace success in times of uncertainty and change The Business of Belief is his fifth book You can purchase his book here subscribe to his blog or follow him on Twitter

This interview first appeared on Branding Strategy Insider

6 IDENTITY IS NOT THE SAME AS NARRATIVE

Tom Narrative is something the mind invents from past experiences Identity is the result of what someone does and creates in the here and now Whatrsquos Nokiarsquos identity They were a manufacturer of paper then cables then rubber boots They were also the worldrsquos

leading manufacturer of mobile phones Those were their identities Their identity today is much different You are what you do not who you were

7 BRANDS DIE BECAUSE THEY FORGET HOW TO DREAM

Tom Expectations evolve therefore so do beliefs If established brands

wonrsquot or canrsquot innovate to satisfy these emerging beliefs and desires others will step in to make it happen Customers lose belief when their desires are not being met or when something or someone else is better at stimulating and satisfying those latent desires When brands forget how to dream the passion for the possible and for the customer typically goes with it

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Mark Di Somma is a creative strategist He works with senior corporate decision makers and communication agencies at critical moments of change Through his blog Upheavals he writes about creative strategies for brands in a shifting and social world To find out more you can subscribe to his newsletter or follow him on Twitter at markdisomma

Tom Asacker writes and teaches about radically new practices and ideas for marketplace success in times of uncertainty and change The Business of Belief is his fifth book You can purchase his book here subscribe to his blog or follow him on Twitter

This interview first appeared on Branding Strategy Insider

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