'MO - September 2008 - (Page 10)

community Click here to comment on these stories. LEGALLY SPEAKING Starting a Business 101 By Mona Smith and Jonathan Bowman If you’ve made the decision to start a business, most likely you’ve thought about the benefits, costs and risks of doing so. However, you may not have thought too much about the legal hoops you’ll need to jump through to get the business started. And while this list is in no way exhaustive, they are good practices to follow to get your new business started “right” from the beginning! Decide what type of business entity you want to have the business be: a sole proprietorship, a partnership, a corporation, or a limited liability company, etc. A great selfhelp resource is the WA State Department of Revenue website at http://dor.wa.gov/Content/ Home/Default.aspx and http://dor.wa.gov/content/doingbusiness/. Both are great places to start your research on what type of entity to establish and how to go about forming it. Also see the WA Secretary of State website at www.secstate.wa.gov/. Whatever entity you choose to register, you will get a WA State UBI # that is your business ID number. Your legal professional can assist you to decide which entity is best, and can form the entity for you. If you are concerned about liability issues and keeping your own personal non-business assets (your car, home, bank accounts, etc.) from being easily accessible by a creditor for the business’ debts and liabilities, then having the business entity be a corporation or a limited liability company is a good way to protect your personal non-business assets. Either will provide an “umbrella” of liability protection over your assets, since usually only business assets are at risk for such business debts and liabilities. Consult with a good CPA, accountant or bookkeeper on which business entity is most advantageous for your individual tax situation. Each entity has its own tax benefits and “write off” options. If you choose a corporate entity, ask if you should elect an IRS designation for an “S” corp. or “C” corp. Either you or your accountant can request a Tax ID # or EIN # from the IRS. Some clients choose to use their own social security number, but discuss this option with your tax adviser. Be sure to file your Master Business License with the WA State Department of Licensing. http://www.dol.wa.gov/. You will receive this application when you receive your Certificate of Incorporation or LLC from the Secretary of State. You can also reserve a trade name for the business. Also obtain your local municipality’s business license. Call the city in which you plan to operate or go on the Web to see what you need and how to go about getting the local business license. Once you have your new business entity and it is licensed, you can open up a business bank account. Be sure to bring your IRS tax ID# or EIN# as well as your corporate documents, since the bank will need them to open up the account. Mona Smith (mona@smith-law.net) and Jonathan L. Bowman (jonathan@bowman4law.com) are attorneys whose practices of law include business, real estate, domestic partnership, and estate planning. Their ofﬁces are located atop Queen Anne in Seattle. 10 celebrating seattle’s gay community http://www.secstate.wa.gov/ http://www.dol.wa.gov/ http://dor.wa.gov/Content/Home/Default.aspx http://dor.wa.gov/content/doingbusiness/ http://dor.wa.gov/Content/Home/Default.aspx http://dor.wa.gov/content/doingbusiness/

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of 'MO - September 2008

'MO - September 2008 Contents Letter From The Editor Voices Instant Activist Pet Project Legally Speaking: Starting Your Own Business EarthTalkTM: Soak Up the Sun ’mo-BIZ: Sternola-Brown Interiors HRC President Hails Biden as V.P. Pick Governor to Attend Annual GSBA Candidate Forum Form & Function: Cable Exercises Build Definition Gay City Health Project Makes a SHIFT Throw a Lifejacket Around Your Home’s Value Feature Film Review: A Jihad for Love Feature Film Review: Ghost Town, starring Ricky Gervais The Return of The Puyallup Fair Book Review: Life with My Sister Madonna by Christopher Ciccone Live Event Preview: Shrek The Musical at The 5th Avenue Feature Film Preview: Trumbo Now on DVD: Itty Bitty Titty Committee SceneOut: People@Places Capitol Hill Guide

'MO - September 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.