Small Business questions

[Funkmasterr]

I am planning on starting my own small business soon, and there are some things I don't have solid answers for yet, and thought maybe I could get some answers or advice here.

My first question is about the different types of companies you can choose to be (corporation, LLC, etc). Which of these would you say is best for a small business? I will be the only employee for the forseeable future, so my only real big concern when making this choice is, which will benefit me most when it comes to taxes?

The other question is about grants. Has anyone gone through the process of looking for a grant they qualify for and applying for it? I was able to find the list of available grants on the government site, however there were very insufficient options for searching and there would still be a TON of them to sift through one by one. I was wondering if anyone had found a website/program/book that makes this process even a little easier than it seems to be, because I am completely overwhelmed by it at this point.

I would also welcome any advice anyone has from personal experience about small business loans (ie: is it better to pursue them from the government and their programs or just through any old bank?/what are the questions I'm going to need to be prepared to answer about my business when applying or discussing the loan with the borrower).

Any other general advice is welcomed too. I am trying to get this up and running the right way and I just want to be as educated on everything as I possibly can be. Thanks in advance peoples.

[Fash]

When I incorporated back in 2001, I formed an S-Corp. It is a Limited Liability Corporation that shields your personal assets from the business if things go awry. It didn't cost much, less than a grand (and could probably be a lot cheaper if you use something like legalzoom.)

I can't help with loans as I didn't take any... tough to advise there without knowing what you're doing or why you need the loan. I was able to start without any out-of-pocket, since I had secured a $40k contract with up-front money to purchase the software I needed.

Good luck!

[valryte]

S-Corp is definately what you want. I believe what you'll do is create an LLC and they file for S-corp status, double check this though.

[Syenye]

Are you any sort of minority? There are a lot of grants out there for minorities/women and other "disadvantaged" businesses. And depending on what your line of work is, your business might qualify for a grant. Check with your state and local chamber of commerce too.

[Funkmasterr]

Are you any sort of minority? There are a lot of grants out there for minorities/women and other "disadvantaged" businesses. And depending on what your line of work is, your business might qualify for a grant. Check with your state and local chamber of commerce too.

Nope, just a stupid wop, and that doesn't count I'm just doing home networking and other pc related stuff like that.. Good idea with the chamber of commerce, I completely forgot about that.

Thanks all for the info!

[Truant]

My advice about small business loans is that noone (private) is lending right now.

Unless you're taking a loan to buy an established, and profitable business they're not interested right now.


I would take a trip down to your local bookstore and pick up a couple books about starting your own business. It should cover a lot of bases and then some. And well, when it comes to starting your own business, the more you know -- the better.