Business Startup Essentials - Amazon S3 · SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP Simple and most common ... Determine...

BUSINESS STARTUP ESSENTIALS

DIETITIAN BUSINESS

STARTUP TOOLKIT

© 2015 RD Entrepreneurs Academy

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IN THIS TRAINING VIDEO…

Legal Business Structures

Business Accounting 101

Protecting your Business Part One: Assets & Time

Protecting Your Business Part Two: Content Development

Business Startup Essentials

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BUSINESS STRUCTURES


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SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP

Simple and most common

No distinction between you and the business

You are personally liable for any debts the business accrues

Determine Your Business Structure l Business Startup Essentials

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SOLE PROP FORMATION

No formal action required

You may already be a Sole Proprietor

Obtain necessary licenses & permits

Real name vs trade name


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ADVANTAGES

Ease of formation

Inexpensive

“Test out” ideas


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DISADVANTAGES

No personal liability protection


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LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY (LLC)

Liability protection of a corporation & the tax efficiencies of a sole prop

Owners of a LLC are “members” or “managers”

Most states, LLC can be single member owned


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LLC FORMATION

Choose a business name

File Articles of Organization

Create an Operating Agreement


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ADVANTAGES

Limited Liability

Personal assets exempt

Don’t co-mingle personal & business assets


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DISADVANTAGES

Costs

Paperwork

Concrete business model


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PARTNERSHIP

Single business with 2 or more owners

Each partner contributes either money, property or a specific skill set

Legal partnership agreements


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ADVANTAGES

Shared financial commitment

Shared work load

Complementary skills


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DISADVANTAGES

Shared liability

Disagreements

Shared profits


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CORPORATION (C CORP)

C Corp

Independent legal entity

More complex, costly fees


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C CORP FORMATION

Choose business name

File Articles of Incorporation

Recommendation: Seek out the advice of a lawyer


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ADVANTAGE: VERY LIMITED LIABILITY

DISADVANTAGE: TIME & MONEY


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S CORPORATION (S CORP)

Created through IRS tax election

To avoid double taxation

Profits/losses pass through to personal tax return

LLC can elect to file as S Corp


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WHAT BUSINESS STRUCTURE IS RIGHT FOR YOU AND YOUR

BUSINESS?


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THINGS TO CONSIDER

Costs

Risk assessment

Level of professionalism


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BUSINESS ACCOUNTING

101© 2015 RD Entrepreneurs Academy

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YOUR BUSINESS STRUCTURE IS A BIG DETERMINING FACTOR IN YOUR

TAXES!

Business Accounting 101 l Business Startup Essentials

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SOLE PROP TAXES

Easiest in terms of tax prep

Report business income/loss on personal tax form

Tax professionals may still be beneficial (even if it’s the easiest)


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LLC TAXES

LLC is not a separate tax entity

LLC income passes through to personal income tax

Some states tax LLC


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OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Must pay federal, state & sometimes local taxes

Medicaid

Social Security

Quarterly taxes


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PARTNERSHIP TAXES

Tax ID or EIN (employer ID number)

File an annual information return

Partners are not employees; W-2 forms are not issued

Must furnish Schedule K-1


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C CORP TAXES

Required to pay federal, state & local taxes

Must obtain EIN

Create a separate tax paying entity

Corp pay taxes on business profits

Owners pay taxes on their share of the profits


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S CORP TAXES

Profits/losses pass through to personal tax return

Only the owners are taxed, not the corp

LLC’c can request S Corp filing status


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DEDUCTIBLE EXPENSE: BUSINESS RELATED EXPENSES THAT

DECREASE YOUR TAXABLE INCOME


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DEDUCTIBLE EXPENSES

Startup Costs

Office supplies

Computer

Mileage

Costs specific for your business


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DEDUCTIBLE EXPENSES

Always purchase separately

Must be reasonable

More “expensive” versions of an item may be suspect


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ACCOUNTING SOFTWARE/TRACKING

Have a system in place

Excel or Numbers

Google Spreadsheets

Quicken or Quickbooks


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PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS

PART 1: ASSETS & TIME


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CONTRACT: LEGALLY BINDING “PROMISE”

Protecting Your Business Part 1: Assets & Time l Business Startup Essentials

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ENFORCEABLE CONTRACTS

1. Get it in writing

2. Keep it simple

3. Deal with the right person

4. Spell out ALL of the details


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5. Specify payment obligations

6. Agree on circumstances that terminate the contract

7. Keep it confidential

8. Specify ownership


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INSURANCE

Professional liability

Error’s & Omissions

Accident protection


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PROFESSIONAL LIABILITY

Covers task related to routine or normal professional duties related to your profession

HPSO, MARSH & ProLiability

Check to ensure your unique business is covered


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ERROR’S & OMISSIONS

Form of liability insurance

Protects professional advice & service providing individuals

Defends against negligence claims


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ACCIDENT PROTECTION

Consultants who conduct off-site work

Off-site or home based space where you see clients

Check with your current insurance companies


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PROTECTING YOUR BUSINESS

PART 2: CONTENT

DEVELOPMENT© 2015 RD Entrepreneurs Academy

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COPYRIGHTS

Denoted by the symbol ©

Begin as soon as you create the work

Not required to pay for a copyright

No need to register the copyright in order to use ©

Protecting Your Business Part 2: Content Development l Business Startup Essentials

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Pursuing legal action requires registration

If you are employed to create the work, you do not own the copyright

If you purchase a creation, you do not own the copyright


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YOU CAN COPYRIGHT

Written words (blog posts, books, articles)

Pictures or graphics

Computer programs

Informational products


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YOU CAN NOT COPYRIGHT

Ideas

Titles, short phrases or slogans

List of ingredients


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TRADEMARKS

Denoted by the symbol ™

A ™ prevents using the same or similar name/logo/slogan

The ™ symbol is enough for protection, no registration required


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If someone uses your ™, it strengthens your case if it is registered

A business (in non-competing markets), may still be able to use a ™ name/slogan

Rule of thumb-“Who was there 1st?”


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YOU CAN TRADEMARK

Names (business, product, service names); your personal name can not be trademarked

Logos

Slogans


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SYMBOLS

™ Unregistered Trademark

SM Unregistered Service Mark

® Registered Trade/Service Mark


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COSTS

Copyrights ~$35-45

US Copyright Office

Trademark ~$275-375

US Patent & Trademark Office


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INFRINGEMENT

Infringement is rampant in the digital age

Social media, blogs, video sites

How to avoid infringement?


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SOCIAL MEDIA

Linking to articles or pictures

vs

Taking credit for articles or images


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BLOGGING

What’s acceptable?

Sharing a link

Add your own commentary, take or flair

What’s not acceptable?

A complete article or recipe (even if credit is given)


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DIGITAL

Music

Just because a song is popular doesn’t mean you can use it

Royalty Free or personal creation


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DIGITAL

Images

Google images are typically owned by someone else

Royalty free or your personal creation


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TYPICALLY…YOU WILL BE GIVEN NOTICE (CEASE &

DESIST) BEFORE LEGAL ACTION IS TAKEN


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WRAP UP


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KEY POINTS

Consider costs, risks & concreteness of business idea when choosing a business structure

When in doubt, consult the professionals

Fully understand the details of any tasks/assignment (and get those details in writing!)

Protect your intellectual property simply with use of the correct symbols

Business Startup Essentials

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Decision: What business structure do you think will

work for your business startup?


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NEXT UPBusiness Breakdown


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NEXT UPBusiness Breakdown


Overview: Consulting/Private Practice/Digital & Media

Business & Marketing Plans

Payment Considerations

How to develop your product and services

61

Business Startup Essentials - Amazon S3 · SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP Simple and most common ... Determine...

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