Wow, late post...This week we talked about how to make your business legal. There's quite a few different ways to establish a business.
The easiest way to establish an official business is what's called a Sole Proprietorship. Basically, you register a name with the state government. In Idaho (where my college is), you need to register an Assumed Business Name. This is good for a very simple business with little risk of legal liability, like one is run on an advertising model or an affiliate. It gives you full control. It's just you.
Another business type is an LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). This one is good for businesses that are a little bigger. There is limited liability because all legal problems--debts, lawsuits, etc.--are on the company and not you personally. They can't take your personal assets. You can also have co-owners in the business. You don't pay taxes on the company, but you pay it as the owner.
Corporations are much more difficult to establish. So, why would you want one? Well, you can have many owners. C-Corps can go public (like on the stock market). Another advantage is lots of liability protection.
So, stock. Why would you want stock? Usually people who buy stock want either dividends or to resell it. People sell stock originally to get funding. Once it's been sold, it can be used to tell how well the business is doing compared to other companies.
Understanding how to set up a business helps you to understand how to pay taxes, which is very important if you don't want to get in trouble.
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