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"I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent." »» Mahatma Gandhi

Going Legit: Easing The Pain Of Incorporation

Posted on July 31, 2007
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Several years ago I was instrumental in creating a non-profit corporation to promote spoken word and the San Jose Poetry Slam. As the only person in the scene with any business experience the job of figuring out the steps and filing the paperwork to become a corporate entity fell upon my shoulders. Since what little revenue we had was earmarked to return to the artists themselves I decided to do the work myself instead of paying a registered agent a couple of hundred dollars to handle things for us. Big mistake.

Everything worked out fine, but I spent about 60 hours tracking everything down, meeting with bureaucrats, completing and re-completing various forms. Had I known about California Inc. at the time I would have been saved a lot of grief. And it would have only cost us about $2.00 per hour of time saved! That’s time I could have spent working on growing and developing our actual business instead of jumping through regulatory hoops.

California Inc., part of EastBiz.com Inc., offers online filing service to start corporation in all 50 states. Fees vary by state, but since California is the fourth most expensive state in the union to do business, the services of a registered agent are even more valuable here. Their website is clean and informative with none of the high pressure tactics seen on many sites offering to help small businesses get properly set up. It houses extensive information and FAQs detailing the differences between C and S Corporations and LLCs as well as covering all of the various forms and filings that are required in order to incorporate.

Additionally, they offer registered agent services at very competitive prices. All corporations and LLCs must choose a person to act as their registered agent. This is the person who is designated in the articles of incorporation/organization that will receive service of process or other important documents from the state. Hiring a registered agent means not having to worry about forgetting filing deadlines or not having the correct government form at the right time. Again, the amount of money you spend on this service will turn out to be a bargain when compared to the amount of time you will save.

If your home-based or online business has grown to the point where you’re generating a regular income, or is moving in that direction, then you really owe it to yourself to strongly consider incorporating. And if you’re going to incorporate, and value your time and sanity, then I can’t recommend hiring a company such as California Inc. highly enough.