Deciding on a Business Structure

There are several ways you can structure your business legally here in the U.S. It can be a Sole Proprietor, Partnership, LLC, LLC Partnership, S Corporation, or  C Corporation.

I went with S Corporation or S Corp. This is officially called a corporation sub chapter S by the IRS . Why? Well a friend finally convinced me. I'll admit to having doubts for a bit due to the fact that I now have to pay taxes quarterly. But after talking with an accountant it seemed my fears were for naught. Basically, as an S Corp, I get more liability protection than a Sole Proprietorship (thought not quite as much as an LLC) which means as an owner and a shareholder (and the only one for now) most financial liabilities will not fall on me personally but on the company and its profits itself. Another benefit is that I avoid the double taxation that your average corporation (or C Corp) gets. Most C Corps get taxes taken out of both the company and each individual shareholder. Not me though :). However, I must make sure I am paying myself a fair and reasonable compensation. 

I'll probably say this in all my posts about starting this business. Get help! Don't do it all alone. I was not completely on my own but I made a lot more decisions after just discussing it with myself than I had to. This was one of them. I could've talked to a mentor or that accountant before filing the paperwork.

That being said, I filed at just the right time since I have an entire quarter until my first tax filing date. I used LegalZoom to l create all the paperwork and file it as necessary. I could have chatted with them a bit but I was trying get it done. They have a great system in place that is simple to follow. And at the end of it you get all your official paperwork in a nice professional binder.

I am on my way. Excelsior Events, Inc is on its way.

~Lashette