I am ashamed to admit that I have been in business for almost 10 years and only recently set up my company to be a Limited Liability Company or LLC. All this time I was operating as a sole proprietor, which almost every lawyer will tell you is not the smartest way to reduce personal liability. Because I have been a one-woman show with the occasional independent contractor as a partner, I figured my risk wasn’t high. I always have carried a two million dollar liability insurance policy. I would joke with clients, "I would have to make a pretty expensive typo to merit a 2 million dollar payout!" But the reality is you never know these days what can lead to a lawsuit. An LLC is just one option for choosing your organization structure. Consult your lawyer to see what is best for you.
What held me back from filing was what I figured would be a long, expensive and gnarly process with a lawyer. Was I wrong! I found Legalzoom through my buddies at Startup Nation. All that is required is a simple web-based questionnaire, electronic payment, and your LLC application is underway! I got my finished papers in a smart-looking binder, embossed with my company name (Ganas Consulting LLC) all in about a month. They filed all the necessary paperwork with the state agencies. I am just responsible for listing the LLC in the newspaper and signing the final contract.
If dread has been keeping you from setting up an LLC, I highly recommend Legalzoom.
For me reading is so much a part of my life that I couldn’ t possibly quit if I tried. I do not have to make time for reading— it’ s the other stuff I have to make time for! I read on the bus, I read on the subway, I read in the doctor’ s waiting room, I read while I eat my sandwich in the lunch room at work, I read before I turn the lights out at night, I read when my husband pauses the DVD to take a bathroom break. And of course I read in large chunks of time, comfortably curled up in an afghan. I reread…