Smithfield Crossing Law Blog

Starting a small business is no child play! The rules and regulations governing enterprises might seem quite complex and more than anything…endless! While it might be a bit frustrating, it is very important to get the rules right before contemplating a new business. Starting with naming the business, right until expansion plans and beyond, the legalities must be taken care of to avoid greater trouble later.

Queries regarding the mandatory procedures and accompanying paperwork tops any amateur entrepreneur’s FAQ list. Some of the most basic requirements are as follows:

Business license: In the United States, a business license is a must in order to conduct a legal business. The regulatory authorities differ depending upon the location of the business. If you plan on operating within a city, then such a license can be applied for with the relevant authorities of that city only. Other countries will also have their own specific set of requirements.

Naming the business: So, you have a very catchy name for your business, eh? Better check if it is available, before you get sued for trademark violation.

• Register the name as a fictitious one if you plan on conducting the business in any name other than your own.

• In the U.S., sole proprietorships and partnerships will have to register their trade name with the secretary of the state.

• Likewise, corporations will have to register with the Department of Financial Institutions of that particular state.

• Register the trade name as a trademark if you intend to sell products under the same name.

Form of ownership: Business organizations could be of different types, such as sole proprietorships, partnerships, incorporated businesses, so on and so forth. Tax and liability issues are different for each and hence you may need to consult a legal expert for help. Some of the relevant documents that come into the picture are listed.

• Partnerships: Although not a compulsion, partnerships could file the articles of partnership with the state government. Buy and sell agreements between the buyers and sellers ought to be maintained for convenience.

• Limited Liability Corp. (LLC): Articles of organization, operating agreements, buy and sell agreements are some of commonly used documents.

• Corporation: A pre-incorporation agreement must be put in order. Approval for incorporation must be sought from the government after filing the articles of incorporation with them and in response, the state government will issue a Charter for Corporation, stating all the powers of and laws to be followed by a corporation. Buy-sell agreements must be taken care of as well.

• Sole proprietorship: This is among the simpler forms of business organization and involves very little paperwork.

Location: One may need to take zone permits for locating a business in a particular area, especially if it involves manufacturing or selling. The zoning department must be contacted for the same. Ensure that your business also has the relevant environmental permits, which is currently an area of great concern.

Employees: While hiring people, strictly adhere to immigration and child labor laws. The employment eligibility of new employees will have to be verified in accordance with Federal Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986 and the relevant document is the Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9. Compensation offered must not be in violation of minimum wage laws. The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division will give you all the relevant information on labor laws. An unemployment insurance tax will have to be paid to the state if you employ personnel for 5 months or more, or if you have paid out gross wages of $1,500 or more in a year’s time. The rates of taxation might vary from state to state.

Intellectual Property Rights: IPR, as it is known, should be used to protect your ideas from being misused or appropriated by others. You can either register the intellectual property as a trademark, or protect it under the Copyright and Patent Act.

Taxation: Legalities surrounding taxation must also be strictly adhered to. From the employee’s compensation, you will have to deduct taxes payable to the federal and state governments apart from the deduction for employee insurance. In addition, businesses have to pay taxes on their own income to the federal and state governments.

Health and Safety: Health and safety standards must be maintained at work in order to ensure the safety of employees. Most states have similar standards and for more information, contact the local OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) office. Every enterprise employing three or more people must provide for insurance against on­the­job accidents. More information can be obtained from your state government office.

Seller’s permit: A seller’s permit will be required if you plan a retail outlet.

Find all the legal forms and contracts that you may need on What is most confounding about the legalities of starting a business is perhaps the complex terminology used. could help you deal with the particularly tricky stuff!

Laws exist to make processes a whole lot smoother and are essential for any well functioning society. While the legalities involved in starting a business may seem onerous, once you deal with them, consider half your troubles gone!

When forming a business, whether big or small, one must have a structure in mind. The structure governs management and shows who is answerable to whom. it also helps the government to determine how much tax the business is supposed to pay. The structure will also help you know how far your liability to the business extends. Liability also helps determine how profits and losses are shared among the parties involved.

Other factors that are governed by the structure of a business include, but are not limited to risk and control, continuity of the venture, transferability and formality, which refers to who is responsible for correspondences between the business and other stakeholders like creditors, debtors and clients. There are many types of legal business structures, but the most common are the sole proprietorship, limited liability Company, partnership (general and limited) and the corporations. In terms of management, the sole proprietorship is managed by one person who is the sole owner of the venture. He is responsible for all correspondence and al decision making. As for the partnership, the roles of management are shared equally among the partners.

The limited liability company is formed through sale of shares to interested members. The company is called limited because a partner or a stakeholder is only worth the number of shares that they have in the company. Their personal assets cannot be sold off to cater for any losses or liabilities in the company.

In terms of transferability, the sole proprietor can transfer or hand over his business to any person he wishes to. He needs to consult any other party as the decision is solely his. As for the other legal business structures, one needs to give a notice when they need to transfer ownership and this must be approved by other stakeholders.

Prepaid Legal eService is an online recruiting and sales platform that offers you 9 different business websites. Find out how avoid the costly mistake that most people make with replicated business websites, and receive the full benefit of your eService account.

A web site can be an important asset for your Prepaid Legal business. In fact, no serious home business should be without a web presence. You will often be asked for your website, and for a professional image, you simply must have one.

Prepaid Legal Services is suggesting that you use your sites to showcase the membership and the opportunity. Many people take this to mean that you drive your web traffic directly to these sites, and then wait for a response.

The problem with this approach is that, in the beginning, your visitors are not looking for company information and plan details. They are looking first for someone who is able to help them and whom they can trust. What does that mean for your traffic strategy?

It means that you need to position yourself as an expert and establish a relationship of trust first before you make your offer. This is not difficult to do, but using your company website is not the right approach.

Your best approach is to position yourself as an expert on the web, using tools such as article writing, press releases, and social media and so on. At this point, you do not mention your company at all; neither do you mention any specific services. Rather, from your pool of experience and market knowledge, you offer valuable, generic advice, for example on identity protection.

Offer free information in exchange for contact data, which you collect on your personal lead capture page. This way, you are building a list of personal leads, your extended warm market, if you will. Once you have established trust, you will find it easy to win customers and business builders. And at that point, when your prospect is ready and asking for detailed company information, your replicated company websites are a great tool.

As you can see, your eService websites work well in the later stage of your marketing process. However, to build your list and position yourself first, your best choice is to offer generic information through your own personal website.

It’s an awesome feeling to have this happen. I used to chase down prospects, now I’m having people chase me.

For the past 7 months I have been building relationships online with people all over the world. I used to push and push my Pre-Paid Legal business down people’s throats without selling myself as a leader first. Needless to say after a year and a half I had NO duplication in my downline and NO profit. It was after a year and a half of marketing the way I was trained that I knew something had to change.

I began researching the Internet for answers. Learning how to attract people to me who wanted to join ME in Pre-Paid legal was always my ultimate goal.

When I first started marketing online I was limited on cash and I knew nothing about setting up websites, pay per click, articles, etc. To overcome my lack of knowledge I tapped into the knowledge of some of the top Internet Network Marketer trainers. I started slow and began testing and implementing marketing strategies. I guess the only difference between me and someone else was that I STARTED. I did not let INFORMATION OVERLOAD be an excuse to not do anything.

The first thing I created was a blog. I learned that blogging was a FREE way to have an attraction marketing based website. I also began writing a lot of articles and posting them all over the Internet at top article directories. I then created an RSS feed and posted it to my blog. This way everytime I posted a new article it would automatically post on my blog. I currently have over 72 live articles that generate passive traffic and prospects everyday.

The next major strategies I learned was social networking and video marketing. I learned how to use Myspace and Facebook to create attraction marketing based profiles and network.

I created videos about Prepaid legal, the product and the business opportunity. I also created videos on leadership and marketing and uploaded them to my blog.

Over time I have been building an ATTRACTION MARKETING based blog. I direct prospects online to take a look at my blog and online marketing system first before I talk about my network marketing business.

The goal here is to let my prospects know that I ‘m interested in teaching them how to MARKET online and that I’m a leader in this industry.

Right now, I’m in a position to consult every prospect and choose who I want to work with in my Pre-Paid legal business. The feeling I had after getting a phone call yesterday from a gentleman wanting to join me in business was out of this world. It’s a nice place to be!

If you would like to learn more about me and how your business can benefit from an online marketing system, check out my resources below.

Are you desperate to make more CASH online? Take a look at my online marketing system that coverts extremely high ==> http://www.PowerProspectingSecrets.info – My Online Marketing System

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When it comes to growing your Prepaid Legal business, there are a few things you should know. After reading this information, you will know exactly how to grow your Prepaid Legal buisness the easy way. Even without having to bother friends and family.

Prepaid Legal Marketing Secrets #1: You have to understand the benefits of using the services offered by Prepaid Legal. Whether it’s legal protection service or identity theft, knowing the benefits of each one will help you understand who will pay for these services. By doing this, you will attract people who wants added security from the services offered by Prepaid Legal, and they’ll join you in growing your Prepaid Legal business.

You can also figure out how the benefits of the protection offered by Prepaid Legal by looking at how it has helped you. Or your upline, downline, or someone you know who have benefited greatly from the service. This will help you understand who will purchase the services from you and join you in your Prepaid Legal business.

Prepaid Legal Marketing Secrets #2: Understand who your target market is (or people who have a need or want for what you have to offer). This will be people looking for protection. Or maybe someone who wants legal protection in their corner 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Or people who have a fear of someone stealing their identity. There are hundreds and thousand of people out there who wants your service. Once you figure out who your market is, you’ll be able to help protect hundreds of people. They will be so excited about the service, that they’ll join you in your Prepaid Legal business.

I will say this, though. Not everyone will want your Prepaid Legal service. And not everyone will want to join your business. Don’t worry about it. There are hundreds of other people out their waiting on your help. You just have to find them. Or better yet, have them find you. And from time to time, you’ll be able to attract some “heavy hitters” into your Prepaid Legal business. They will bring with them hundreds of people into your Prepaid Legal business. This will make it fun and exciting in growing your business.

Prepaid Legal Marketing Secrets #3: Once you understand the benefits of using Prepaid Legal service and who you’re target market is, you should automate this process. This will allow you to show your downline what to do and how to do it. This will allow you to help protect people and allow them to help you in growing your Prepaid Legal business. This is how you will grow your Prepaid Legal business the easy way. You wil be able to add dozens and dozens of people into your business each week, every week.

This will not only give you a deep sense of gratitude, you’ll have people whole-heartedly thanking you for taking the time out to help them. And remember, the more people you help, the more money you make. So help alot of people, and in return, you’ll make alot of money.

Use these marketing secrets to grow your Prepaid Legal business the easy way. These secrets will not only help you grow your business, but help you attract the right people to you.

If you are researching the Prepaid Legal business opportunity, this article will give you some helpful information on the business and the opportunity. We will present you with an unbiased review that will allow you to come to your own conclusion.1) Prepaid Legal

In 1972, a life insurance salesman by the name of Harland Stonecipher was involved in a serious motor vehicle accident that greatly affected his life. Although Stonecipher’s vehicle and medical expenses where insured, he was left with legal fees totally several thousands of dollars.

From this tragedy, Stonecipher was inspired to provide others with legal insurance. In 1979, Prepaid Legal became a publicly traded corporation. The company provides legal expense reimbursement services through plans sold by independent distributors.

2) Prepaid Legal Plans

Independent distributors market legal insurance plans through Prepaid Legal. This means that you are basically insuring your future legal needs. Plans offer a certain level of coverage at no cost and then increased coverage for reduced rates. The new plan owner pays a membership fee and premiums to obtain their coverage.

For a $49 fee, you can become a Prepaid Legal independent distributor. This gives you the rights to market the plans to individuals, families, or businesses.

3) Prepaid Legal Compensation

Prepaid legal markets their business opportunity under the network marketing umbrella. Prepaid Legal pays commissions of $69-$250 every time you personally sponsor someone into the business.

The way that you achieve success with Prepaid legal is by recruiting and training others to sell the legal insurance plans. By creating a system for others to follow, you can leverage yourself and your time.

In conclusion, if you are anticipating a large amount of legal needs in your future, the Prepaid Legal business opportunity might work well for your needs. However, if you wish to promote the business, you are going to need to have an intelligent marketing plan and budget in place to achieve success.

Prepaid Legal is not a scam. If you enjoy the MLM marketing plan, Prepaid Legal could be a good option for you. If not, keep looking for a business model that better suits your needs and particular situation.