So, I’m just about done with the preliminary steps for getting this business off the ground. I’m going to document the various steps that I’ve taken so far, along with some of the advice that I’ve received from people who know much more about this process than I do.

First of all, I registered Out Of My Mind LLC with the state of Oregon. Apparently, the LLC designation is a state thing, and doesn’t really mean much to the feds. It took several minutes online and I was done. There isn’t much else to do at this point, if you’re the only person working for the company. I was told that I would want to have an Operating Plan in place before bringing on any other employees. Otherwise, there is the potential for all kinds of unexpected bad things. It was also stressed to me that the first thing I should do is open a company bank account and keep my personal and business finances separate. Otherwise, if there is ever an audit of the company, it becomes a personal audit automatically. Point taken.

After registering my business, I requested a EIN (Employer Identification Number) from the IRS, which took a few minutes online. After filling out the form and submitting it, I was able to download the document after a couple minutes of processing. During the application is also when I was told that I’m still considered a Sole Proprietor by the feds. I suspect that I may have to get another EIN if I ever hire any employees, but I’ll save that question for my accountant.

With my business license and EIN, I was able to open up my business bank account. Since I hadn’t done much research into banking options, I ended up going with the same bank that I use for my personal accounts. Some advice I received was that it is much easier to make contributions to or draws from the business account if they are at the same bank, which can save some frustration. In addition, it is a national bank, which could also save some headaches if I’m ever traveling for business or dealing with non-local entities. Eventually, if I have time to research banking options, I can always move the account(s).

I’ve also been trying to get all of my web sites and online presence set up, but I’ll leave that for another post.