3 LLC. Limited liability companies (LLCs) are best for partnerships within a corporate structure, but in some cases a one‐person LLC may be allowed. Owners here are members of the LLC and take shares, which do not have to be equal. It is a very popular and effective form, and is often used when one entity rents or leases to another (e.g., office space).
Your attorney and tax advisor can tell you what your options are for your state, personal objectives, amount of business, and benefits. Make sure that you maximize in your company's bylaws the kinds of deductions that are permitted because you want to pay for everything you legally can with pretax, not after‐tax dollars. If you take the risks of entrepreneurialism, you ought to reap the rewards. Making $250,000 as a solo practitioner can be the equivalent of making $350,000 on someone else's payroll and tax structure.
Possible deduction examples:
Noninsured medical expenses
Certain club memberships
Home office
Business equipment
Communications devices
Professional development
Travel accessories
Remote technology
Specialized clothing
Certifications and licenses
Board meetings (which could be you and your partner)
The Gospel
This is a litigious society. That may be unfortunate, but it's true. Failure to protect your intellectual assets is the same as leaving your house unlocked and the newspapers piling up at the door, inviting a robber into an empty home.
Protection
Anything original that you write is automatically covered by copyright protection laws. You should, however, indicate that protection with either (but not both) of the following forms:
© Alan Weiss 2021. All rights reserved.
Copyright Alan Weiss 2021. All rights reserved.
You do not have to register copyrights with the federal government.2 The reason to do so is strictly for lawsuits and trying to collect punitive damages. Without such government notice, you can sue to remove plagiarism and violation of your copyright, but cannot collect punitive damages or damages for any business lost. If you have filed with the government, then you can sue to collect such monies. In 35 years and with tens of millions of words written, I've never filed with the government for further copyright protection. I have successfully shut down a half‐dozen plagiarists.
For certain phrases, models, and materials (extensions of your intellectual property) you can apply for trademark (™) and service mark (SM) protection. If they stand up to investigation and challenges (for prior use) you will be granted registration (®), which is the highest form of protection.3
Trademarks and service marks are differentiated by products versus services as a rule. Don't attempt to gain this protection online, even though it appears inexpensive to do so online. Use a good trademark attorney. The cost should be between $600 and $1,500, depending on where you live and the nature of the protection, but the search will be exhaustive and all the paperwork and responses will be correctly handled. From application to registration granted can take nearly a year in some cases, but you can use the trademark and service mark indicators as soon as you apply.
And they become equity in your business, should you ever choose to sell it or sell the trademark.
As a rule, you cannot protect common phrases, but you can protect use as adjectives. I can't protect Million Dollar Consulting, but I can protect Million Dollar Consulting® College. Also, classes vary. My partner and I (in our LLC) once protected our offering, The Odd Couple® Workshop (for professional speakers), because it is in a different class from the theatrical productions (which surprised even me).
That's why you need a good, specialized attorney.
Financial
Insurance
You need the following insurance. Once again, if someone tells you otherwise, put your hands over your ears, shut your eyes, and scream as loud as you can. (Do not attempt this if driving.)
Errors and omissions (aka E&O or malpractice). This protects you if a client claims the advice you provided caused loss and harm, or that you stole intellectual property and used it with one of the client's competitors. The amount of the premium for E&O insurance is usually based on the volume of your business, and a million dollars in coverage, at this writing, might cost about $3,500 for a firm with revenues in the low six figures.
Liability. Coverage here is in case someone trips over the power cord on the computer you're using and breaks a nail, resulting in someone suing you, the computer manufacturer, the power cord supplier, the facility you're in, and the inventor of shoes. This is very inexpensive, costing a few hundred dollars for six figures in coverage.
Disability. You're more likely to become disabled than to die while in the consulting profession. You can sometimes obtain group disability coverage through trade associations, but individual polices are available, though pricey. The earlier you do this, the better, since premiums rise according to the age you are when you take out the policy. Considerations:Waiting period. This is the period after the disability occurs during which no benefits are paid before the insurance kicks in. The longer the waiting period, the cheaper the premium.Amount of coverage. Normally, these policies will not pay more than 80 percent of normal income, and for a consultant that can be hard to prove or average.Return to your normal work. Some policies pay only until you can obtain any kind of work.Pay premiums out of your personal account. If your company pays the premiums, they are considered a benefit and the proceeds are subject to tax if they are ever needed.
Obviously, you need to obtain the type of life, health, and property coverage you need for your lifestyle. Long‐term‐care policies are also increasingly sought, and are also cheaper at younger ages. Your company can usually pay certain premiums for you, though these are often taxable benefits. Check with your tax advisors.
Retirement
Use whatever benefit plans make sense for you, but be sure to maximize your ability to put money away in a simplified employee pension individual retirement account (SEP IRA), 401(k), Roth IRA, and similar plans, which are deductible expenses for the company and have caps. Regular IRAs and Roth IRAs are also very worthwhile at younger ages. In many cases, company matching is allowed, though your contributions are from after‐tax funds.
Be aware that if you have regular (W2, full‐time) employees, benefit plans must extend equally to them, which is one of many good reasons to use only part‐time and subcontracting help.4
Contribute consistently and maximally to your retirement programs. While there is some catch‐up offered, you will usually lose the ability to make these contributions after early in the following year, denying yourself both a deduction and a contribution to your future. Even if you're just starting out, try to contribute at least partially to your allowed retirement funds.
Normal Conditions
Keep your business checking account separate from your personal accounts. You can create a savings account or money market sweep account to accommodate funds that aren't