eSignature Lawfulness for Startup Business Plan in United States

How to eSign a document: e-signature lawfulness for Startup Business Plan in United States

Welcome, everyone! I’m Mark Lyda of the Lyda Law Firm. We work with entrepreneurs to help them start and grow their businesses. We’ve developed a 16-point checklist called the “Legal Checklist for Startups” to help you make sure your business is starting with a solid legal foundation. So this video series is for anybody who is trying to figure what they don’t know, or doesn’t know what they don’t know, about how the law affects your small business. If you’re trying to start up your idea or legitimize your side hustle, this video series is for you. In this video, we’ll just run through the 16 points, and then we’ll go into more detail about each item in the other videos in this playlist. Ok, so let’s do a rundown of the 16 items in the legal checklist for startups. Item number one, define your mission. This is your mission statement, this is your “why.” Why are you starting your business? Why are you doing what you’re doing? Number two, define your end goal. What is your specific, ultimate goal for your business? Number three, define your “who.” With whom will you work on your business. Number four, define your “where.” Where will you work? Where will you register your business? And where will your customers be? Number five, protect your brand. Develop a plan to protect your intellectual property - trademarks, copyrights, patents. Develop your plan to protect your brand. Number six, plan your funding. Will you self-fund? Will you seek investors? Will you take out a loan? How will you fund your business? Number seven, select your type of entity. Will you be an LLC? A corporation? A partnership? Select the type of entity - the legal structure - for your business. Number eight, register with your state. Once you’ve selected the type of entity you want to be, you register that entity with your state. Number nine, select your tax treatment. This is similar to selecting your type of entity, except that it is specific to the IRS. So you have to select your tax treatment with the federal government - the IRS - and you tell them how you want to be taxed. So for example, if you’re an LLC, do you want to be taxed as a sole-proprietor, taxed as a partnership, taxed as a big corporation? So it’s similar to selecting your entity, but it’s a specific and slightly different question as it relates to the IRS. Selecting your tax treatment. Number 10, obtain your EIN from the IRS. You EIN as an employer identification number, it’s also known as a tax ID. And once you’ve selected your type of entity and your tax treatment, you can easily go online and obtain your EIN from the IRS. This is like a social security number for your business. Number 11, start a separate bank account for your business. You do not want to co-mingle your personal funds with your business funds. So now that you have your EIN, you can go to the bank and set up a separate bank account for your business. Number 12, determine your industry-specific regulations for your business. What types of licenses and permits do you need for your specific line of work? Number 13, determine your potential liabilities and your insurance needs. What types of risks does your business face? And how can you protect yourself from those risks using insurance? Number 14, set up an accounting system for your business. Whether you are hiring or a bookkeeper or using an online platform to do your bookkeeping, make sure you have a formal accounting system to keep your books in order. Number 15, set up the basic contracts for your business. This is an easy corner to cut, a lot of people don’t feel like they need written contracts, but it will really help to protect you down the line if you set up your basic contracts at the outset. Finally, number 16, keep it simple. It may sound kind of strange that I’m saying keep it simple after I just went through a 16-point checklist… But once you’ve gone through that checklist and set up your basic legal structure for your business, I suggest that you keep it simple, that you don’t add unneeded complexity so that you can focus on doing what you do best, which is running your business. So those are the 16 steps in the legal checklist for startups. Let’s quickly review those items: 1. Define your mission 2. Define your end goal 3. Define your “who” 4. Define your “where” 5. Protect your brand 6. Plan your funding 7. Select your type of entity 8. Register with your state 9. Select your tax treatment 10. Obtain your EIN from the IRS 11. Set up a separate bank account for your business 12. Determine your industry-specific regulations 13. Determine your potential liabilities, your risks, and your insurance needs. 14. Set up an accounting system for your business. 15. Set up your basic contracts 16. Keep it simple We’ll go into more detail about each of these items in the other videos in this playlist. If you have other topics you’d like us to cover, please feel free to drop them in the comments below. And please click like and subscribe to help keep legal education accessible for small business owners.