The legalities of starting a new business.

[Phresh]

I'm very unfamiliar with the laws that dictate the startup of new businesses. These legalities are something which every entrepreneur must eventually learn; hopefully successful business owners will offer their advice.

-I plan on distributing 2-3 small, quarter operated vending machines throughout a local shopping center. Am I legally inclined to have a registered business before I do this? Should I anyway?

-As I understand, if you register a business as an LLC, your business name is automatically registered in your state. The exception is with a ficticious name, e.g., "Sun Valley Laundromat", as opposed to "Jackson's Laundromat." You must pay extra for the latter.

-Registering your name as a trademark is a seperate issue and is geared towards bigger business as they stand to lose more if they're copied/stolen from.

-Is an LLC the way to go for a small vending company? Most vending companies I've seen are an LLC.

I live in Washington. Please correct me if anything is wrong. Thanks.

[Phresh]

Specifically, is an LLC better than being a sole proprietor? After reading up a bit, it seems that an LLC's advantages are better suited for a larger business (the ability to hire employees, better coverage if sued, etc.) while sole proprietorship is specifically designed for smaller endeavors.

Should I lean toward one or the other while I'm just starting out? I can definitely cover the initial startup fees of my 2-3 machine operation, but I might need additional help from an LLC if my business grows larger in the future. Wikipedia says that if I switch from a sole proprietorship to an LLC, my newly formed LLC will retain the sole proprietorship's income tax charges. Is this good or bad? Also, will I get nabbed for self-employment taxes as well? Aaaaargh!

Thanks guys.

[CobraGoat]

Sole proprietorship is baaaaaad....

generic article on the subject....

http://sbinformation.about.com/cs/ow...orporation.htm

[Quercus]

Start here.

[Phresh]

Thanks. I definitely need a WA state business license to distribute the machines, so I'm looking into that. I'll read the links you guys provided now. I appreciate it.