This is one of my writing samples meant to demonstrate the voice construct I call the “Knowledgeable Best Friend”. This tone of voice is meant to demonstrate expertise while maximizing openness and approachability to your audience.
No Fear: Starting Your Home Business Step-By-Step
We know, we know. Starting a home-based business can be terrifying. But don’t you worry, because we’ve got what you need to fight the fear in this handy step-by-step guide to starting your home-based business.
We’re going to lay it all out for you one baby step at a time and before you know it you’ll have all your ducks in a row.
Your paperwork will be filed. You’ll have your plan in place. You even have a solid outline for your marketing material.
So what do you say? Let’s dive in!
Step #1 Choosing a Business Structure
Ok, I’ll be upfront and honest with you right off the bat.
Starting a home-based business is going to take work. If you want to do this right – and we mean right – you’ll have to navigate a few legal hurdles.
I know that sounds daunting, but we promise we’ll keep it simple and you’ll be through it all in no time.
So what kind of legal hurdles are we talking about?
First up: you’re going to have to decide which structure you will use for your business.
In the United States, there are a few different business structures you can choose from:
- Sole proprietorship: This is a business owned and operated by just one person (you!). That means you are personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business.
- Partnership: Partnerships are owned and operated by two or more people. Partnerships can be either “general partnerships” (where all partners are responsible for the business) or “limited partnerships” (where some partners are only liable for the debts and liabilities of the business proportional to their investment).
- Corporation: Legally speaking, a corporation is a separate entity from its owners. It’s owned by shareholders who elect a board of directors to manage the business. The profits and losses of a corporation get taxed separately from its owners.
- Limited liability company (LLC): LLCs combine the liability protection of a corporation with the tax benefits of a partnership.
Now, I know that was a lot, but once we break this down, you’ll see it’s not that bad.
Here we go:
Most of the one-person small businesses in the US are sole proprietorships. They are the simplest and most straightforward option.
So you should go with that one, right?
Not so fast.
The problem with sole proprietorships is that there is no legal buffer between you and your business. That means that if someone decides to sue your business, they are also suing you.
So if your business has the potential for liabilities, you probably want to consider forming a Limited Liability Company (LLC) instead.
LLCs provide you with liability protection. That means you will not be personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the business.
LLCs also have another added benefit: They can be taxed as corporations (if you so desire)!
This gives you enormous flexibility and can amount to serious tax savings depending on the nature of your business…
For reference, this sample has an Automated Readability Index (ARI) score of 6, contains 502 words, and would take the average person about 2 minutes to read.