Top steps to setting up an LLC by George Ammar

George Ammar is an Ohio Chief Financial Officer based in Cleveland Ohio.  He owns a CFO LLC and is CPA certified.  He believes in the power of fitness in maintaining your body and mind and attributes some of his successes to health, fitness and leading a healthy lifestyle.

Small business are mostly set up as Limited Liability Company, such as George S Ammar’s business  in Cleveland, Ohio, as it is the most simple way to set up a business, that can take a couple of hours.  In order to set up an LLC there are steps that you need to follow.  You need to obtain a copy of the LLC Articles of Organization. Ohio will have its own.  There will also be some rules about the exact name that you can use for your business and the Secretary of State’s office will confirm this to you.

Choosing a name for your business you must have an individual. As well as wanting the name to be catchy, think about where it will appear in a business directory.  It must not have been used before and you cannot use words such as Insurance, City and so on.  You must end it with LLC.  The next step is to complete the LLC Articles of Organization form.  This is another simple process; you will need to confirm name, business, purpose and principal office address. You may need to publish a notice in your local newspaper stating your intention to set up a LLC business.  This is not currently required in Ohio.  You then submit this document to the Secretary of State with the fees.  If all the paperwork gets a bit overwhelming, don’t give up, show resilience, as once this is completed and processed you have actually legally set up your business.

The LLC operating licence is not a legal requirement but it is a very important document to keep your business safe and secure especially if you are in partnership, as two people may have very different ways and ideas on how to run the business.  The operating agreement will ensure that you have a written legal document that fully sets out the business’s initial intentions and how it was set out to operate.

Any legal representative would stress the importance of creating this document straight away if you are in a business partnership.  The mostimportant areas to cover in this document are the financial and management rights and responsibilities of all the managerial parties involved in the LLC. Some people believe that as they are going into business with a family friend, or close family member, this is not required.  Again, this would not be the advice given to you by a legal representative who has seen the repercussions of such ideas far too often. This would then cover who contributes if the LLC needs additional capital investment.  It will also state who profits from the business and how this will be paid.  It will also confirm how partners of the LLC can leave.  Perhaps it is even more necessary to put it in writing when entering into business with a friend or family member as who would want work to come in the way of family and friendship.