[vlwest]

I'm very new to the VA world, in fact I am trying to get my business started, little baby steps, and am wondering if it is required that you register your business name, incorporate or LLC. Is this something that you have to do? Right now I have so much information whirling around me I seem to be getting bogged down by it all. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
vlwest

[Chrissy Scivicque]

Hi there vlwest! And congratulations on the new endeavor. That's so exciting. I have a few resources I'd like to mention, and I've also asked our CEO to weigh in on some of your specific questions (he's our small business guru). For now, let me suggest a few articles for you:

Open for Business: Choosing the Right Structure for Your Company

How to Set Up Your Home Office (and checklist)

Also, be sure to join our Virtual Assistants group where other VAs get together to chat and problem-solve. Good luck to you!! This is a great time to be starting a business (or so I've heard). Keep us informed of your progress.

Oh, here's one more article from our writer, Caroline, who is also a VA.

Virtual Reality: Confessions of a Virtual Assistant

[Robert Ball]

vlwest,

If you are setting up the business as a corporation or LLC, you will register the company name with the state where you incorporate/organize as part of the process. You will also most likely need to get a business license and in that process register the name locally. If you are going to operate the business under a different name than the full company/official name, you will need to file a trade name application (or d/b/a, short for "doing business as"). Not to confuse you further, but you can also protect and, if you want, file for protection for the trade mark or service mark that goes with your business.

Companies such as LegalZoom, MyCorporation or Incnow provide services to help you with the process. Check back here often as we are adding tools and partners everyday that are designed to help start-ups like yours. We have a few items that are probably on your checklist already included as part of our Silver Membership (teleconferencing, desktop fax, templates, etc.) and let us know what else you need and we will go find it for you.

Hope this helps.