Don’t underestimate the potential of a side project (or “side hustle” as they’re commonly known): many multi-million dollar companies started as side projects. Twitter, Craigslist, Slack, Groupon all started as a side project.

Typical Side Company Setup

Most people simply work on their side project while they still have a job and then if it takes off or at least becomes “ramen profitable” (where you are able to at least feed yourself with your side hustle income) then they create a company (register an official business).  

However, there are risks with doing it this way, especially if you have many business ideas. First, since your initial work isn’t within an official incorporated business (a Corporation or LLC, an entity that is separate from yourself) you might expose yourself to liability.

For example, you might have some beta users or first customers of your side business but since you aren’t an incorporated entity yet, you may be held personally liable for the business and these customers may be able to come after your personal assets in a lawsuit (home, cars, etc.). This is the infamous “customer slipped on your driveway then sued you” nightmare scenario (or if your technical product messed up their computer or network, for example). Continue reading “How to Create a Company to Manage (and Protect) Your Side Projects”

I recently spoke to Allan Dib (the bestselling author of The 1-Page Marketing Plan), and he mentioned that changing your company name is like “performing heart surgery on a company”. After just going through a company name change, I tend to agree.

There are many moving parts and action items to think about when changing a company name. From choosing the name, to filing the business name change with the IRS (or whatever your national tax authority is), articles of Amendment with the state (each state you operate in and with every agency you’re licensed with) or filing a DBA name change (if you are organized as a partnership or sole proprietor).

We recently went through all of this with our recent name change so now I’d like to guide everyone with a business name change checklist to review and consider. Below we’ll review if you really need to change your name (or if you’re just thinking about changing your name), how to do the basic rebranding process and finally the checklist of action items.

Step 1: Do You Really Need to Change the Business Name?

I want to emphasize that while you, as the business owner, probably think the name of your company is very important, your client likely doesn’t give it much consideration at all (as long as it’s not inappropriate, offensive or wildly inaccurate). Think about it, do you really care what the name of your favorite vendor is? Likely not. However, for branding and positioning purposes, a well done name change and rebrand can really inject life into a company’s brand and marketing so it’s important to put some thought into it. Continue reading “How to Change Your Business Name (or Rebrand) including Checklist”

2017 was probably the most important in the history of MyCompanyWorks (formerly MyNewCompany.com) so we wanted to send an update to list what we accomplished and to let our clients and friends know what we’ve got planned for 2018 as well – big things coming!

2017 Accomplishments:

Rebranded as MyCompanyWorks

By far the biggest change is that we completely rebranded our company from MyNewCompany.com, Inc. to MyCompanyWorks, Inc. effective on November 2, 2017. This was a huge change and long debated. You can read our reasons for changing the name in this post but mostly, we outgrew the old name and are dedicated to becoming a complete small business platform to start, manage and grow your business – to make it WORK.

Launched the Startup Wizard

We launched our proprietary Startup Wizard to help our clients set-up their new companies quickly and completely and the feedback has been fantastic! Through one simple dashboard you can follow our interactive checklist to guide you through things like holding an organizational meeting, issuing stock, opening accounts, getting a logo and more.

Made the INC5000

MyCompanyWorks was very proud to have made its debut on the INC5000 in 2017. We’re very proud of our team and thankful to our clients for this great honor. We’ve managed to grow quickly but we’re also proud that we’ve also maintained our perfect A+ Ranking with the Better Business Bureau as well as a 4.8/5 rating on ShopperApproved. 

New Website Design

We launched a fancy new website design that has received great feedback. The design is modern, fully mobile friendly and looks fantastic!

My Account Dashboard Redesign and Improvements

Our My Account Dashboard was also fully redesigned and re-imagined into a beautiful command center to manage your business entity (or many hundreds of entities!). We also implemented many new features like PDF invoices, Task and Alerts for Annual Reports and we’ve recently launched an Account Summary that unifies all of your compliance tasks and billing reminders into one simple monthly email.

Launched our Referral Program

We’ve now given each of our clients a code and coded link that they can share with anyone and get paid for every order they refer to us (and manage their referrals in the My Account Dashboard). A great way to earn some extra cash for spreading the word.

2018 Goals:

We’re not resting on our laurels – we have many great things planned for our clients in 2018 including adding domain names/websites, business licenses and bank accounts to our suite of products that can be added to our business formation service.

Also be on the lookout for massive improvements to our ComplianceLock service, improvement to our Virtual Office service and hopefully, a new Delaware office as well.

Thanks again to our team and especially our clients for placing your trust in us since 2001!

The new tax law, called the “Tax Cut and Jobs Act” (TCJA), was signed into law on December 22, 2017 and is the largest overhaul of the US tax system since 1986. The bill is huge, and actually, in our opinion, makes many aspects of the tax code more complex rather than simpler. Some of the details are not entirely clear yet so we’re still learning more each day as the IRS implements various rules and decisions.

However, there is some very good news for small businesses (under a certain income and of a certain type of business activity) and any business that operates as a C-Corporation.

Continue reading “How the New 2018 Tax Law affects Small Business Owners”

Six years ago, a startup company was purchased in Ohio for $100 million, according to venture capitalist Mark Kvamme. Everyone involved in the deal was excited about it at the time – but they also acknowledged that it wasn’t likely to put a whole lot of money back into the State’s startup community. And that’s something Ohio desperately needed. Continue reading “Why Starting a Business in Ohio is a Very Good Idea – Especially Now”

Quick – what’s the first startup that comes to mind when I mention Chicago? If Groupon immediately popped into your head, you aren’t alone. The Chicago-based startup’s meteoric rise to fame (and subsequent fall from grace) has long defined Chicago’s startup scene – and the startup scene of Illinois as a whole. As you may have surmised, that’s not a good thing. Continue reading “Why Start A Business in Illinois, Anyway?”

Starting your own business can be pretty overwhelming, no matter where it’s situated. There’s so much to think about before, during, and after your organization gets on its feet. That’s why it’s so important to choose carefully when working out where you want to found your startup. Continue reading “The Main Reason You Should Start a Business in Wyoming”

If you’re looking at starting your own business, Colorado is one of the best choices. There’s a reason it’s home to over 50,000 small businesses – and that those businesses make up more than 90% of organizations in the state. Don’t just take my word for it, though.  Continue reading “Three Very Good Reasons You Should Think About Starting A Business In Colorado”

Nevada might be known as the immensely-popular tourist trap that is Las Vegas. However, from a business perspective, that’s far from the only thing the state has to offer. Home to such major enterprises as AMERCO, The Nevada Power Company, and Bally Technologies, Nevada could well be the best place you’ve ever lived and worked. Continue reading “Three Signs You Should Start A Business In Nevada”

It’s one of the world’s leading hubs of finance and investment. It’s a destination for countless business people and entrepreneurs. It’s home to more Fortune 500 companies than any other state, and has some of the best telecom infrastructure in the country. Continue reading “Starting A Business In New York State? Make Sure You Address This Major Challenge First”