Sole Proprietors and Single-Owner Companies
Single-owner companies and sole proprietors face many of the same concerns as traditional corporations, multimember LLCs, and other entity structures. Accordingly, we encourage you to review the “Services” page setting forth our general corporate counsel and business law services, most of which will be as relevant to your business legal needs as they are for larger and more complex companies.
In addition, we can offer advice and guidance particularly tailored to the unique questions and challenges that you face as a sole owner. Common areas of interest and concern among similarly situated clients include the following:
- Understanding what the benefits are of organizing a limited liability company for purposes of asset protection and liability limitation, when the LLC has only one member (owner).
- Determining whether your LLC should receive the default treatment of a disregarded (pass-through) entity for income tax purposes, or whether (typically in consultation with your tax professional) you should elect S-corporation status.
- Hiring independent contractors (1099 workers) when you need extra help, and ensuring they aren’t reclassified as W2 employees.
- Ensuring your proprietary business information is treated by contractors and staff as confidential, and cannot be misappropriated or later used or sold in competition with your business.
- Ensuring you acquire full intellectual property rights in any materials that are created for you by a third party in connection with your business, or protecting your own intellectual property rights if you are the creator of copyrightable or patentable works.
- Navigating the challenges of obtaining financing for your business, including requests from lenders and landlords that you execute a personal guaranty for a company loan, line of credit, or commercial lease.
- Facilitating the process of converting from a SMLLC to a multimember LLC in the event you elect to take on additional partners, and ensuring that your long-term interests in the company you created remain protected.
- Developing a succession plan and/or business continuity plan in the event of your death, incapacity, or retirement, to facilitate a smooth transition of authority and avoid potential disruptions to the business.
We love working with single-owner companies at any stage of their business cycle, from formation to ongoing operations to taking on new investors or selling to a third party, and even to properly winding down and dissolving the business in accordance with applicable state law if you decide to move on. Please reach out to us at the “Contact” page to arrange a free consultation and discuss how we can help provide the legal foundation you need to build and protect your company long-term.