This is literally the question I’ve been googling all week, lol. I decided on a sole proprietorship for now as I have minimal assets and the thoughts of starting an LLC in NY are pretty intimidating.
I came across your video randomly while going down a rabbit hole watching miniature painting tutorials and gotta say your video is really great! I’ve been deciding what to do regarding my own small business. I’ve opted to go LLC for the protection and legitimacy. It took me 30 min to register my LLC in my state. Love how your video randomly popped up and helped me immensely! Do you feel there’s a level of business income you need to benefit from S corp vs LLC?
Welcome! That's cool how you found my channel that way! :) Personally, I have many different streams of income that total over 100K in gross sales every year, so my attorney recommended for me to incorporate for better legal protection and tax benefits. I'm not a huge expert in this topic, and I actually went from a sole prop to an S-Corp (I didn't do an LLC), so I don't have the experience of an LLC and when it is best to incorporate. I wish I could be more helpful on this topic but that's all I know from my personal experience :)
Hey Erica, I launched my online candle business this past November. How did you get your scents out for people to try? I wish we had “Smell-o-Vision” lol I’ve handed out free samples, haven’t done pop ups just yet due to the weather here in Michigan but I’m stomped on how to advertise my scents without anyone being able to smell them…thank you in advance
So I actually just replied to another comment asking about marketing when you don't have a lot of time or money and I wanted to post my reply to you because I think it may be helpful for your question, too! You could go onto your local facebook group page and advertise your products. I would make sure the group allows for this (there's a group in my city that allows businesses to advertise on mondays only). But I would be strategic about it. Do a giveaway, or offer a specific service to people in the area (i.e. event candles, custom candles, etc). You could also try to see if any corporate gifting is needed in your area; you could even offer some free samples for gift box services in your area in exchange for including your business card/marketing materials to get your name out there. If you don't have a lot of time or money, It's best to focus on marketing where you use your product as the "money" towards marketing. Instead of spending money on facebook/IG ads, you use your product as the "money" towards your advertising. The benefit to this is that you are guaranteeing that people (potential customers or "leads") are going to get their hands on your product. And if your product impresses them enough, then they will seek out your business for more candles/products! Yes of course you're still paying for the supplies to make the products, but that's technically all you will be spending on marketing in this strategy. Giveaways, "donating" your samples/products to local gifting services, contacting micro influencers on IG to give free products for them to review/post about, are all examples of "paying" for marketing with your product. Also, make sure you spend a lot of time on product photography and product descriptions, this is ALSO a form of marketing because good photos and descriptions can entice potential customers to want to make a purchase! I plan to make more beginner marketing videos and dive further into this topic! ❤️
Sole proprietor is great until you have a large income....once you paid the taxman over 50K in taxes you will think twice about staying ole proprietor. At that point LLC with S-corp is the smartest.
Would general business insurance protect you as a sole proprietor (no LLC) in the case of a lawsuit? or is it more to just cover legal fees damage to property ect?
@@MemoryBoxCandleCo that would be really great! I am registering as sole proprietor and make them in my own home... yikes lol...no LLC protections yet! maybe I should just make melts haha
Thanks Erica! I plan on talking to a cpa and business attorney soon and most likely will start with a sole proprietorship and hopefully eventually move to LLC. In your opinion, would you have a separate business checking account even with a sole proprietorship? I’m leaning toward this just to keep business finances separate from personal even though they are one and the same with SP.
"Co" stands for company. LLC can only be added if you have a registered LLC, same with "INC" (incorporated). There is no "best" though! Every company is different :) I sometimes put "Inc." at the end of our brand name because we are a corporation, but it's mostly just "Co" to be short for company. You also don't have to have either at the end of your name! It could just be "Joe's Candles", for example.
