After you evaluate your business idea, determine startup costs and research the market, you’ll be ready to take on the next steps to starting your business.

Track your progress as you go with this business startup checklist:

A professional corporation (PC) is a corporation that provides organized to provide services by professionals that must have a state license. (Some states refer to a professional corporation as a professional association (PA) or a service corporation (SC).) Many states also allow licensed professionals to form a Professional Limited Liability Company (PLLC). A PLLC provides more flexibility to the owners than that permitted with a professional corporation. 

Grant Cardone, founder of Whatever It Takes Network, provides insight into four key aspects of launching a successful business in 2015.

Twitter co-founder and Jelly CEO Biz Stone explains how becoming a benefit corporation changes the definition of value for shareholders.

Expertise, experience and pride set a company apart--transforming a business into a craft. CT's experts partner with small businesses to make sure that their business compliance is done right, every time.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a company’s voluntary initiative to integrate responsibility for its environmental and societal impact into its business model.

Thinking of incorporating as a C corporation? Learn more about C corps and how to incorporate.

Learn about forming and operating an S Corporation.

An LLC can be managed by its members (member-managed) or by managers who are selected by the members (manager-managed). By default an LLC is member-managed, but the operating agreement can provide otherwise.

Absent an operating agreement adopted by its members, the LLC is governed by the default provisions provided in the law of its formation state. Not only can these provisions conflict with the members' desires, they can change which exposes the LLC to rules never envisioned when it was formed.