Scott Barnett, founding CEO of the Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. and author of Gumption, tells us how he turned a fictional cinematic company into the basis for a thriving restaurant chain.

Research into the top 50 most successful (by dollars) crowd funding campaigns has yielded some very interesting results.

Each state has its own incorporation requirements. This article outlines the most commonly requested elements.

Download our Startup Playbook for free.

This PDF outlines your business type choices, what to expect during the incorporation process and your post-incorporation requirements.

The Startup Playbook includes:

• Ideas for Jumpstarting Your Marketing
• Business Owner's Checklist
• Business Plan Basics
• What to Do When Plans Change

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:

States require that you obtain a Doing Business As certificate if you operate using a name other than your company’s full legal one. CT makes this process simple.

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. 

By Maria Contreras-Sweet, Administrator, U.S. Small Business Administration.

With apologies to baseball and your mother’s apple pie, nothing is more American than National Small Business Week.

A limited partnership allows great flexibility in managing the business and dividing the profits. There must be at least one partner with unlimited personal liability for the business debts.