Nellie Akalp

Nellie Akalp is an entrepreneur, small business expert, speaker, and mother of four amazing kids. As CEO of CorpNet.com, she has helped more than half a million entrepreneurs launch their businesses. Akalp is nationally recognized as one of the most prominent experts on small business legal matters, contributing frequently to outlets like Entrepreneur, Forbes, Huffington Post, Mashable, and Fox Small Business. A passionate entrepreneur herself, Akalp is committed to helping others take the reigns and dive into small business ownership. Through her public speaking, media appearances, and frequent blogging, she has developed a strong following within the small business community and has been honored as a Small Business Influencer Champion three years in a row.

How Much Does it Cost to Incorporate Your Business?

So you’ve decided to register your business as a Limited Liability Company or C Corporation. Kudos to you for thinking about the benefits of liability protection and possible tax advantages that come with formally establishing your company as a separate legal...

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Registering a Business Name vs. Trademarking a Business Name

You spend time coming up with the perfect name for your business then you spend lots of money creating business cards, signs, and other marketing collateral. But what happens if someone else is already using that name or the name is soon adopted by another company?...

Business Name Sketches for Logo and Branding

What Every Small Business Should Know About 1099s

Every year when tax time rolls around, many business owners wonder whether they must send 1099s to their vendors. As commonly known as 1099 forms are, they remain one of the most misunderstood Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements. Recently, more confusion...

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How to Encourage Your Kids to Grow Up to Be Entrepreneurs

My kids have taught me some valuable life lessons that I’ve used as an entrepreneur, and I like to think that a lesson or two has rubbed off on me to them. There’s no guarantee that any of my four children will grow up to become small business owners, though I’d...

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Can a Corporation Be a Member of a Limited Liability Company (LLC)?

Starting and running a business as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) offers some advantages to business owners who want liability protection, taxation flexibility, and credibility without complexity. Next to a Sole Proprietorship, it’s the business legal structure...

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Multiple Ventures? How to Best Structure Your Multi-Brand Business

It's possible to create a separate business entity for each venture you start. However, this can result in excess paperwork and legal filings. And in many cases, each business may not be earning a significant amount of revenue individually, making the paperwork seem especially tedious. To save some headaches and paperwork, this article provides you with great tips to consider when dealing with multiple business types.

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How to Start a Skincare Business

If you plan to start a skincare business, there are several things you'll need to do before you start scheduling customers to come in for facials, waxing, or consultation. Here's a checklist of what you need to know if you want to know how to start a skincare business.

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10 Tips to Making Startup Funding Work for You

Whether you plan to create a crowdfunding campaign, pitch venture capitalists or investors, take out a small business loan, or use your own savings, there are strategies to succeed in your efforts. Here we have 10 tips guaranteed to make your startup funding a success.

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5 Mistakes to Avoid When Giving Business Gifts

If you’re planning to give your staff, vendors, or your clients presents this holiday season, think twice before you do. Many businesses make gift-giving blunders, which are completely avoidable. Below are the top five business gift mistakes you should avoid this...

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What Is FUTA Tax?

FUTA tax is among several employment-related taxes that businesses with payroll must pay to the government. FUTA (the Federal Unemployment Tax Act) initiated a program that works along with state unemployment programs to pay benefits to workers who have lost their...

FUTA Illustration

Appointing a Board of Directors

If you’ve decided to form a corporation, congratulations to you! You’re on the right track to protecting yourself and taking your business more seriously. But the work’s not done yet. One of the steps you’ll need to do in the incorporating process is to appoint a...

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A Guide for Starting a Business in Wyoming

Wondering how to start a business in Wyoming? Get all the tips and guidance you’ll need to tackle to start and launch a business in the “Cowboy State".

Welcome to Wyoming Road Sign

Start a Small Business in Texas in 10 Steps

The Lone Star state attracts entrepreneurs because of its business-friendly environment, minimal tax burden, reasonable cost of living, robust infrastructure, and other factors. If you’ve been wondering how to start a small business in Texas, this article will walk...

Welcome to Texas Road Sign

Is A Real Estate LLC Really Necessary?

A Real Estate LLC (Limited Liability Company) business structure has become a preferred entity of real estate investors for holding title to investment properties. That’s not too surprising considering the advantages of forming an LLC: It limits personal liability....

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Does a Sole Proprietorship Need Liability Insurance?

Many entrepreneurs who are the sole owners of their business (or operate a business with their spouse) choose to operate as sole proprietorships. A sole proprietorship is the simplest business structure to manage, which is why it’s popular with self-employed...

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Options for Paying Small Business Taxes

While paying taxes is a certainty for small business owners, there are some options for how you might pay them. The simplest strategy for paying your small business taxes is to make sure money is available when your tax bill comes due. If that is not possible for...

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Three Tips for Choosing an Advisor for Your Startup

When you run a business, you don’t always know how to make the best decisions. After all, your expertise is in one area, but you might not be well-versed in finance, marketing, management, or growth strategy. That’s where having an advisor for your startup comes in...

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How to Legally Franchise a Business

If you've considered how to grow your business by leaps and bounds without starting and running dozens or hundreds of locations yourself, you may have wondered how to franchise a business. In this article, you'll learn more about what franchising means, how to determine if franchising makes sense for your business, and what's involved in franchising a business.

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What is a Series LLC?

The Series LLC is also known as a Series Limited Liability Company or SLLC for short. It allows multiple Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) within a master LLC to operate as separate entities with their own names, bank accounts, and record keeping. Each series can conduct business independently in this way because the series LLCs’ articles of formation explicitly allow them to have unrestricted segregation of membership interests, assets, liabilities, and operations.

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6 Hiring Mistakes Small Business Owners Make

As you grow your business, you will inevitably need to hire help. If you’ve never been an employer before, there are certain pitfalls you need to avoid that many business owners make. Here’s your guide to what not to do in hiring staff. 1. Not Knowing Your Needs...

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