Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

To keep things a little private I’m going to use fake names and domain names.

This is my first post so bare with me if i made this post on the wrong forum, if you know were it should be let me know.

So i started out my business as a sole proprietor with a DBA selling iPod accessories on eBay under the eBay name: iPodKing. It went pretty well even though i was having minimal sells but with a better margin than if i blasted eBay with a lot of listing however the fees eBay was charging was ruining my margin. So i decided to create a website, iPodKing.com - which is almost finished just a few things here and there. It’s the same concept of selling iPod related accessories as well as other computer supplies and accessories, as i did on eBay.

Now that it’s finally about to launch i just realized i made the error of filing for a DBA under my REAL name for "iPod King" before i started designing my website fearing that someone would take the name before myself (i know a little paranoid...haha). So know that we need to either Incorporate or become an LLC, I’m not sure how to transfer the DBA "iPod King" from my Name to my LLC or Corp. My Corp. or LLC is going to either be "Mera Enterprises Inc." or "Mera Enterprises LLC." (we are going to start up a web design company and real estate projects in the future which will be under the Mera Enterprises name).

So to make things short I’m asking two questions:

1) How do i transfer my DBA from my REAL name to my Corp. or LLC ??

&

2) Since I’m going to be operating some DBA`s online and some DBA`s offline what should i do? Incorporate or become an LLC ???

2b) What would be better for a business that’s strictly online with multiple sites?

Any feedback would be much appreciated. Oh I’m also in California if that helps or not. 

Chris,

Normally this is an hr discussion but lets see if I can give you a simple answer:

1) Refile a new Fictitious Business Statement for each dba. The registrant will be the new Entity (INC or LLC). Don’t forget to publish the filings within 30 days.

2) Depends, there are two items to consider:
a) Tax ramification, and b) Legal issues

a) Choices Corporation (S or C) many choices to list. and LLC - can be considered one of three for tax filing purposes (Sole Proprietor-single member, partnership, or Corporation C or S). There are lots of if`s.

b) Legal - will depend if you are trying to protect any intellectual property (IP) or Assets. if not then Inc other wise LLC.

Creating an entity is one of the most important tasks in establishing a good structure. I always recommend that one should seek advice from a professional in their respective fields of expertise.

I hope this helped.

I liked the detail that Entrevisor put into his posting, there was some good info listed there. But on a general note, it depends on the direction you intend to take your business, and how big you want to either make it or start with, from a liability standpoint. In Michigan, the simplest way is just to file a DBA with the county you are based in, and as a retail agent, apply for a state sales tax license. The advantage is that it is the least costly way to go, but along with that a good amount of liability insurance (an agent would suggest) to cover any difficulities that may occur would go without saying. The bad side is that you are financially RESPONSIBLE for every debt, difficulty, or problem that happens.

LLC`s, as you probabilly know, include the best of both the full corp., and sole prop. You have the mobility of a prop. and the structure of a corp., and it does not cost as much as a full corp. does, or requires the paperwork that a corp. does. But a word of caution is also needed to be noted here. Some LLC`s have come under review because the prop. did not keep them as separate from their personal funds as they should. A LLC is a separate structure from a prop., and the person who not keep separate their personal funds from company funds some times just invites scrutiny from some official agencies.

But as I said, all this can depend on the direction you are taking your company, and how big you do have it, or plan to take it. And as already said, this is just a general statement for the subject matter at hand. 

Henry from Henry`s Place-your place for business help.

I think your business will be likely infringing Apple's trademark if you don't remove the name iPod out of your business name.

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