Editing Establishing An LLC

Here's my experience setting up LLCs and the kind of stuff I needed to do.

== Incorporating ==

This phase is best done using one of the established companies in the space. My friends and I have used Stripe Atlas, Firstbase, and LegalZoom. My best experiences have been with [https://www.legalzoom.com/ LegalZoom].

This part is pretty mechanical and it's best to just use one of these companies. They'll default to Delaware.

To be honest, it doesn't sound like incorporating in Delaware has any advantage if you're just trying to run a side business in California. Or I haven't found any. You just end up paying the Delaware Agent Fees and the Delaware annual tax ($300).

I incorporated in Delaware for all of my LLCs but for the ones where I was running operations in California, I wish I had just incorporated there.

=== Foreign Qualification ===

One of the LLCs had to operate in California, and to do that and hire people you need to register to operate there. This is why there's no value in registering in Delaware if you want to do business in California: you'll end up paying exactly the same fees every year!

Anyway, [https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/forms/business this is where you do it]. Pick 'Registration - Out of State LLC'.

If you had a Delaware LLC, you'll have to first get a Certificate of Good Standing. You can get this from the [https://icis.corp.delaware.gov/ecorp2/services/e-filing Delaware Division of Corporations] but [https://www.delawareinc.com/gstanding/ I chose to get it from a proxy online lawyer]. The reason for this is that the official government website will frequently go offline after work hours or on the weekend. If you file it with the lawyer to do the work for you it's a $100 premium but simplifies the whole thing.

Ultimately, you only need the short form Certificate of Good Standing in order to proceed with Foreign Qualification.

== Accounting ==

I used [https://www.waveapps.com/ Wave] because it has a free tier but Quickbooks etc. are a good option. One thing I haven't yet tried but might work really well is the Zoho books app which I encountered only because I use the Zoho Mail app for cheap mail.

== Domain ==

I bought my domain on [https://domains.google.com Google Domains] but they're dead so I recommend using [https://www.namecheap.com/ NameCheap]. They're simple enough to use and you only want to register with them.

Use [https://www.cloudflare.com/ Cloudflare] for all domain stuff. They'll allow you to redirect email etc. if you'd like to take that approach, though I chose to get a webmail provider.

== Webmail ==

[[File:DNS set up for the technologybrother.com domain.png|thumb|alt=A screenshot of the Cloudflare DNS page for one of my domains, hinting at what you need to set up: MX, SPF, DKIM, DMARC|An example of what you'll need to set up but this should be it]]

It's possible to forward your email to your personal email, but I wanted everything nice and neat, so I used a webmail provider. The cheapest I found was [https://mail.zoho.com/ Zoho Mail] at $12/year. They've got a bunch of other things quite cheap which makes me think I should use them more.

If you want people to receive your mail you'll need to set up the following:

* SPF
* DKIM
* DMARC

=== Hiring ===

You'll have to verify someone's right to work where you are, but that's really about it. That's the Form I-9.

In order to hire someone on OPT, you don't have to do very much. The key thing you'll have to do is verify their EAD in person (there's a way out of this but I chose to keep it simple so I don't inadvertently fuck it up) and then the two of you make sure [https://www.uscis.gov/i-9 Form I-9] is filled out and kept somewhere safe so that you can show the DHS and friends when they ask.

The STEM extension is its own thing, and to be honest, you should just get a lawyer. Everyone uses Fragomen because they're cheap, but they routinely fuck things up so I use someone I know I can trust: [https://serottelaw.com/ Serotte Law]. These guys have helped me with employment-related immigration both as an employee and as an employer. They're all very smart and have things buttoned down.

== E-Verify ==

You'll need to [https://idp.uscis.gov/enroll/everify enroll in E-Verify] if you have some kinds of employees. In my case, I had someone I'd have to take on their STEM-extension for OPT. The process is quite straightforward, but after that you have to make sure to enter all your employee information in there.

[[Category:Tips]]