Editing Establishing An LLC (section)

== 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.