Starting an LLC: Where to begin?

I can't quite catch what you mean by "banderas"—not sure if you're talking about flags or something else entirely—but I'm all ears if you want to clear that up! kaže:
It doesn't even have to be subject to Sales Tax—honestly, there's zero difference from running a small sole proprietorship until you actually cross that revenue threshold. $28 Annual revenue—doesn't even have to include Sales Tax.

True, but with an LLC you don't have to pay those self-employment taxes on yourself—whereas with a sole proprietorship, you're stuck paying them no matter what, even if you've got another job elsewhere. Honestly, running a small business while being employed somewhere else just doesn't make much sense that way.

Kyle Wilson7 said:Judging by your questions, you’re pretty green when it comes to the professional world—let alone actually running a business. I'll try to keep my answers short since these vague, broad questions would take forever to fully unpack—but if you have more, just try to be more specific next time.
1. What are the minimum monthly contributions for an LLC (if there even are any)?
-I think you're asking about overhead. If you haven't launched yet, you won't have any. Once you're up and running, though, costs depend entirely on what you're doing. Some basics include: payroll (which includes you if you're working for yourself—and if you don't have employees, then you aren't really "running a business," you're just freelancing...) wages, taxes, and various payroll withholdings, plus things like holiday bonuses or benefits if you have a team.
Then there's office space—rent or a mortgage—plus phone, internet, electricity, and other utilities (see how it varies? An office job barely uses power, but a manufacturing plant? That adds up fast).
Vehicle expenses too (if you need them for work)—depreciation, gas, maintenance.
-Accounting (seriously, don't cheap out here—a bad accountant will ruin your life).
-To keep it brief, there's more, but...

2. When an LLC is formed, how is the business activity determined, how many can be listed, what does it cost, and what's the process for adding more later?


-You register the activities you want to perform right when you file your formation papers, following the official list of industries provided by the state. You pay for each one, so think ahead about what you want to do now and what might make sense down the road. You could technically register to sell weapons or pharmaceuticals, but you'd need special permits for those.
-Updating your registration isn't free—honestly, it costs almost as much as the initial setup (minus the capital contribution, obviously). Even changing your business address isn't cheap; just the notary fee is around $1000.

3. How does setting up a second venture under an existing LLC work? For example, if an LLC already has a restaurant license and decides to open a cafe, are there any advantages over opening a "pure" cafe (like a sole proprietorship)?
-I'm not quite following "second ventures under an LLC"—if you have a restaurant license and open a cafe, you still have to get all the same permits, health inspections, and meet the same technical requirements as a sole proprietor (those are all extra costs too). The main difference is whether you operate as an LLC (subject to corporate income tax) or a sole proprietorship (subject to individual income tax). One big thing to remember: as a sole proprietor, you're personally liable with all your own assets, whereas with an LLC, you aren't. There are also differences in how you handle the IRS and some other small details.

It sounds like you’ve been running businesses for a long time—I can tell from your post—but maybe you haven't really sat down to check how things actually work these days. Things change so fast, you know? I remember back when I was first starting out, I thought I had everything figured out, only to realize the rules had shifted under my feet before I could even get settled. It's funny how that happens.

Kyle Wilson7 said:Judging by your questions, you’re pretty green when it comes to the professional world—let alone actually running a business. I'll try to keep my answers short since these vague, broad questions would take forever to fully unpack—but if you have more, just try to be more specific next time.
1. What are the minimum monthly contributions for an LLC (if there even are any)?
-I think you're asking about overhead. If you haven't launched yet, you won't have any. Once you're up and running, though, costs depend entirely on what you're doing. Some basics include: payroll (which includes you if you're working for yourself—and if you don't have employees, then you aren't really "running a business," you're just freelancing...) wages, taxes, and various payroll withholdings, plus things like holiday bonuses or benefits if you have a team.
Then there's office space—rent or a mortgage—plus phone, internet, electricity, and other utilities (see how it varies? An office job barely uses power, but a manufacturing plant? That adds up fast).
Vehicle expenses too (if you need them for work)—depreciation, gas, maintenance.
-Accounting (seriously, don't cheap out here—a bad accountant will ruin your life).
-To keep it brief, there's more, but...

2. When an LLC is formed, how is the business activity determined, how many can be listed, what does it cost, and what's the process for adding more later?


-You register the activities you want to perform right when you file your formation papers, following the official list of industries provided by the state. You pay for each one, so think ahead about what you want to do now and what might make sense down the road. You could technically register to sell weapons or pharmaceuticals, but you'd need special permits for those.
-Updating your registration isn't free—honestly, it costs almost as much as the initial setup (minus the capital contribution, obviously). Even changing your business address isn't cheap; just the notary fee is around $1000.

3. How does setting up a second venture under an existing LLC work? For example, if an LLC already has a restaurant license and decides to open a cafe, are there any advantages over opening a "pure" cafe (like a sole proprietorship)?
-I'm not quite following "second ventures under an LLC"—if you have a restaurant license and open a cafe, you still have to get all the same permits, health inspections, and meet the same technical requirements as a sole proprietor (those are all extra costs too). The main difference is whether you operate as an LLC (subject to corporate income tax) or a sole proprietorship (subject to individual income tax). One big thing to remember: as a sole proprietor, you're personally liable with all your own assets, whereas with an LLC, you aren't. There are also differences in how you handle the IRS and some other small details.

That’s just straight-up misinformation. The list of business activities isn't restricted to the NKD anymore—it's actually much more flexible now. Every single entry, unlike how things used to be, doesn't cost you a dime. You basically just have to define your primary activity so the Bureau of Labor Statistics can keep their numbers organized and accurate. That's really all there is to it.

Getting a notary service isn't exactly cheap—it'll definitely bite into your wallet if you aren't careful—so I always think it’s worth just giving them a quick ring beforehand to check the rates. It saves so much headache. Honestly, those offices right in the middle of downtown are usually outrageously expensive compared to the ones you'd find in a small town in the Midwest. I remember once driving way out of my way just to save a few bucks, and it was totally worth the extra gas.

Kyle Wilson7 said:

I can't quite catch what you mean by "banderas"—not sure if you're talking about flags or something else entirely—but I'm all ears if you want to clear that up! kaže:
It doesn't even have to be subject to Sales Tax—honestly, there's zero difference from running a small sole proprietorship until you actually cross that revenue threshold. $28 Annual revenue—doesn't even have to include Sales Tax.

True, but with an LLC you don't have to pay those self-employment taxes on yourself—whereas with a sole proprietorship, you're stuck paying them no matter what, even if you've got another job elsewhere. Honestly, running a small business while being employed somewhere else just doesn't make much sense that way.

I honestly don't get why people act like owning a business is just some status symbol to brag about. I don't know what your experience with running a private company is—seriously—but how are you even supposed to hold down a regular job elsewhere while keeping a business afloat? Unless you're some local government official or working for a massive state agency, it feels shady. It’s like you only need that side hustle to pull off little scams—not to mention the actual criminal stuff, like taking bribes or funneling contracts away from your employer and straight into your own pocket.

Being in the Sales Tax system isn't always a bad thing—even if you aren't pulling in huge numbers yet. $28333 Honestly, even if I was terrible at math—which, let’s face it, I am—trying to survive on $85k a year sounds brutal. Even if you have zero overhead and a killer margin, once you take that $50k pre-tax profit and split it by twelve after the IRS takes their cut... man, you're left with peanuts. If you're running a serious operation, though, being able to write off Sales Tax on your purchases is a huge plus. Just doesn't really apply to people like dentists or GPs working under Medicare & Medicaid contracts, since they aren't part of the Sales Tax system.
I still don't get how you can score cheaper beer if you aren't in the sales tax system—like, even if the wholesale price hits you the same, you just lose out on the tax credit. If you're staying out of the system, the brewery or the shop is still gonna charge you sales tax, so you end up paying more for that brew instead... $2.75 With that 22% sales tax kicking in—adding $1.76 to bring it up to $9.76—you’re basically stuck... you won't even be able to flip it for a profit. $3.25 So if you sell something for $12, you're looking at a $2.24 profit—but once you factor in being in the Sales Tax system, you’ve got an $8 input and then $1.76 in Sales Tax. If you sell it again for $12, that's $2.16 in Sales Tax, but since you already paid the $1.76, you still owe the government another $0.40... so it looks like you made less, but hey—like my massage therapist always says—business requires overhead. I don't know any coffee shop owners who don't drive a car, but they'll happily hop on a scooter that costs maybe $26,000 just to save a buck—on a $26k purchase, that's $4,400 in Sales Tax alone. Ex $7.4 =$10853 What can you actually claim as a tax deduction—go ahead and split that up with the others. $0.13 What kind of sales tax do you gotta cough up first? $0.13 You gotta pay up once you sell 81,400 cans—so basically, you either drop your prices or end up ahead of where you’d be if you stayed off the grid... assuming you bought the exact same truck.
I honestly jumped into this whole business thing just to see if I could actually save more than I would working some corporate job—which, let's be real, is why pretty much everyone thinks about going solo in the first place. But man... just thinking about how many beers you'd have to move to pay off all the bar equipment, let alone trying to scrape together enough to actually buy the building itself? It's a lot.
So, my take—just keep up with the Sales Tax and get as much done as possible. Honestly? I wouldn't even mind paying more if it meant things actually worked. $333333 Sales Tax—just so I can actually make some decent money...

Kyle Wilson7 said:So, by your logic, nobody can own more than one business—because how could they focus if they aren't working at all of them simultaneously?
I mean, how else would you be employed somewhere else--you know, besides being at your own companies--
?
What do you think is the reason the Lisinski Sales Tax System doesn't apply there?
It’s because of their contracts with the Social Security Administration or similar agencies—they just aren't part of the sales tax loop.
They get their funding straight from the federal budget, just like the Social Security Administration does, and their revenue is actually higher than $28333.
Read what I wrote first—if it doesn't make sense, just ask. If you think I'm wrong, give me a real argument, and I'll try not to run out of rebuttals like I did with Kenneth Myers10's post.
Kenneth Myers10:Based on your post, it looks like you started an LLC a long time ago and haven't checked how things work lately.
Well, the last time I actually started a company was nearly 20 years ago—since then, I've just bought two others—so I guess I should thank him for the "insight."
I used the brewery as an example because of your post, and if I recall correctly, this guy is thinking about opening a cafe anyway.
Also, it seems you missed one of the fundamental reasons for having Sales Tax in a real capitalist system beyond just uniform rates—it's about incentivizing investment. Basically, the government refunds the excess tax paid, making your investment cheaper. Plus, it encourages exports by using domestic raw materials. But hey, let's just flip everything upside down, right?

Kenneth Myers10 said:Well, look, I'm actually not an employee at any of the companies where I hold ownership stakes. 🙂 In fact, I have ownership in two different businesses, yet I spend my working hours over at a third one.

Robin Rodriguez5 said:Look, please stop bringing up the Social Security Administration; they have absolutely nothing to do with this. The reality is that cultural institutions get to decide whether they want to participate in the Sales Tax system or opt out, regardless of their annual revenue. Some choose to stay outside the system, while others stay in, based purely on what makes sense for their bottom line. Here are two clear-cut examples from the field:
The Lisinski Symphony Orchestra stays out of the Sales Tax system.
The Metropolitan Opera is part of the Sales Tax system.

For an organization like the Lisinski, staying out of the Sales Tax system is a massive win. For the Met, being in the system is actually beneficial. How? It’s simple: one is a major winner and the other is a massive loser. It shouldn't be hard to guess which is which—it's likely been that way since they were founded. This just proves my point: choosing to deal with Sales Tax only pays off if you're operating at a loss. The bigger your deficit, the more you benefit from being in the system, but let's be honest—running a business solely to lose money isn't exactly a winning strategy.

Raymond Peterson81 said:I have a few questions regarding setting up an LLC here in the States

1. What are the minimum monthly contributions required for an LLC (if there are any at all)?

2. Once the LLC is established, how do you decide which business activities to list? Is there a limit on how many industries I can include, what does the filing cost, and what’s the process if I need to add more later?

3. How does it work if I want to add a second line of business under my existing LLC? For example, if I already have an LLC registered for hospitality services but decide to open a coffee shop—are there any specific advantages to doing that through the existing entity versus just starting a fresh small business from scratch?

That’s pretty much everything...

Kyle Wilson7 said:Honestly, neither Medicare nor the HNK or Carnegie Hall really matter here—none of these places are driven by profit, especially not the HNK, and both get their funding from the government budget anyway. It's not that the HNK is losing money because of VAT or because they don't know how to run a business (though there might be a grain of truth there)—it's that even your own company would be in the red if you had to run non-profit programs or stuff meant for the public good that doesn't make a dime. Plus, you've got all those actors, singers, dancers, musicians, and staff needed to keep a place like that running.
The bottom line is that these two houses aren't investing out of their own revenue. VAT is great if you're actually investing and growing—you know, if you're reinvesting most of what you make.

John Davis8 said:If your articles of incorporation specify that the corporation will reimburse the founder for the initial setup costs, you can draw those funds from the amount paid as $6667 initial capital...

LP