The Benefits of Filing for a Legal Business Right Now
What if one simple change could jump-start your entire approach to building a business? If the cost was fairly small, would you not make it happen right away?
In August of this past year, I filed the paperwork to form MeeseWorks, LLC as the legal business behind this site.
At the time, the main reason I filed wasn't profound—successful bloggers had businesses, and I wanted to follow their lead.
That was only six months ago, but the results have been astounding.
If you'd like to form your own LLC, I recommend you use LegalZoom like I did. They know what they're doing, make the process easy, and keep the fees they charge fairly low.
Since I didn't have major business plans in the works, I didn't think much was going to change. Boy, was I in for a surprise.
I've generated more revenue in the past week than in the entire year before I formed my LLC.
Why did filing some paperwork make such a big change? Six months ago, I wouldn't have known.
Now, I think I know why. There are three key benefits that a legal business entity provides.
1. Legality
At the time that I filed, I thought this was the only benefit of forming a legal business.
Tax-deductible expenses and related tax breaks couldn't come soon enough. They keep more of your money at home, in a legal way.
One of the most important lessons I was taught about having a legal business was that it's important to keep finance separate. So I did.
I began paying for all of the plugins, paid services, and other tools I use out of a business account, separate from our personal finances. Very quickly, it was easy to see what my business cost.
My recommendation? Form a legal business before you need it—later complications can be a pain.
2. Mentality
Before I filed for a legal business entity, this site was a hobby. I might not have admitted it, but I was definitely treating it that way.
My site looked okay, and my content was pretty good, but that's about as far as it went.
Forming an LLC flips a mental switch—'hobby' to ‘business' in the blink of an eye. Once a business exists behind a blog, the stakes are real. No longer can each project be approached as if it's just for fun.
With a business mindset, I did more than write posts. I developed coaching services which I began to offer on my site.
With a legal business, comes a new identity. Instead of being someone who ‘happens to blog', you become a writer, blogger, and even entrepreneur.
That mental shift—alone—is worth the fee.
3. Causality
When I formed MeeseWorks, LLC, everything seemed to fall into place.
With a clear budget, I knew how much revenue I needed to raise. With that in mind, paid projects had more appeal.
For the first time, I set clear revenue goals at the beginning of this year—and I'm already on track to surpass them.
In a half dozen months, my blog has grown from a daydream hobby to a thriving business—and your experience could be just the same.
LegalZoom took the hassle out of forming my LLC. They could do the same for you, all you need to do is click here to begin.
Question: What's stopping you from forming a legal business entity right now?