6 Things You Should Know About Running a Business in Florida

Created November 28, 2020

The sunshine state, more commonly known as Florida, is a palace where people find themselves flocking to in the winter. It is hard to argue against why people flock to this tropical state. With sandy beaches for miles to see and beautiful sun, there can’t be more you could ask for, right?

Wrong, actually, because Florida is a great state to live and do business in because of state tax laws. Florida is a state where you can operate with a lot fewer restrictions on money than many others, which makes it a popular destination for entrepreneurs. Here are 6 things you want to know before running a business in Florida.

1. Creating Your Business

The first step is undoubtedly coming up with a business. You can’t expect to start getting into the nitty-gritty of running one with an idea. Entrepreneurs need to come up with a solid business plan. A reliable model comes from a place of planning for future growth like expanding your size with employees, making a marketing strategy, and figuring out your finances. This is the first step towards legitimizing your business in the sunshine state.

2. Naming the Business

Next, you want to make a great name for your burgeoning business. When you come up with a name, it needs to be easy to say, relate to your services or products, and mean something. This is also the first step towards becoming an LLC, which is a limited liability company. When you make your business legitimate, you want it to have an actual name as it is now an entity. In Florida, an LLC has to have a limited liability company, LLC, or L.L.C. in its name to indicate its status. You also need to check if the name is available and to claim a domain with the same name.

3. Picking Your Registered Agent or Service

Now comes the less-than-glamorous part of running a business – the paperwork. When you want to become a legitimate business, it is a good idea to learn how to start an LLC, which was mentioned earlier, because it helps you operate legally. The first real step in establishing a new LLC in Florida requires you to pick a registered agent or service, and they will help you with the important aspects of operations. Things like taxes, legal documents, legal notices, and government correspondence are all their responsibilities, or you could choose yourself if you can handle all of the duties.

4. Filing the Articles of Organization in Florida

This is the document that makes your business a legal entity in the state of Florida. This document will have you list the person(s) authorized to manage the LLC. This could be you, it could be among partners, and you can even leave it blank, which protects the anonymity of the other member-managers, but you would have to list your name and address as the representative. This document costs $125 in state fees to file and process.

5. Making an Operating Agreement

Creating an operating agreement is not a necessity after starting a business in Florida as an LLC. This is an agreement made to outline and create a contract for ownership of the business, so it is very important to make sure that there is no room for argument between the management of the LLC. It keeps everyone on the same page for the business, makes sure things are fair for ruling partners, and reduces the potential risk of conflict.

6. Get the EIN and Plan Your LLC

The final part of your business formation in Florida is to get your EIN and then plan out the business. First, the EIN is known as an employee identification number and acts like an SSN for a business entity. This number allows you to hire employees, create a business bank account, and file the appropriate tax forms. It is free to request from the IRS or apply for by mail and online. You would want to discuss with an accountant to determine what tax status you would want, and from there, you can start planning out your LLC business finances.

Creating a business sounds hard for those that are not familiar with the process. After reading these 6 things to know about running a business in Florida, you can see how easy it can be to become a business, through an LLC in particular, and what you need to become one. Running a business in Florida can be easily attainable and offer new opportunities in your life.