LLCs 101 for Immigrant Business Owners: Understanding the Advantages of Limited Liability Companies
LLC stands for limited liability company, a popular type of business structure for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Two of the primary benefits to LLCs for immigrants are privacy and liability protection.
But what about the relationship between the owners and the LLC itself? In most cases, the owners of the LLCs are not considered employees of the business, unless they are getting a guaranteed salary or other compensation from the LLC. Furthermore, it’s also important to know that certain professions, like lawyers, doctors, might not be able to start an LLC and must instead create a professional LLC.
Now there are a few other reasons why immigrants would find this type of business structure particularly useful. The first one is anonymity, it is possible to create an anonymous LLC by using a separate entity as your registered agent and avoiding listing the names of the members on the articles of incorporation. However, not all states allow anonymous LLCs and additional steps may be required when thinking about going down this path.
On the general level, if you do not have a business structure set up and you are conducting business, you are automatically a sole proprietorship. Thus, you and your business are liable for certain things, such as:
Any injuries your business does to other people
Any damage you do to someone else's property
Any debts of your business become personal debts
Thus, another reason why an LLC can be extremely beneficial to you as a business owner is for liability protection. But what kind of businesses need to get an LLC for liability protection?
Example #1: Baby Boost
In 2021, Rosa had a fantastic idea for a new kind of baby stroller. She called it BabyBoost. The stroller is lightweight, compact, comfortable, and looks incredible. Rosa plans to hire employees to help her create more strollers and start selling them on Amazon. In order to make this happen she will need to take out loans for her stroller. At the moment she has not made it an official business structure. But as her attorney pointed out, she should get an LLC because:
Her employees can get hurt
Clients can get hurt with the stroller in case it has a malfunction
If her business is not profitable, she runs the risk of paying back the loans she borrowed for this business.
In conclusion, LLCs may be worth considering as a business structure to protect yourself and grow your business. Questions? Call/Text us at +1 (213) 816-6136, or email us at contact@preparebiz.com.
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