In the wake of the new ATDC John Cottingham, my associate, and I are getting a number of requests from entrepreneurs who are currently bootstrapping on how to form a corporation.  While I am no attorney I thought it would be interesting to lay out the five steps I personally went through when forming a Georgia corporation last month.

1.  Did a trademark search at the United States Patent Office to see if there is a filing for the name on record.  Searched Google and Bing as well.  No use.  Cost = $0.

2.  Filed a name reservation from with the the state of Georiga.  Cost = $25.

3.  Used the information sent in the Name Reservation Confirmation to file Articles of Incorporation online.  “The Corporations Division strongly recommends
that filers obtain professional legal, tax, and/or business advice to
assure the filer’s goals and intentions are met, and that requirements
of the law are satisfied, both before and after incorporation.”  I ignored them.  Cost = $100.

4  Published an announcement in a legal organ of the state of Georiga.  Cost = $40.

5  Applied for an EIN. Cost = $0.

This certainly is not a long term solution for a meaningful company.  It is a short-term solution that cost $165, enables me to open bank accounts, allows me to take money from a customer, and provides some personal liability protection behind a corporate shield.   If the company keeps moving I am certainly going to bring in an attorney and spend $4,824.13.

For the moment I am being capital light and frugal.