[Plaid-Man Individual]

I have been doing my music/theatrical shows as Plaid-Man Individual for the last 2 months without the protection of being an S Corporation. I am a one man show but I still have liability concerns; a light tree falling on someone, a missed show because of equipment malfunctions, accident or illness, etc.

Does anyone have any experience in setting up an S Corporation or information/links that details the process?

Any input will be greatly appreciated. And, :yes: I really am Plaid. :D

[Beach]

Go to the website for your Secretary of State. I would think they might have information pertaining to setting up an S-Corp in your state.

I set our company up as an LLC and it involved getting a business license in the City we're operating in, creating organizational docs that describe how we operate (they were VERY simple), and registering the company with the Sec. of State. We paid an attorney to do it, but with a few hours of research I could have easily done it myself. Don't be initimidated by it, it's easy.

You might also consider other business structures such as an Individual Propietorship or LLC. There's plenty of places to read about them on the web I think. The biggest differences from one to the next are the tax implications. Any form of business can get the insurance you speak of.

One thing I heard alot of when forming the company: "Don't let anybody tell you that one form of business limits your liability (financial) more than another. When you begin the business...you are the business."

Hope this helps a little.

[Plaid-Man Individual]

Thanks Beach.

I'll look into the LLC.

[Tcat]

In a former life, I had to manage *all* WA state law electronically for the Bar Association. It can get pretty wierd... The best site I know for decoding law is

http://www.nolo.com/

There book on forming a LLC is fanstastic. I do beleive that all 50 states now have LLC provisions. If you go the LLC route, you can find someone on the web who will setup all the stuff correctly for you for about $250. Basically they setup the LLC (Or S Corp) legally, and then "sell" it to you...

Without a lot of detail to compare, I feel the LLC is usually a better route than S corp these days. Fewer rules to follow.

HTH
Tcat

[Plaid-Man Individual]

Thanks soooo much for this site. I should have thought about Nolo (I assume they are the same as Nolo Press) because I used Nolo Press' Patent and Trademark book back in the late '80s in which I successfully prosecuted a patent pro se (granted '89); took 2 years and hundreds of hours at the UVA law library, and many sleepless nights, but the Nolo Press book was invaluable. I hadn't thought about them in years. Thanks again for the reminder!