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Incorporating your Personal Training Business

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This is a sample chapter from my upcoming book on “Creating your own Personal Trainer Business” that will be available soon! (Just as soon as I finish it, of course!) I wanted to get some information out there now for anyone who’s ahead of me and wanted start their business.

If you want to learn how to become a personal trainer, may I recommend you check out my book on “How to Become a Personal Trainer”

Creating a business entity for your Personal Training career is a big step on the path to creating your own sustainable business. Let’s walk through the steps to create a personal training business.

(For this example, we’re going to start a Limited Liability Company - aka LLC - in my home state of Pennsylvania. For your case, the only difference will be some of the local laws, fees, and paperwork. However most of the steps should be the same or similar.)

1. Decide What Type of Business Entity You Want to Start
(For example, Corporation, Limited Liability Corporation, Partnership, S Corp, etc…)

Don’t know which one you want to start? You may need to pick up a book on starting businesses. Another good information source is business publisher “Nolo”. You can also get a lot of information from their website too.

http://www.nolo.com

Although I can not, in good faith, make a recommendation because I don’t know your situation, I can tell you that I opted for forming an Limited Liability Company (LLC) due to the nature of my business. The rest of this article will describe how to incorporate as an LLC, however even if you are using a different business entity, this article should be of assistance to start.

2. Read up on what a Business Entity means for your Business
I can not stress this point enough, make sure you know what you’re getting into when you start a your business. Make sure that if you’re creating a corporation, you understand that you will have to hold annual meetings with your board members, even if you are the only person. Make sure that you understand how your business entity will dictate how you collect payment from your customers and pay your income taxes.

Take a few days and read about what it means to be an LLC, Corporation, or S Corp. The book I use (and keep on my desk for reference) is called “Small Business for Dummies” from the Dummies Series.

Take some time to check out the Nolo site, see if the “Small Business for Dummies” book helps, and learn everything you can about the differences so you make an informed decision.

3. Learn the Steps to Incorporate
Since I chose a LLC, I had to learn how to form an LLC in PA. For help, I went to LLC Made Easy and followed their 3 Steps on forming an LLC in my state.

Following their advice, I found the steps were pretty easy and they follow below…

4. Verify Your Business Name is Available
One thing that the internet has made really convenient today is that each state has an online database where you can look up the names of current corporations. As you can guess, you need to check to make sure your business name isn’t already taken! Make sure you do this first, because if you send the paperwork in and it’s not available, the filing office will send your application back and you have to start over!

In fact, if you are worried about losing your business name to someone else, most states will allow you (for a hefty fee) to reserve a business name for a certain number of days. I don’t worry about this too much…is someone really going to incorporate my exact name in the next few days before my application gets there? I guess it’s possible, but…

5. Articles of Organization
Using the LLC state list on LLC Made Easy, select the state and the correct “Articles of Organization” you need to fill out for your business. If your state isn’t covered, then Google your state’s name and “Department of State” to find the business section. Usually, that’s where you can find the forms and procedures for forming your business.

6. Mail the Application Forms
Make sure you get all the forms (cross check the “Small Business for Dummies” book for your state to make sure you have everything you need to file) and put them in an envelope. Here’s a good tip, make sure you include a self-addressed stamped envelope (SASE) so that they will mail you back your paperwork (It’s good to have an official copy for your records).

As an indication of what ‘else’ you may have to file, in PA, we not only had to file the Articles of Organization, we also have to file a “New Entity Docketing Statement” that needed to be included with our initial application. How did I know? The Dummies book. Again, learning in step 2 saved me months of mailing, re-mailing, and lost time trying to figure this all out. Obviously, I’ve become a huge fan of the book and, as I said, keep it on my desk all the time now.

If you are reserving a name, don’t forget that form too!

Finally, don’t forget the check…they hate it when you don’t pay!!!

7. Register for an “EIN” Number
A what? An EIN number is like a Social Security number for your business. Thankfully, the IRS just recently added a slick new online method to get an EIN in less than two minutes. The link is below.

https://sa.www4.irs.gov/modiein/individual/index.jsp

Typical of Government, this ‘link’ is closed during non-business hours. Of course, only the Government hasn’t realized that the internet should never close, but who are we to be so critical, right? If it’s down, note the hours when you can file and just come back then.

Make sure that you verify your company name before you file for your EIN. If, for some reason, your application is rejected, you don’t want to have to get another EIN number with a different set of information.

Your EIN number is the number you use to open commercial bank accounts, business accounts, etc. It’s an official way to show that, yes, you really are a business.

Guess what? You’re Officially In Business! Although this process will take a few weeks, it’s a worthwhile endeavor as you start down the road to running your own business.

Congratulations!

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This is a sample chapter from my upcoming book on “Creating your own Personal Trainer Business” that will be available soon! (Just as soon as I finish it, of course!) I wanted to get some information out there now for anyone who’s ahead of me and wanted start their business.

If you want to learn how to become a personal trainer, may I recommend you check out my book on “How to Become a Personal Trainer”

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