How to Start a Business This Summer and Succeed

Have you ever thought about starting a legit business where you can actually make money from it, and it’s not just your hobby? I am here today to tell you and show you how to start a business online with only $100 or maybe a bit more, depending on your business, of course.

Owning a business is the best thing you can do right now, and you can grow your audience/customer base as long as you are consistent.

01. What Kind of Business Do You Want?

First thing first, what kind of business do you want to have? Do you want to start a business with an e-commerce store or a brick-and-mortar store? Do you want to sell physical products or digital ones? Are you willing to use dropshipping or have your own inventory? These are the types of questions you need to answer to proceed with the next few steps.

02. The Business Structures

There are Sole Proprietor, LLC, C-Corp, S-Corp, and so on. Here are the full details on the differences between each one and which one is literally the best for your type of business.

• Sole Proprietorship — One person, unlimited personal liability, pass-through taxation, low/no setup cost, automatic formation.
• General Partnership — 2+ people, unlimited personal liability, pass-through taxation, low setup cost.
• LLC (Limited Liability Co) — 1+ members, limited liability, flexible taxation, moderate setup cost, state filing.
• Corporation (C Corp) — Shareholders, limited liability (best protection), double taxation, high setup cost, perpetual existence.

The best one for a startup is honestly the LLC, whether you are doing it alone or with more people. This is ideal for you since you want to protect your personal assets. An LLC offers many benefits regarding assets, business setup costs, and more. Most big companies are LLCs, and they can file for bankruptcy without affecting their personal assets, such as stocks, houses, cars, and so on.

03. Funds

Now this part is different for a lot of people. Every business must be registered in your state, and depending on your state, you may pay $50-$125 just to register the name legally. Keep in mind your name is only valid for your state. If you ever move, you’ll have to file a different form to have it transferred to your new state. To see how much you have to pay to register your business, go to the SBA (Small Business Administration). They are the ones who can tell you where to register your business online and whether your business requires a permit or license.

04. EIN

Get an EIN once you get the letter/email saying your business is now registered. An EIN is free to get through the IRS. You might get letters in the mail saying you owe x amount, but you don’t. Those are just fake letters. The EIN is free, and that’s it. You can add the EIN online when you complete the annual renewal or update the document.

05. Taxes

We all love taxes when we receive them, but not when we have to pay them. As a business owner, you have to pay taxes; therefore, check your state’s tax requirements and how to register. Make sure you do this even if you haven’t made a penny yet; it’s important to sign up for taxes.

06. The Binder

The binder is where you hold all of the legal documents in one place. Now you can do this for free, or you can buy a binder online and have the company fill it out for you. This is more important if you form a corporation. Trust me, building one by yourself will cost you maybe $20, and that includes the binder, the sheet sleeves, and the documents. Honestly, make your own and keep it moving.

07. Business Plan

Build a business plan, or have ChatGPT or Claude AI make one for you. Having a business plan is crucial for your business. AI can help you make a schedule for when you can start making money and how to do it at each step as you build it. Here is a prompt you can use: “I would like you to build me a full, detailed business plan that includes everything a business plan should, but tailored to my business and LLC. I need it to be detailed enough for my future plans and for my investors, from the very start of my business to the very end, including the execution, the vision, the mission, the amount of money I will have to fully invest, the actions I will have to take, my demographic, and all the social medias where I should be posting, with a schedule from today’s date to December 31st of 2026.”

08. Have Fun With It

Starting a business is stressful, but remember why you started and have fun with it. Keep doing your research with the links I have shown you, and dig more into it. Talk to AI if you must to help you a bit more, but remember you need to talk to it as a professional. Make sure your chat is set to “thinking” instead of “quick responses.” Time is definitely money, and you don’t want to lose millions of dollars right now.