Business Identity & Guides
LLC Names: Rules, Examples, And How To Choose Yours
The rules every state enforces for LLC names, what separates a strong name from one you will regret, and how to actually check whether a name is available.
Mark J. Henderson, Business Formation Specialist, FormationHub
Mark covers the mechanics of registering and maintaining a small business for FormationHub: entity types, state filing requirements, registered agents, licensing, and annual compliance. He writes FormationHub's formation guides to turn state paperwork into steps founders can actually follow.
Articles by Mark J. Henderson
Business Identity & Guides
DBA Meaning: What "Doing Business As" Actually Means
What DBA actually means, whether you have to register one, how it differs from an LLC, and the two things a DBA will never protect.
Corporations & Entities
Articles of Incorporation: What They Are and How to File
What articles of incorporation are, what goes in them, how the document's name changes by state, and how to file, amend, or get a copy of one.
Business Identity & Guides
Single Member LLC vs Multi Member LLC: Taxes, Liability and Cost Compared
Single member LLC vs multi member LLC: the owner count changes your taxes and your operating agreement, but not your liability protection or your filing fee.
Business Identity & Guides
PLLC vs LLC: What Licensed Professionals Need to Know
PLLC vs LLC: why licensed professionals usually do not get to choose, what a PLLC actually protects against, and where the entity is not even available.
Business Identity & Guides
How to Check if a Business Name Is Available for Free in 5 Steps
How to check if a business name is available for free: the five searches that actually matter, and why a clear result in one database is not a green light.
Compliance
Operating Agreement: What It Is, Who Needs One, and What It Costs in 2026
What an LLC operating agreement is, which six states actually require one, the nine parts a working agreement contains, and what it costs to write in 2026.
Nonprofit Formation
What Is a 501c3? Requirements, Rules, and Tax Treatment Explained
What a 501c3 actually is, the two-part IRS test it has to pass, which taxes still apply, and what can cost an organization its exempt status.
Nonprofit Formation
Nonprofit Organizations: What They Are and How They Work
What a nonprofit organization is, who owns it (nobody), the main types, and why incorporating with your state and getting tax-exempt status are two separate steps.
Registered Agent
Registered Agent Service: What It Costs and What You Get
What a registered agent service costs and what it actually does: the state-level fee, the provider-level subscription, and what happens if you let it lapse.
Registered Agent
What Is a Registered Agent? A Plain English Guide for LLC Owners
What a registered agent is, who can serve as one, the address rules, and what it actually costs, for LLC owners naming their first agent.
Compliance
BOI Report: What It Is and Whether You Still Have to File
Whether you still have to file a BOI report: FinCEN's August 2026 final rule permanently exempts US-formed companies, and what that means if you already filed.
Compliance
LLC Annual Requirements: What You Owe Every Year
LLC annual requirements explained: the state filing, the state entity tax, the federal return and the registered agent, on four separate clocks most owners never separate.
LLC Formation
How to Start a Cleaning Business in 8 Steps (With Real 2026 Costs)
How to start a cleaning business in eight steps, with real 2026 filing costs, and why bonded and insured matters more than the mop technique.
LLC Formation
How to Start a Laundromat Business
How to start a laundromat business: the real cost drivers, why the LLC should exist before the lease, and what the state actually charges to file and keep it.
LLC Formation
How to Start a Food Truck: Permits, Costs and Your Business Setup
How to start a food truck: the entity, EIN, sales tax permit, health permit and commissary agreement, in the order the health department actually asks for them.
LLC Formation
LLC for Ecommerce Sellers: Do You Need One in 2026?
Whether you need an LLC to sell online, what it actually protects, what it costs by state, and why forming one does not register you for sales tax.
LLC Formation
How to Start a Travel Agency in 2026: Costs, Licenses, and the LLC Step
How to start a travel agency: the seven steps, which five states require a Seller of Travel registration, and what it actually costs to form the LLC.
LLC Formation
How to Start a Lawn Care Business
How to start a lawn care business: what you need, the real filing and licensing costs, and why a business license and an LLC are two different filings.
LLC Formation
How to Open a Daycare in 5 Steps (License, LLC, and Costs)
How to open a daycare in five steps: the child care license track, and the business underneath it that most childcare guides skip entirely.
LLC Formation
LLC for Airbnb: Do You Need One and What It Costs by State
Whether you need an LLC to host on Airbnb, what it actually costs to keep open in eight major hosting states, and how the shield only holds if the LLC really owns the property.
LLC Formation
How to Start a Photography Business (Costs, Licenses, and LLC Setup)
How to start a photography business: sole proprietor versus LLC, what your state charges to file, and the licenses and taxes that actually apply to photographers.
LLC Formation
Real Estate LLC: What It Protects, What It Costs, and How to Start One
What a real estate LLC protects, what it actually costs to start and keep by state, and how to structure one entity versus several as a portfolio grows.
LLC Formation
LLC for Rental Property: What It Protects and What It Costs Every Year
What an LLC for rental property actually protects, what it costs by state every year, and why a mortgage is usually the real obstacle to moving a property into one.
LLC Formation
LLC for Day Trading: When It Helps and When It Does Not
When an LLC actually helps a day trader: it will not lower your tax rate or grant trader tax status, but it matters once partners or outside money are involved.
LLC Formation
LLC for Trucking Company: Steps, State Fees, and FMCSA Filings
Setting up an LLC for a trucking company: the six steps, state filing fees, and the USDOT and BOC-3 filings that come after the LLC itself.
LLC Formation
Construction LLC: How to Set Up an LLC for Construction and Trades
What a construction LLC actually protects, what it costs to file in six states, and why forming one is not the same as getting your contractor license.
LLC Formation
How to Start a Home-Based Business
How to start a home-based business in six steps: choosing a structure, registering an LLC, getting an EIN, and clearing the home occupation permit your city requires.
LLC Formation
LLC Articles Of Organization: What The Form Asks For
What the LLC articles of organization form actually asks for, what your state calls it, what it costs, and why filings get rejected.
LLC Formation
How to Pay Yourself LLC Profits: Owner's Draw vs Salary
How to pay yourself from an LLC: owner's draw versus salary, which one applies to your tax classification, and what you owe either way.
LLC Formation
LLC Tax Benefits: What an LLC Actually Saves You in 2026
What LLC tax benefits actually exist: the S-corp election, the Section 199A deduction, and why forming an LLC alone does not lower your federal tax bill.
LLC Formation
Best State to Form LLC in 2026: What the Numbers Actually Say
Why the best state to form an LLC is almost always the one you already operate in, what Delaware, Wyoming, and Nevada actually offer, and when forming elsewhere makes sense.
LLC Formation
How to Start an LLC in 2026: Six Steps and What It Really Costs
The six steps to start an LLC, what each one actually costs in real states, and what you pay every year after you file.
LLC Formation
How Long Does It Take to Get an LLC? Filing, Approval, and Setup in 2026
How long it actually takes to get an LLC: filing, state approval, and the EIN and bank account steps that come after, plus what actually causes delays.
Banking & Credit
Business Bank Account for LLC: What You Need and How to Open One
What banks actually require to open a business bank account for your LLC, why they ask who owns it, and what to do if the application gets rejected.
Banking & Credit
DUNS Number: What It Is, What It Costs, and Whether Your LLC Needs One
What a DUNS number is, what it actually costs (free, or $229 expedited), how long it takes, and whether your LLC needs one at all.
LLC Formation
LLC Cost by State in 2026: Filing Fees and Annual Fees for All 50 States
LLC filing fees and annual fees for all 50 states and DC, from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts, plus the mandatory taxes that never show up on a state fee schedule.
LLC Formation
Benefits of an LLC: What You Actually Get for Your Filing Fee
What an LLC actually gets you: liability protection, pass-through taxation, and credibility, plus the real filing costs, from $35 to $500, and the downsides worth knowing.
LLC Formation
LLC Meaning: What an LLC Is and How It Works
What LLC actually means, how liability protection works, what states really charge to file ($35 to $500), and how an LLC gets taxed.