If you own a business (or plan to start one this coming year), you’ve probably thought about whether you should incorporate. As a Miami business lawyer team, we know that this is a decision that depends on many factors. No company is required to incorporate—86% of businesses that don’t have employees are sole proprietorships—and it might actually be in your best interest not to incorporate.

But many businesses should incorporate. It will take some time to go over the pros and cons of incorporation, but in the end, your business will be better for your decision.

Not sure where to start? Here are a few reasons you might want to incorporate in 2020.

It Can Keep Your Business and Personal Life Separated

By incorporating, you are effectively creating a new entity that is separate from you, its owner. Even if you die or leave the company, it will continue on without you. It can also act as a way to keep your personal life separate from your business. Many people who incorporate do so because they can name someone else as a registered agent or because they don’t want to list their home address, among other reasons.

It Can Help You Raise Funds

Loans are not the only way to secure funding. When you work with a Miami business lawyer to incorporate, you can start planning to take on a new co-owner or issue stock in your company. If you don’t incorporate, you can’t raise funds this way.

It Allows You to Establish Credit for Your Business

Of course, you can still take out loans. But when you incorporate, you can decide whether to lend your business money through a personal loan or apply for financing in your business’s name.

For businesses that require a lot of funding, the best option is establishing credit in your business’s name.

It Adds Legitimacy

Which would you rather do business with—a company called Main Street Construction or a company called Main Street Construction, Inc.? When a business name has Inc. or LLC at the end, it just feels a bit more trustworthy, doesn’t it? It’s not just customers who notice this, either. Suppliers and investors take note, too. If you want to add legitimacy to your image next year, you might want to consider incorporating.

It Can Protect You

Perhaps the biggest reason to sit down with a Miami business lawyer this year to incorporate is because it can protect your personal assets should you need to file for bankruptcy or defend yourself against a lawsuit.

What this means is that your nonbusiness assets—things like your home, you vehicle, and anything else that is your personal property—are most often safe from forfeiture.

Talk to a Miami Business Lawyer at AM Law Today

Want to discuss your options for incorporation? Our attorneys are experts in all facets of business law. Contact us today.