Beginning Business Practices

When entrepreneurs and founders approach Parsons Lift about raising capital for their business, I often discover that they have failed to take fundamental steps to properly set up the business. Missing these initial steps results in additional time and expense, as we work to ready the business to be presented to potential funders or strategic partners. Below are some early-stage protections and basic steps to consider to facilitate a better capital-raising process.

Form the entity

An important initial step is to actually form an entity. This creates protections for the founder from personal liability for the business's operations. It also creates a structure to conduct business. The decision to initially form a business as a corporation or limited liability company (LLC) is driven by tax planning and other business goals, including the anticipated entity governance structure. The business may change form later as it evolves and its needs and requirements change.