Practical answers to the decisions every business faces, like how to incorporate, how to hire and pay people, and what to set up first.
Guide · Proposals and scheduling
Founders should close the first 10 to 20 customers themselves, in protected weekly blocks for prospecting, calls, follow-ups and a pipeline review. Write the process down as you go. Hire salespeople once deals follow a pattern you can teach, and hire two rather than one.
· 9 min read
Guide · Compliance and filings
A single-member LLC owned by a non-US person files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, by fax or mail, due April 15 for a calendar year. Putting money in or taking it out counts as a reportable transaction, so almost every such LLC has to file. Missing it costs $25,000.
· 7 min read
Guide · Branding and design
A name that's free in your state can still infringe a trademark, and a federal trademark application costs $350 per class of goods or services. Check the USPTO database, your state's name rules and the domain before you print anything. Here's how to clear a name, and what each registration does and doesn't protect.
· 7 min read
Guide · Collaboration and productivity
Start with a domain you control, email on that domain, a simple website, a business bank account, accounting software, a way to take payments, a CRM, shared docs, a password manager and light automation. Most have free plans that last a two-person company months. A five-person stack runs about $180 a month at list prices.
· 7 min read
Guide · Business banking
Mercury accepts US companies with founders living abroad, but may ask for proof of US business activity and can close accounts that have none. Relay asks every owner for a physical US address. Airwallex's US service needs a US principal place of business. Wise Business works alongside any of them for currency. Here's how to choose.
· 7 min read
Guide · Cross-border payments
If Stripe doesn't serve your country, you either form a US company and open a US Stripe account, or sell through a merchant of record such as Paddle, Lemon Squeezy or Stripe Managed Payments, which charge around 5% or more but take on sales tax and VAT. Here's how the three routes compare.
· 7 min read
Guide · Cross-border incorporation
You don't need an ITIN to get an EIN, file Form 5472 or claim a treaty rate on a W-8BEN if you have a tax number from home. You do need one to file a US return as a nonresident, for example when your business is engaged in a US trade or business. The IRS says allow 9 to 11 weeks from abroad.
· 7 min read
Guide · International hiring
At $599 per employee a month, an employer of record costs $7,188 a person each year. Your own Indian subsidiary swaps that for fixed running costs and Indian tax on a cost-plus margin. With $30,000 a year in quotes, it pays for itself at about six people. Here's how to work out your own number.
· 8 min read
Guide · Collaboration and productivity
Google Workspace Business Starter and Microsoft 365 Business Basic both cost $7 a user a month on annual billing. Zoho Mail's free plan covers five users. Forwarding through Cloudflare is free but only receives, and from January 2027 Gmail stops letting a personal account send as an outside address.
· 8 min read
Guide · Web hosting and cloud
A basic DigitalOcean Droplet costs $6 a month, a managed cloud server on Cloudways starts at $11, and managed WordPress hosting from Kinsta at $35. The cheap option comes with a job description: operating system updates, runtime upgrades, backups, firewalls, certificates and monitoring. Here's how to tell whether that job is worth it for you.
· 7 min read
Guide · Website builders
Launch with a home page, a page per offer, pricing, about, contact, a privacy policy and terms. California's CalOPPA requires a privacy policy on any commercial site that collects personal information from its residents. Cookie-free analytics avoid an EU consent banner. Aim for LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200 milliseconds and CLS under 0.1.
· 7 min read
Guide · Cross-border payments
On a $10,000 invoice, Wise's US account details cost $186.97 in fees including GST, Payoneer's published rates come to between about $219 and $496, and PayPal comes to about $727. Services exported under an LUT carry no GST, but you still need the paperwork. Here's how to choose.
· 7 min read
Guide · Contractors
To pay a contractor abroad, collect a Form W-8BEN, sign a contract that covers scope and IP, and pay through a low-cost rail like Wise, Airwallex or a contractor platform rather than a bank wire. For work done outside the US, there's no US withholding and no 1099. Here's the full process.
· 7 min read
Guide · Company formation
The cheapest way to form an LLC is to file it yourself on your state's website and pay only the state fee, from $35 in Montana to $300 in Texas. Everything else can be free. Here's how, and what to watch for.
· 7 min read
Guide · Business banking
Opening a business bank account takes your formation documents, your EIN, ID for each owner and about 15 minutes online. Here's exactly what to have ready, the fees that matter, and how to choose between an online bank and a branch.
· 7 min read
Guide · Cross-border incorporation
You don't need to live in the US or hold a visa to form a US company. Here's the full process for founders abroad: LLC or C corp, Delaware or Wyoming, an EIN without an SSN, banking, payments, and the filings that catch foreign owners out.
· 8 min read
Guide · Accounting and bookkeeping
Good bookkeeping isn't complicated: separate accounts, software connected to your bank, a short list of categories and an hour a month. Here's the whole system, from setup to the year-end handoff to your accountant.
· 7 min read
Guide · Company formation
Forming an LLC takes a few hundred dollars in state fees and one to two weeks. Here is every step in order, what each one costs, and which paid extras you don't need.
· 8 min read
Guide · Business taxes
A single-member LLC owner pays themselves with an owner's draw, not a salary, and is taxed on the LLC's profit whether or not they take it out. Partners use distributions and guaranteed payments. S corp owners must take a reasonable salary. Here's how each works.
· 7 min read
Guide · Company formation
For most owners, the best state to form an LLC is the state where they live and work. Forming in Delaware or Wyoming usually means registering at home too and paying both states. Here's the math, and the exceptions.
· 7 min read
Guide · Compliance and filings
Most states require an annual or biennial report to keep an LLC active, from $7 in Pennsylvania to $138.75 in Florida, and some add a yearly tax, like California's $800. Miss it and the state can dissolve your LLC. Here's what's due and when.
· 7 min read
Guide · Contractors
Whether someone is a 1099 contractor or a W-2 employee depends on control and independence, not on what the contract says. The IRS weighs behavioral control, financial control and the relationship, and states like California apply a stricter ABC test. Here's how to decide.
· 7 min read
Guide · Business taxes
If you expect to owe $1,000 or more in federal tax, you generally need to pay estimated tax each quarter. Pay at least 100% of last year's tax, or 90% of this year's, and you avoid the underpayment penalty. Here's how to work it out and pay.
· 7 min read
Guide · Company formation
Every LLC needs a registered agent: a person or company with an address in the state who accepts legal papers during business hours. You can be your own for free, or pay $125 to $249 a year. Here's how to choose.
· 7 min read
Guide · Cold outreach
Send cold email from a separate domain that redirects to your website, with two or three mailboxes per domain. Add an SPF record, turn on DKIM, publish a DMARC record starting at p=none, and warm each mailbox up over a few weeks. Here are the records and the checks.
· 7 min read
Guide · Contracts and legal
An operating agreement sets out who owns your LLC, who decides what, and what happens when someone wants out. Here's what it should cover, which states require one, and when a free template stops being enough.
· 7 min read
Guide · International hiring
Start with a contractor for a defined project, move to an employer of record when someone works for you full time, and price up an Indian subsidiary once the EOR fees for a growing team pass what running your own company would cost. Here's the math at one, five and fifteen developers.
· 8 min read
Guide · Prospecting and lead data
Define the companies and roles you sell to, collect companies from free sources like job boards, event lists, review sites and public registries, find the right person at each, and verify every email before you send. Paid databases like Apollo and Hunter save time once the free sources run dry.
· 7 min read
Guide · CRM
Start with a CRM that records every contact and email automatically, shows your deals in a simple pipeline and reminds you to follow up. HubSpot's free CRM covers two users and Attio's free plan three. Pay for more when automation, sequences or reporting start to save real time.
· 7 min read
Guide · Legal structure
Electing S corp status lets an LLC owner take part of the profit without self-employment tax. Whether that's worth it depends on your profit, a reasonable salary and the extra running costs. Here is the math at three profit levels.
· 7 min read
Guide · Compliance and filings
US-formed LLCs and corporations no longer file beneficial ownership information reports with FinCEN. The final rule took effect on August 14, 2026. Only foreign companies registered to do business in a US state still report. Here's what that means for you.
· 7 min read
Guide · Business taxes
You must collect sales tax in states where your business has nexus: a physical presence, or sales above that state's economic threshold, such as $100,000 in Florida or $500,000 in California and Texas. Here's how to work out where you owe it and what to do next.
· 7 min read
Guide · Payroll and benefits
Every paycheck involves taxes you withhold from the employee and taxes you pay yourself. In 2026 that's 6.2% Social Security and 1.45% Medicare from each side, federal unemployment tax on the first $7,000, state unemployment tax and income tax withholding. Here's how it all works.
· 7 min read
Guide · Cold outreach
Good cold email is a small, well-chosen list, a short first email about the recipient's problem, two or three follow-ups and a sending setup with SPF, DKIM and DMARC on a separate domain. CAN-SPAM applies to B2B email too, with penalties up to $53,088 per message. Here's the full playbook.
· 8 min read
Guide · Payroll and benefits
Before your first employee starts, register as an employer with your state, set up payroll, and get workers' compensation. On day one, collect a W-4 and complete the I-9 within three business days, then report the hire within 20 days. Here's every step.
· 7 min read
Guide · Legal structure
An S corp isn't a separate kind of company, it's a tax election an LLC can make. The real choice is between an LLC, taxed simply or as an S corp, and a C corporation built for investors.
· 7 min read
Guide · International hiring
Use a PEO when you have a US company and want better benefits and HR help for your US employees: from $79 to $125 a month per employee. Use an EOR when you want to employ someone in a country where you have no company: around $599 a month. Here's the full comparison.
· 7 min read
Guide · Company formation
An EIN is free from the IRS and takes about 15 minutes online. Here is what to have ready, the hours the online application is open, the mistakes that cause trouble later, and the fax, mail and phone routes for everyone else.
· 7 min read
Guide · Compliance and filings
Most businesses need at least one license or permit, but there's no single national license. Here's how the federal, state and local layers work, the permits people forget, and a step-by-step way to find yours.
· 7 min read
Guide · Prospecting and lead data
Start free with the Census Bureau's USA Trade Online to find the countries buying your product, then use shipment-level data to name the importers. Customs-record databases such as Volza start at $1,500 a year. The US Commercial Service will find and meet partners for you from $2,400.
· 8 min read
Guide · Business taxes
A business can deduct ordinary and necessary expenses, but the biggest savings come from the ones owners forget: start-up costs, the home office, mileage at 72.5 or 76 cents a mile in 2026, equipment under Section 179, and health insurance. Here's the list, with the records each needs.
· 7 min read
Guide · International hiring
You can hire someone abroad as a contractor, through a contractor of record, through an employer of record, or by opening your own company there. Here is how to choose without overpaying or taking on risk you did not mean to.
· 7 min read