Your business is your job. It is your business to clean the kitchen sink today. It is your business to clean the bathroom floor after a shower today. It is your business – it is your job!
But you are not doing your job as you should. You are not doing your job because you think it is your job. The truth is that, as a Business Owner and Entrepreneur, you must think that you have more important things to do in your business than to clean the sinks. It is true that your business means different things to different people; to you and me, it means business. Yet most businesses today take their word for it that they are running a business and that they are running it profitably.
Businesses mean different things to different people and they are run by different people. Businesses mean property being used and resources being utilized in a manner that satisfies the needs of the owners of the property and/or resources. Businesses also mean the ownership of the enterprise conducting the business. So businesses means parent group owning or control of the enterprise conducting the business at any time prior to the effective date of the death of the last owner(s) of the enterprise.
And just what can be considered the effective date of the death of the last owner? Businesses do not usually take into account the possibility that they may someday lose their physical location – they just want to get it over with and then move on to the next location. But as long as the parent company is conducting business in the physical world, it is conducting business and the parent group owns the corporation or LLC and it is the business operations that are happening on the ground. Therefore it is the physical location of the business where the corporation must meet its legal obligations after the death of the last owner(s). And this also includes complying with all of the human resources provisions of the law such as retirement plans, insurance policies, labor policies, workers compensation, intellectual property rights, trademarks, and domain names.
When it comes to incorporating a for-profit or for-sale company, many state laws have been developed that help a business avoid many pitfalls associated with incorporation without incorporating. In addition to the requirement that corporations must register separately from other types of companies for tax purposes, many state laws require a separate legal entity for the business operation. This requirement has resulted in a growing problem for the majority of small business owners where one of their major competitors has filed an application for state certification as a for-profit. Because the paperwork is so complicated, the state department of revenue requires the business to pay substantial fees to represent the state in the filing. Many small businesses are unable to overcome these hurdles and end up having to shut down their businesses rather than comply with the complex procedures required to file a state certification.
For-profit businesses must also be organized to properly file tax reports. Often times the IRS will reject a for-profit application for tax status because it is not legitimate. This can result in penalties and interest being reported on the income and assets of the business rather than being passed on to the investors or society. Therefore, many investors and society members may lose the ability to benefit from the societal need created by the business’ products and services. If an individual owns a business they must recognize this important distinction between the needs of society and the needs of the individuals working within the business.
