Shore Things

Later is doing a lot of heavy lifting in small business land. Later I’ll set up a real business bank account. Later I’ll get the LLC sorted. Later I’ll figure out what I’m actually supposed to be paying in taxes. Later, once things slow down a little, once I have more clients, once I have more time. Here’s the problem with later: the IRS doesn’t care about your timeline. And neither do the fees, the fines, the personal liability exposure, or the accountant who’s going to char

One of the quiet reasons people put off setting up their business: they’re convinced step one is hiring a lawyer, and that sounds expensive and serious and like a thing you do once you’re a “real” business. So let me take some pressure off. For most small businesses, the core setup doesn’t require a lawyer at all. Forming an LLC in South Carolina is filing Articles of Organization with the Secretary of State and paying the fee. Getting an EIN is a free ten-minute form on IRS.

There’s a lot of advice out there about starting a business, and a frustrating amount of it is vibes. Follow your passion. Build your brand. Show up authentically. All lovely. None of it tells you what to actually do on a Tuesday when you’ve decided you’re really doing this. So here’s the un-vibey version: what you actually need to handle in your first 30 days, roughly in order, so that the foundation is solid before you build anything fun on top of it. Week 1: Decide and nam