Articles of incorporation is a set of formal documents filed with a government body to legally document the creation of a corporation.

Restated Certificate of Incorporation of the Company

Articles of incorporation are a set of formal documents filed with a government body to legally document the creation of a corporation. 1.  Name of corporation
2.  Name and address of the registered agent
3.  Type of corporate structure (e.g., profit corporation, nonprofit corporation, non-stock corporation, professional corporation, etc.)
4.  Names and addresses of the initial board of directors
5.  Number and type of authorized shares
6.  Duration of the corporation, if it wasn't established to exist perpetually
7.  Name, signature, and address of the incorporator, who is the person in charge of setting up a corporation The document outlines the basic information needed to form a corporation, the governance of a corporation, and the corporate statutes in the state where the articles of incorporation are filed. In the U.S., articles of incorporation are filed with the Office of the Secretary of State in the state where the business chooses to incorporate.﻿﻿ Some states offer more favorable regulatory and tax environments and, as a result, attract a greater proportion of firms seeking incorporation. A business that is incorporated in one state and is physically located or doing business in another state must register in the other state as well, which involves paying that state's filing fees and taxes.

Articles of Incorporation

Bootstrapping is launching a business with little or no cash investment or other support. It's not easy, but it has been done successfully.

Bootstrapping is building a company from the ground up with nothing but personal savings, and with luck, the cash coming in from the first sales. Extremely limited resources can inhibit growth, prevent promotion, and even undermine the quality of the bootstrapped product.
The bootstrap entrepreneur retains total control of the business and makes all of the decisions.
It's rarely a quick way to turn a profit, but bootstrapping can be a way to start slowly bringing in revenue and establishing a safety net that will fund future investments in the business.
Bootstrapping allows business owners to experiment more with their brand, as there is no pressure from investors to get the product right the first time. **Spanx**
Sarah Blakely founded Spanx, the company devoted to slimming undergarments, with $5,000 of her personal savings in 2000. Bootstrapping is building a company from the ground up with nothing but personal savings, and with luck, the cash coming in from the first sales. More than 80% of startup operations are funded by the founders' personal finances; the median in start-up capital is about $10,000.

Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping describes a situation in which an entrepreneur starts a company with little capital, relying on money other than outside investments.

Bootstrapping describes a situation in which an entrepreneur starts a company with little capital, relying on money other than outside investments. An individual is said to be bootstrapping when they attempt to found and build a company from personal finances or the operating revenues of the new company. Bootstrapping a company occurs when a business owner starts a company with little to no assets. Bootstrapping describes a situation in which an entrepreneur starts a company with little capital, relying on money other than outside investments. For example, a bootstrapped company may take preorders for its product, thereby using the funds generated from the orders actually to build and deliver the product itself.

A bottom-collar scam is a fraudulent claim by swindlers or con artists, often preying on job seekers and vulnerable people.

FTC Cracks Down on Con Artists Who Target Jobless Americans

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A bottom-collar scam is a fraudulent claim by swindlers or con artists who prey on job seekers and vulnerable people. Bottom-dollar scams are also known as “last-dollar” scams by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the consumer protection watchdog in the U.S., because they claim that their outlandish promises are solid schemes on which an individual can bet their last dollar. A bottom-collar scam is a fraudulent claim by swindlers or con artists who prey on vulnerable, unemployed individuals by making false promises about making substantial deals of money through avenues such as working from home, mortgage modification, debt reduction, and so on. In 2010, in the wake of the Great Recession and the subprime mortgage crisis, the FTC launched Operation Bottom Dollar to crack down on scam artists targeting desperate job seekers. In 2010, in the wake of the Great Recession and the subprime mortgage crisis, the FTC launched Operation Bottom Dollar to crack down on scam artists targeting desperate job seekers.

Bottom-Dollar Scam

A cottage industry is a small-scale, decentralized manufacturing business often operated out of a home rather than a purpose-built facility.

A cottage industry is a small-scale, decentralized manufacturing business often operated out of a home rather than a purpose-built facility. While companies operating in cottage industries may remain small, they still have to compete with other firms, whether other cottage industries or larger-scale companies. Many flea markets or farmers markets often have people selling crafts or other goods that are the products of cottage industries. For small villages, a cottage industry can allow local residents to come together to produce crafts for sale in local markets or even for export to larger cities and other countries. The first cottage industries were light manufacturing operations in England and the United States engaged in subcontracted garment-making, textiles or sewing, as well as shoemaking and small metal machine parts.

Cottage Industry

Crowdfunding is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of people to raise money or fund a business. Learn the pros and cons of crowdfunding.

Critical Role: The Legend of Vox Machina Animated Special

Table of Contents
What Is Crowdfunding?
How Crowdfunding Works
Types of Crowdfunding Depending on the type of crowdfunding, investors either donate money altruistically or get rewards such as equity in the company that raised the money.
For crowdfunding that operates on a donation basis, the company does not need to pay back investors. Crowdfunding makes use of the easy accessibility of vast networks of people through social media and crowdfunding websites to bring investors and entrepreneurs together, with the potential to increase entrepreneurship by expanding the pool of investors beyond the traditional circle of owners, relatives, and venture capitalists. No other 2019 Kickstarter campaign raised that amount over their entire 30- to 60-day raising period.
Crowdfunding is the use of small amounts of capital from a large number of individuals to finance a new business venture. However, in recent years, some crowdfunding platforms such as Patreon and Substack have extended the reach of crowdfunding to offer a way for creative people—artists, writers, musicians, or podcasters—to sustain their creative work by receiving a steady source of income.

Crowdfunding

Donation-based crowdfunding is seeking small amounts of money from a large group of contributors to fund the completion of a project.

Donation-based crowdfunding is a way to source money for a project by asking a large number of contributors to individually donate a small amount to it. Donation-based crowdfunding is a way to source money for a project by asking a large number of contributors to individually donate a small amount to it. If an entrepreneur or inventor has a great idea for a new product or service, crowdfunding offers an alternative way to raise money, as opposed to traditional methods of borrowing money through banks or private loans or by offering equity shares. Donation-based crowdfunding is a way of raising money by asking a large group of people to donate. Donation-based crowdfunding platforms aimed at fundraising for charitable causes include GoFundMe, YouCaring.com, GiveForward, and FirstGiving.

Donation-Based Crowdfunding

The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is a UK program that helps smaller, riskier companies to raise capital by giving their external shareholders federal tax relief.

HS341 Enterprise Investment Scheme—Income Tax Relief (2020)

Tax Relief for Investors Using Venture Capital Schemes

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) is an investment program in the United Kingdom that makes it easier for smaller, riskier companies to raise capital. The Enterprise Investment Scheme helps riskier companies by giving their investors federal tax relief, which acts as an incentive to investors, making the potential purchase of those companies’ shares more appealing. The Enterprise Investment Scheme works by granting 30% of what the investor pays for the shares as a credit that then reduces the investor’s individual income tax owed for the year that the individual purchased the shares. The EIS helps riskier companies by giving their investors federal tax relief, which makes purchasing those companies’ shares more appealing. For example, the EIS would restrict investor A from investing in investor B’s company on the condition that investor B invests in investor A’s company in return.

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

Companies seek equity financing from investors to finance short or long-term needs by selling an ownership stake in the form of shares.

Table of Contents
What Is Equity Financing?
How Equity Financing Works
Equity Financing vs. Debt Financing
Special Considerations Equity financing differs from debt financing: the first involves borrowing money while the latter involves selling a portion of equity in the company.
National and local governments keep a close watch on equity financing to ensure that everything done follows regulations.
Equity financing involves the sale of common equity, but also the sale of other equity or quasi-equity instruments such as preferred stock, convertible preferred stock, and equity units that include common shares and warrants. Later, if the company needs additional capital, it may choose secondary equity financing options, such as a rights offering or an offering of equity units that includes warrants as a sweetener.
Businesses typically have two options for financing to consider when they want to raise capital for business needs: equity financing and debt financing. Equity financing is distinct from debt financing; in debt financing, a company assumes a loan and pays back the loan over time with interest, while in equity financing, a company sells an ownership share in return for funds. When making the decision about whether to seek debt or equity financing, companies usually consider these three factors:
What source of funding is most easily accessible for the company?
What is the company's cash flow?
How important is it for principal owners to maintain complete control of the company?
If a company has given investors a percentage of their company through the sale of equity, the only way to remove them (and their stake in the business) is to repurchase their shares, a process called a buy-out.

Equity Financing

The franchise disclosure document (FDD) is a legal form that must be given to anyone planning to buy a U.S. franchise.

The franchise disclosure document (FDD) is a legal disclosure document that must be given to individuals interested in buying a U.S. franchise as part of the pre-sale due diligence process. The FDD outlines comprehensive information about the roles of both parties involved in the franchise—the franchisor and the franchisee—and is designed to enable the potential franchisee to make an honest and informed decision about their investment into the business. The franchise disclosure document (FDD) provides a clear picture of how the business relationship between the franchisee and franchisor will be conducted. The franchise disclosure document (FDD) is a legal disclosure document that must be given to individuals interested in buying a U.S. franchise as part of the pre-sale due diligence process. The document lays out how the investment will work in practice for the potential franchisee, which is critical because a franchise is a different type of investment/business.

Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)

An incubator firm is an organization that fosters early-stage companies through their first steps of development.

An incubator firm is an organization engaged in the business of fostering early-stage companies through the different developmental phases until the companies have sufficient financial, human, and physical resources to function on their own. An incubator firm can be either a non-profit or a for-profit entity, and it can provide assistance via any or all of the following methods:
Access to financial capital through relationships with financial partners
Access to experienced business consultants and management-level executives
Access to physical location space and business hardware or software
Access to information and research resources via relationships with local universities and government entities Incubators can take the form of business incubators, research incubators, academic incubators, or venture capitalist incubators. An incubator firm is an organization engaged in the business of fostering early-stage companies through the different developmental phases until the companies have sufficient financial, human, and physical resources to function on their own. Gaining equity in an early-stage company with strong growth prospects is the ultimate goal—and one that can provide a financial windfall for the incubator firm if the early-stage company takes off.

Incubator Firm

Love money colloquially refers to seed money given to an entrepreneur by family or friends in order to begin a business venture.

Love money refers to seed capital that has been extended by family or friends to an entrepreneur to start a business venture. Regardless of the structure, it is recommended that investors only use risk capital—money they are prepared to lose—when providing love money investments to family and friends. Love money refers to seed capital that has been extended by family or friends to an entrepreneur to start a business venture. Love money may be used to start a new business or to provide an injection of capital to an existing business when required. Love money may be the only financing option for an entrepreneur who does not meet the criteria necessary to get credit or capital from traditional avenues like banks or other lenders.

Love Money

A mission statement is a single sentence or short paragraph that is used by a company to explain its existence.

Table of Contents
What Is a Mission Statement? With a mission statement, a company's customers and investors can rest assured that the company is fully committed to achieving its goals and maintaining its values. While the mission statement remains unchanged for the most part and represents who the company is or aspires to be for the entirety of its existence, the vision statement can change. While it may be difficult to narrow down the focus of your company in a single statement, here are some tips to help you write a good mission statement. A company’s mission statement differs from its vision statement.

Mission Statement

Point of sale (POS) refers to the place where customers execute payments for goods or services. POS systems provide companies with sales and marketing data.

Point of sale (POS), a critical piece of a point of purchase, refers to the place where a customer executes the payment for goods or services and where sales taxes may become payable. For example, many retailers use POS systems to manage membership programs that award points to frequent buyers and issue discounts on future purchases.
Cloud-based POS systems are increasingly in use, particularly for large online merchants, to track and process numerous purchases. Also, the intensifying competition in the retail industry and resulting use of POS displays for enticing customers to purchase products have encouraged retailers to demand different custom-made displays capable of serving specific needs across different retail facilities. POS systems that monitor inventory and buying trends can help retailers avoid customer service issues, such as out-of-stock sales, and tailor purchasing and marketing to consumer behavior. It can be in a physical store, where POS terminals and systems are used to process card payments or a virtual sales point such as a computer or mobile electronic device.

Point of Sale (POS)

Seed capital is the money raised to begin developing a business or a new product. It might cover only the essentials such as a business plan and operating expenses.

Achieving Our 100% Renewable Energy Purchasing Goal and Going Beyond

The term seed capital refers to the type of financing used in the formation of a startup. Seed capital—also called seed money or seed financing—is referred to as such because it is money raised by a business in its infancy or early stages. 1:17
A startup normally has to move through four distinct phases of investment before it is truly established—seed capital, venture capital, mezzanine funding, and an initial public offering (IPO). Seed capital is generally used to develop a business idea to the point that it can be presented effectively to venture capital firms that have large amounts of money to invest. Alphabet, the parent company of Google, provided seed money to the Center for Resource Solutions in 2015 for a project to implement renewable energy certification programs in Asia.﻿﻿ The goal of the San Francisco-based center is to help businesses buy power from clean sources.

Seed Capital

Startup capital is money invested to launch a new business. Venture capitalists provide funding in return for an ownership share in the business.

Google Receives $25 Million in Equity Funding

Report: 75% of Venture-backed Start-ups Fail

The term startup capital refers to the money raised by a new company in order to meet its initial costs. Startup capital may be provided by venture capitalists, angel investors, banks, or other financial institutions and is often a large sum of money that covers any or all of the company's major initial costs such as inventory, licenses, office space, and product development.
Startup capital is the money raised by an entrepreneur to underwrite the costs of a venture until it begins to turn a profit. The majority of startup capital is provided to young companies by professional investors such as venture capitalists and/or angel investors. The agreement between the venture capital provider and the entrepreneur outlines a number of possible scenarios, such as an IPO or a buyout by a larger company, and defines how the investors will benefit from each. Considering the sources of startup capital, it's no surprise that companies may receive large amounts of money from their investors.

How To Start A Business

More in Business

Terms in How To Start A Business

Articles of Incorporation

Bootstrapping

Bootstrapping

Bottom-Dollar Scam

Cottage Industry

Crowdfunding

Donation-Based Crowdfunding

Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS)

Equity Financing

Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD)