From LLC to C corp to cooperative and beyond, there are myriad business structures available to you when making your startup official. To help make the decision easier, we've created a simple infographic with the basics of each business type.   Courtesy of Escalon Services

The world of marketing is evolving, and it's a continuing challenge to ensure that your business gets the exposure it needs to thrive. Check out five marketing mistakes that you should avoid if you are looking to get the word out about your firm.   1. Counting on your marketer to solve all your problemsYou may have brought on the best marketing professional in town to handle your needs, but that person can't overcome fundamental issues if you have them. Poor products or services, a bad repu...

Your startup has huge potential, and that's not only for your business. It's also for the team members you hire.New team members can experience growing a company from the ground up, they can help you build a terrific company culture, and there's often a lot of room for growth.Yet, hiring can be one of the most difficult parts of running a startup. So, what's a startup owner to do? One of the first things in your hiring process is to turn to your website.In this article, we look at how a great ca...

As a new or young company, seeking to fund your startup, it seems pretty straightforward that venture capital would be a good option.Yet, while there are many advantages to it, we're going to look at five disadvantages of seeking venture capital, and why it might not be right for your business. #1: You may lose controlBefore you get venture capital, you (and your partners) have total control of your startup. After you get funding, you transfer part of your control to your investors.This mea...

You know you have a problem staffer at your business, but you are too busy to address the issues at hand. So you avoid the problem and eventually sit down with the employee to say, "It's just not working out, so we're letting you go."If this sounds familiar, you could be setting yourself up for expensive and protracted litigation, says Scott Warrick, an employment attorney and HR consultant who is the author of the book Solve Employee Problems Before They Start. "Part of good employee relations ...