We have started a new BLOG, hosted at our own server. Please visit http://www.activefilings.com/blogs to view the new added content.
Tenemos un nuevo BLOG alojado en nuestros servidores. Por favor visite
http://www.activefilings.com/blogs/index.php?blog=5 para la version en Espanol.
This is the last post here.
Thank you.
Roberto Neuberger
Active Filings LLC
http://www.activefilings.com/
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Big fish eats small fish…. With the help of SCORE
“Your SCORE listing needs to be taken down. SCORE does not recommend any specific services. Further, we have removed your link because we are only linking to free resources or to current alliances. Please cease and desist immediately” Signed, Christine Chirichella
Not very nice, is it? This was how we learned that, after more than a year as a recommended “Powerful Link,” one of our alliances had been terminated. A few days ago, the SCORE website listed Active Filings as a power link under Legal & Tax services http://www.score.org/small_biz_power_links.html#a_6).
We appeared there for more than a year because our website provides valuable free resources to our visitors and because we were one of the few incorporating companies developing content in Spanish. SCORE is a non-profit organization linked to the Small Business Administration, a well-known governmental agency.
SCORE is supposed to help small business achieve success by providing free tools and resources. In early December 2006, we received an e-mail from SCORE informing us that our listing had been removed due to the business nature of our website. SCORE representative Christine Chirichella wrote, “You were removed because overall the goal of your site is selling services, not providing free resources.”
At the same time, they added links to The Company Corporation, Business Filings Incorporated, and two other firms that were later removed. The Company Corporation and Business Filings are probably number one and number two in our market. They both belong to large corporations and have near-universal presence. There is no doubt that these companies are even more business oriented than Active Filings.
As Nina Birnbach, Active Filings' VP told the SCORE representative, “I understand what you are telling us about your policy, but I am very confused. You have left Bizfilings and Incorporate.com on the Score site and they also meet the criteria that you stated in your e-mail. The overall goal of their sites are selling services as well and not providing free resources. They are the same type of companies as we are. I am certain that these sites could not exist without selling a product. CCH, the owner of Bizfilings, is very sales oriented and profit driven. As a CPA I get advertising from them all the time. If they were non-profit, in the business of providing free resources, I don't think I would hear from them as much and they wouldn't advertise on the search engines for business as much as they do.”
For a small and independent company like Active Filings, the exact type of company that SCORE wants to help, a link on the SCORE website was very important. Not only for the visitors brought to our site, but also for the “link popularity” assigned by Google and other search engines. This link contributed to our overall search engine positioning and high ranks we have achieved after five years of hard work.
There is no need to hide the fact that this unfair action taken by SCORE has hurt us.
Not only they were unable to support their policy about not linking with business-oriented websites (why does SCORE continue to list Bizfilings.com, Incorporate.com, and many others on their links page?), but also it seems they are favoring large corporations. As a small company without the resources of these big fish in our industry, we needed this link. Unfortunately, we have no other way to show our frustration other than to draw attention to what SCORE and the Small Business Administration have done.
Perhaps we are missing a part of the story. The lack of an explicit and comprehensible policy leaves us with many unanswered questions. Perhaps SCORE and the SBA would better serve America's small business community, and Hispanic businesses, by establishing clear, consistent, and easily understood rules about linking with other sites.
Who knows?
Robert Neuberger is founder of Active Filings LLC, (http://www.activefilings.com) a company that provides business incorporation and LLC formation services in all 50 states and Washington DC. You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included.
Not very nice, is it? This was how we learned that, after more than a year as a recommended “Powerful Link,” one of our alliances had been terminated. A few days ago, the SCORE website listed Active Filings as a power link under Legal & Tax services http://www.score.org/small_biz_power_links.html#a_6).
We appeared there for more than a year because our website provides valuable free resources to our visitors and because we were one of the few incorporating companies developing content in Spanish. SCORE is a non-profit organization linked to the Small Business Administration, a well-known governmental agency.
SCORE is supposed to help small business achieve success by providing free tools and resources. In early December 2006, we received an e-mail from SCORE informing us that our listing had been removed due to the business nature of our website. SCORE representative Christine Chirichella wrote, “You were removed because overall the goal of your site is selling services, not providing free resources.”
At the same time, they added links to The Company Corporation, Business Filings Incorporated, and two other firms that were later removed. The Company Corporation and Business Filings are probably number one and number two in our market. They both belong to large corporations and have near-universal presence. There is no doubt that these companies are even more business oriented than Active Filings.
As Nina Birnbach, Active Filings' VP told the SCORE representative, “I understand what you are telling us about your policy, but I am very confused. You have left Bizfilings and Incorporate.com on the Score site and they also meet the criteria that you stated in your e-mail. The overall goal of their sites are selling services as well and not providing free resources. They are the same type of companies as we are. I am certain that these sites could not exist without selling a product. CCH, the owner of Bizfilings, is very sales oriented and profit driven. As a CPA I get advertising from them all the time. If they were non-profit, in the business of providing free resources, I don't think I would hear from them as much and they wouldn't advertise on the search engines for business as much as they do.”
For a small and independent company like Active Filings, the exact type of company that SCORE wants to help, a link on the SCORE website was very important. Not only for the visitors brought to our site, but also for the “link popularity” assigned by Google and other search engines. This link contributed to our overall search engine positioning and high ranks we have achieved after five years of hard work.
There is no need to hide the fact that this unfair action taken by SCORE has hurt us.
Not only they were unable to support their policy about not linking with business-oriented websites (why does SCORE continue to list Bizfilings.com, Incorporate.com, and many others on their links page?), but also it seems they are favoring large corporations. As a small company without the resources of these big fish in our industry, we needed this link. Unfortunately, we have no other way to show our frustration other than to draw attention to what SCORE and the Small Business Administration have done.
Perhaps we are missing a part of the story. The lack of an explicit and comprehensible policy leaves us with many unanswered questions. Perhaps SCORE and the SBA would better serve America's small business community, and Hispanic businesses, by establishing clear, consistent, and easily understood rules about linking with other sites.
Who knows?
Robert Neuberger is founder of Active Filings LLC, (http://www.activefilings.com) a company that provides business incorporation and LLC formation services in all 50 states and Washington DC. You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print, free of charge, as long as the bylines are included.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
9 Ways to Choose the Right Incorporation Company
So you have taken the first step to opening your business and you have decided to make it a Corporation or Limited Liability Company. There are many companies out there that offer incorporation services, so how do you know which one is the right one for you and your business? These nine steps will help you make an informed decision about the incorporation company you choose, so you can avoid the pitfalls of incorporating with the wrong one.
1) If you build it they will come
Just because an incorporation company has a web site doesn’t mean that it is a legitimate business entity. There are many “incorporate.com” companies online that are simply that, a web site. You should thoroughly research the company you are thinking about using to incorporate your business to make sure they are a formal business entity (corporation or LLC). You can investigate a company by contacting the Better Business Bureau and State Attorney’s Office where the business is physically located to find out if any complaints have been filed against them. You can even go as far as to look up their business license to verify that it is current. Business licenses can be verified with the state in which the business is operating.
2) Business affiliations
Businesses like to place their business affiliations and organization membership logos on their website and other marketing material. Often times this helps to relax potential customers because it makes customers feel like they are working with a legitimate company. It is very important that you take these memberships at face value and dig a little deeper to verify that this company is actually a member of these organizations.
For example, when you see the Better Business Bureau logo on a web site, you probably breathe a sigh of relief. Take a few minutes to contact the Better Business Bureau via phone or online to verify the company’s membership status and to make sure that there haven’t been any complaints filed against them. It will take only a few minutes of your time and can save you a huge headache in the long-run.
Many organizations have stringent guidelines that a company must adhere to in order to become a member. For example, the local chapter of the Chamber of Commerce may require that the company provide a copy of their business license and occupational license, in order to ensure the company is a legally operating entity. These types of procedures are for the protection of the consumer, so utilize the public information available to you and verify everything!
3) All American
Be sure to place your order with US companies. The US has security laws that protect the consumer from having their information distributed or used inappropriately. If you happen to deal with a company that looks like an American business, but actually operates from abroad then you could be putting you and your company at risk. The last thing you want is your credit card information to be sold in a foreign country.
4) Filing fees
Many incorporation companies advertise and promise you low fees, but they actually place a mark-up on the state filing fees in order to make a profit. Find out if the incorporation company will provide you with a receipt directly from the state. This way you will be able to verify that what you were charged for the state filing is actually what it cost. If the incorporation company will not provide this to you, then they probably have something to hide.
5) Identity theft:
With the growing concern of identity theft, it is important that you deal only with web sites and companies that provide you a strong guarantee about the way they are going to protect your personal information. Make sure that if you are providing credit card information online that you are providing it on a secure server that has a “Hacker Safe” certification. This is going far beyond a secure server. This is a system that monitors a server (not a web site only) 24 hours a day to check for potential vulnerabilities. The company should also comply with the FBI guidelines in terms of internet security.
Even if you are giving the credit card or personal information over the phone, inquire as to what the company will do with the information after your order is processed. Keeping your information on file could put you at risk. Make sure that they have some sort of policy that deletes your information after it has been used in filing your incorporation order.
6) Satisfaction guaranteed
What if something goes wrong with your transaction? Verify that the company provides you with some sort of satisfaction guarantee, or money back guarantee. This way if something is to go wrong, you won’t find yourself out of money and without your business incorporation documents properly filed.
7) Avoid the middleman
Be sure to do business with companies that deal directly with the state where you are going to incorporate your business and not through other incorporating companies. Intermediaries will not give you the timely response that you deserve. Again, just because a company has set up a web site to provide incorporation services, it doesn’t mean they have the expertise to perform professionally.
8) Customer support
Before placing you order, send an email or make a phone call to the company you are thinking about using. See how long it takes for them to respond to your inquiry. This will give you an idea of how responsive they are to your needs and it also allows you to indirectly gage the overall professionalism of the company.
9) Look at the whole picture
Make a list of all of the services that you wish to receive and compare the prices for these services on 3 or 4 different companies. Try not to let yourself be lured into using a company because they offer a low fee on one service. By totaling all of the services you will need, you will be able to see what the total cost to you will be and choose the one that is most cost effective.
Follow these nine steps carefully in choosing your incorporation company and you will be well on your way to success. Happy incorporating and good luck with your new business!
* Robert Neuberger is founder and President of Active Filings LLC
1) If you build it they will come
Just because an incorporation company has a web site doesn’t mean that it is a legitimate business entity. There are many “incorporate.com” companies online that are simply that, a web site. You should thoroughly research the company you are thinking about using to incorporate your business to make sure they are a formal business entity (corporation or LLC). You can investigate a company by contacting the Better Business Bureau and State Attorney’s Office where the business is physically located to find out if any complaints have been filed against them. You can even go as far as to look up their business license to verify that it is current. Business licenses can be verified with the state in which the business is operating.
2) Business affiliations
Businesses like to place their business affiliations and organization membership logos on their website and other marketing material. Often times this helps to relax potential customers because it makes customers feel like they are working with a legitimate company. It is very important that you take these memberships at face value and dig a little deeper to verify that this company is actually a member of these organizations.
For example, when you see the Better Business Bureau logo on a web site, you probably breathe a sigh of relief. Take a few minutes to contact the Better Business Bureau via phone or online to verify the company’s membership status and to make sure that there haven’t been any complaints filed against them. It will take only a few minutes of your time and can save you a huge headache in the long-run.
Many organizations have stringent guidelines that a company must adhere to in order to become a member. For example, the local chapter of the Chamber of Commerce may require that the company provide a copy of their business license and occupational license, in order to ensure the company is a legally operating entity. These types of procedures are for the protection of the consumer, so utilize the public information available to you and verify everything!
3) All American
Be sure to place your order with US companies. The US has security laws that protect the consumer from having their information distributed or used inappropriately. If you happen to deal with a company that looks like an American business, but actually operates from abroad then you could be putting you and your company at risk. The last thing you want is your credit card information to be sold in a foreign country.
4) Filing fees
Many incorporation companies advertise and promise you low fees, but they actually place a mark-up on the state filing fees in order to make a profit. Find out if the incorporation company will provide you with a receipt directly from the state. This way you will be able to verify that what you were charged for the state filing is actually what it cost. If the incorporation company will not provide this to you, then they probably have something to hide.
5) Identity theft:
With the growing concern of identity theft, it is important that you deal only with web sites and companies that provide you a strong guarantee about the way they are going to protect your personal information. Make sure that if you are providing credit card information online that you are providing it on a secure server that has a “Hacker Safe” certification. This is going far beyond a secure server. This is a system that monitors a server (not a web site only) 24 hours a day to check for potential vulnerabilities. The company should also comply with the FBI guidelines in terms of internet security.
Even if you are giving the credit card or personal information over the phone, inquire as to what the company will do with the information after your order is processed. Keeping your information on file could put you at risk. Make sure that they have some sort of policy that deletes your information after it has been used in filing your incorporation order.
6) Satisfaction guaranteed
What if something goes wrong with your transaction? Verify that the company provides you with some sort of satisfaction guarantee, or money back guarantee. This way if something is to go wrong, you won’t find yourself out of money and without your business incorporation documents properly filed.
7) Avoid the middleman
Be sure to do business with companies that deal directly with the state where you are going to incorporate your business and not through other incorporating companies. Intermediaries will not give you the timely response that you deserve. Again, just because a company has set up a web site to provide incorporation services, it doesn’t mean they have the expertise to perform professionally.
8) Customer support
Before placing you order, send an email or make a phone call to the company you are thinking about using. See how long it takes for them to respond to your inquiry. This will give you an idea of how responsive they are to your needs and it also allows you to indirectly gage the overall professionalism of the company.
9) Look at the whole picture
Make a list of all of the services that you wish to receive and compare the prices for these services on 3 or 4 different companies. Try not to let yourself be lured into using a company because they offer a low fee on one service. By totaling all of the services you will need, you will be able to see what the total cost to you will be and choose the one that is most cost effective.
Follow these nine steps carefully in choosing your incorporation company and you will be well on your way to success. Happy incorporating and good luck with your new business!
* Robert Neuberger is founder and President of Active Filings LLC
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