Hey all -
What's the opinion of the professional dog trainers/ kennel owners on setting up your dog training business as an LLC?

My SchH club is lawyer heavy, and I was informed that it's the best set-up for a legal liability viewpoint. I'm also seeing more and more training kennels with "LLC" appearing after their name.
It was even discussed that setting up an LLC each time that you hold a seminar made sense from a liability standpoint.

LLC's have been around over 20 years from what I've read, but they're not as well known as incorporations to the layman ( like me <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> )

Soooooo....any thoughts or advice on the matter?

We are adding two books on LLC's to our Leerburg bookstore just for this reason.

We run Leerburg Kennel's under an LLC. Any future seminars that we hold will be run as an LLC. There are just too many people out there willing to sue over spilled hot coffee.

If you have a dog kennel, even a small kennel, you need to have an LLC. In our state it can be done on line and the accounting is very simple. It is even not that difficult to get insurance for an LLC.

The fact is that when this is done properly the scam artist piece of garbage dung eating rot gut attorney's that "sport sue" people take a look at LLC's and know there is little to no money to get there and it's just not worth their effort.

We have two books on order:

1- Form you own LLC

2- Quick LLC - All you need to know

Keep an eye on our table of contents - we will be adding web pages on them in the next few days.

If you want some very good advice it's DONT WAIT UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE !!!

LLCs were originally created for the small & or sole proprietorsip business. They run thru your personal taxes & do not require all the x-tra accounting & taxation that corps do. They are for the laymans businness interests. I have one for the small business that I have formed. They will also keep your personal assets safe!!!!They are also very reasonable $$$$ -wise to set up & run. They are a wise & safe investment in keeping the 'bad guys' out of you pockets.

If u want there are CD-ROM's that can be purchased at any Staples store's (that is were i got mine) on the different companies for your business. They are a very easy read and cover all bases and forms you can send to your printer and dont cost that much to purchase...right around 20 dollars.. Example would be Partnerships, Stock Markey Investing, Corporate Records, Limited Liability Companies, etc..they can also be checked out on the web at http://www.MadeE-Z.com..
Thought i would pass that along to you all..I am sure there are alot of different web sites that offer CD's and books on this subject..And this is only one of them. As with anything dont just relie on one site or one person's opinion on a subject but shop around.

Sub chapter S-Corps can be a good option. They work much like an LLC but do not have to be renewed and easier to sell if the need were to arrise.

Remember an LLC is not a panacea for protecting your personal assets. You will need to follow the corperate requirments to the letter or "the garbage dung rot gut eating" attorney(hey it's a living <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> ) can pierce the corperate veil and get right at your personal assets.

Also an attorney with any sense is not going to shy away from an LLC because the corperation does not have any assets. LLCs are relativly easy to pierce sense the owner/ President rarely knows what he is doing when it comes to adhering to all the technical requirements.

If you are really worried about getting sued get an umbrella policy. They are inexpensive and well worth the money in piece of mind alone. Believe it or not most attorneys would prefer not to go after a persons assets when there is a decent amount of insurance to cover the damages.

With that said an LLC is a great idea. They do offer a level of liability protection. Just be careful if you are doing it yourself because if you screw it up then you might as well not even have had one. I personally would get advice from a local buisness lawyer to make sure it is done right (at least the first few times). I do not know how many people have come to my office after screwing up a "do it yourself", divorce, will or corperation.

Two hundred dollars today could save you a bundle tomorrow.

Good luck,

Like buying a dog or finding the right kennel make sure that u also do your homework on the lawyer that is going to do this type of work for you.

My family was refered to a attorney out of Chicago and oh boy to this day i still wonder how he ever became a lawyer..had me thinking what was that quote ..shooting who. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> ..but after a year. I was able to get it all straighted out. When I got our LLC form back from the state he had his name and address as the contact person. So the following year I never received the paperwork to renew (was sent to him) and then we had to refile with the late charges being assessed and also had to file a form to amend his name and address(more money)..but finally it is all good to go now..I am wondering if we could call him a backyard lawyer but he did have a office.
What I would tell ya to do is get the paperwork, fill it out, then take to a lawyer for mistakes, then before filling it,double check the lawyer. Will save u some cash, time and effort.