Multiple Entities - Multiple LLC's or Corporation?

[James116]

Jurisdiction

Virginia

- I have a consulting firm that falls under my LLC in VA.
- I want to start a retail store (homemade products) but want to register it in NJ because of the local suppliers and I would have a dedicated employee producing the goods.
- I also am in the process of starting a property management firm that would target both VA regions and Puerto Rico., but haven't created the legal entity yet.

So I am lost - Do I create a LLC for each additional entity, in each state/PR even if my residence is VA?
Should I use them all under same LLC with DBA's and foreign registry requests?
Or should I change to a corporation of sorts?
Should I break the property management entity into two since PR/VA taxes and rules far off?

 

[flyingron]

There's not much of a legal question in the bunch. Legally, you could do everything under your existing LLC or you could create multiple entities. You're going to have to maintain good accounting practices given the multi-state operations as well as having an employee in another state.

You only need dbas if you choose to operate under a name that is distinct from the name of whatever legal entity you represent. You'll have to register your out-of-state entity in NJ if you choose to operate it there (or you can create a NJ entity).

Other issues that factor into it? Are you the only owner (member for LLC, shareholder for the potential corporation)? Are you maintaining all these completely independently or will you be sharing resources?

Note that if you create a corporation in NJ and want it to take the S Corp election, be aware that NJ doesn't automatically follow your federal election (like Virginia does), you must make a separate state election tehre.

You need to sit down with lawyers (probably in both NJ and VA) and a good accountant.

 

[adjusterjack]

Other things to consider:

Insurance - You'll need liability insurance on all these endeavors, plus products liability on whatever you are producing. You'll need workers compensation insurance in whatever state your employees are located.

Licensing - Depending on state laws you might need a real estate license for property management. That requires courses, exams, and continuing education. Could also require a license bond.

 

[James116]

There's not much of a legal question in the bunch. Legally, you could do everything under your existing LLC or you could create multiple entities. You're going to have to maintain good accounting practices given the multi-state operations as well as having an employee in another state.

You only need dbas if you choose to operate under a name that is distinct from the name of whatever legal entity you represent. You'll have to register your out-of-state entity in NJ if you choose to operate it there (or you can create a NJ entity).

Other issues that factor into it? Are you the only owner (member for LLC, shareholder for the potential corporation)? Are you maintaining all these completely independently or will you be sharing resources?

Note that if you create a corporation in NJ and want it to take the S Corp election, be aware that NJ doesn't automatically follow your federal election (like Virginia does), you must make a separate state election tehre.

You need to sit down with lawyers (probably in both NJ and VA) and a good accountant.

Thank you for the above advice. You are right it is not much of a legal question, but I am tryin various avenues for advice on this.
Currently, I am the sole proprietor of the consulting firm and that will not change, and will likely stay independent for the rest.
I sincerely want to avoid creating a corp in NJ lol but the opportunity is there for this particular venture.
I anticipate chatting with a lawyer, but wanted to take advantage of the experts online first so my time with the lawyer is more directed to specific , granular questions. Accountant as well.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Currently, I am the sole proprietor of the consulting firm and that will not change, and will likely stay independent for the rest.

- I have a consulting firm that falls under my LLC in VA.

Those two posts are contradictory unless there is a second consulting firm.

As mentioned you need liability insurance for all of the entities. There would likely be issues with one policy covering all of them. If nothing else you won't get the best deals on the insurance.

 

[zddoodah]

I have a consulting firm that falls under my LLC in VA.

What do you mean that your consulting firm "falls under" your LLC (especially given your statement in your follow up post that your consulting firm is a sole proprietorship)?

I want to start a retail store (homemade products) but want to register it in NJ because of the local suppliers and I would have a dedicated employee producing the goods.

When you say "local suppliers," you mean suppliers in NJ? Not local to you in VA? Why does having suppliers in NJ make you want to "register" the store there (and what exactly does "register" mean in this context)? Is this store going to have a physical location? If so, where will it be? Where is your "dedicated employee"?

So I am lost - Do I create a LLC for each additional entity, in each state/PR even if my residence is VA?

No one here has any idea what you do. You certainly could do that. Whether it would be a good idea for you to do that is something to which no anonymous stranger on the internet could possibly speak intelligently. The same goes for all of the rest of the questions. You need to speak with a local business attorney about these issues.