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How to Start a Business - Business Entity Selection (Udemy.com)

Business Entity Selection & Registration for the Small Business Owner

Created by: Todd McLeod

Last updated March 2025

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What you will learn

  • Understand business entities
  • Select the appropriate business entity for an endeavor
  • Know the differences between the various business entities
  • Acquire insight into the requirements of different business entities
  • Gain knowledge into the risks and protections of different entity types
  • Avoid costly taxation issues that can arise from incorrect entity selection
  • Understand the importance of keeping separate concerns in business
  • Understand the corporate veil and avoid piercing it
  • Understand the nuances of a sole-proprietorship
  • Understand the nuances of a partnership
  • Understand the nuances of an LLC
  • Understand the nuances of a Corporation & an S-Corporation
  • Understand Ownership & Liability considerations
  • Understand Management & Control structures
  • Understand Taxes, Documents, and Capital Contributions

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Course Description

This is one of the most important courses you can take before starting a business.

Whether you are starting a new business or re-evaluating your current business circumstances, you may want or need a “business entity” that is separate from you in the eyes of the law.

The type of structure you choose for your business can be critical to the successful management and growth of your business and can also have important tax implications.

In this course, you will learn all about different entity types and the implications of doing business without one. You will gain a solid introduction to business entities and learn the nuances and differences among them.  You will be more readily informed to discuss your needs with business associates and professionals and be equipped to more confidently choose the structure for your business.

In this course you will gain a thorough understanding about important differences in doing business under different structures, including:

  • Sole-proprietorships

  • partnerships

  • limited-liability company (LLC)

  • corporation (c corp)

  • corporation with an “s” election (s corp)

This course will also introduce you to the advantages and disadvantages of the different entity types so you are more informed and empowered to readily select the entity which is correct for your situation.  

This course will cover:

  • an introduction to business structures

  • the concept of a “separate and distinct” entity

  • the security that can be provided from a separate business entity

  • the risks associated with piercing the corporate veil

  • the structures of different “ownership and management framework”

You will also be given an extensive and thorough outline for the course and an easy to understand comparison table that shows the differences in Ownership, Liability, Management/Control, Taxes, Documents, and Capital Contributions associated with the different business structures.

In this course, you will learn:

  • how to create an entity

  • the role of the secretary of state in most states

  • where to go to learn about entities in your state

  • the importance of a trade name and how to create one

  • the importance of an Employer Identification Number (EIN) and how to get one

  • how to make an “S” election for an “S corp”

You will also be given a thorough reference of the documents needed to form a corporation and an LLC.

For many business situations, you can create and register a business entity on your own. If you understand the issues and the process you can decide whether it makes sense to consult with legal counsel for assistance. This course will prepare you to have the basic knowledge to communicate more effectively from an educated perspective and to make better decisions.

We are excited to offer this course to you and know, from our own experience, that the material in this course will be incredibly helpful and valuable to you.

We’re glad you’re here to learn this important information so let’s get started learning!

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Instructor Details

Todd McLeod

Fun, Quick, & Easy

Learning can be fun, quick, and easy if you have the right teacher. I come from a family of teachers, I've taught at the college and university level for over 20 years, and I have been recognized as one of the top teachers in the California college system. I became a teacher because I love sharing knowledge and seeing how it transforms people's lives. Learning is the noblest of all endeavors. The more you learn, the more you improve your life.


Learn Quickly & Effectively

All of my courses include step-by-step tutorials and hands-on exercises. The tutorials show you what to do. The hands-on exercises allow you to practice what you have just seen. These hands-on exercises also come with all of the files you need and video solutions so that you can learn more quickly and effectively.


Great Courses for Beginners

I work with beginners all of the time. I understand how to take topics and make them easy to understand.


The Human Element

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Reviews

4.6

504 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By William J Dodds on 11/1/2025

This taught me more than any other resource I found on the web. It was great that lesson plan was arranged to build on what the last type of business was. I do recommend it.

By Anonymized User on 9/29/2025

enjoyed the course as it gave a good understanding of what hopefully lies ahead in my career as I hope to go from working for other to working for myself and setting up a business

By Trish Casavant on 7/18/2025

The course was educational. The only things i wish was if the instructor & his lawyer friend introduced themselves in the beginning of the course and if the Lawyer friend spoke up louder, I had to keep turning the volume up to hear him.

By Alvin Huynh on 6/30/2025

I like how simplified this is starting out. I'm new to everything business and am looking into starting a side hustle gig that is somewhat automated, but I have no idea where to start. Right now, the starting lessons help make it feel not as daunting. It's at least laying down the groundwork in an easy-to-digest manner. I'm looking forward to the other lessons.

By Marion Higgins on 4/1/2025

I feel that the course was very informative. I will still review the resources to refresh what I have learned.

By Tina on 1/14/2025

Thank you for this session! It was very informative and i have a lot of errors to rectify with my own business i started recently.

By RJ Albano on 2/28/2024

Overall, I had a positive experience. It was easy to follow along. However, I am still left with no answers on the "how". Maybe I missed it, but what's needed first before you can do the next?

By Radu-Constantin Enea on 6/7/2021

Till now the course is very informative and useful. What I like the most is that it's not too specific, not too shallow. The ideal amount of knowledge that you need to know before starting a business.

By T M on 10/26/2020

Good explanation of the different business entities. I walked away clearly understanding the distinctions between the business types.

By Kenny Chou on 10/10/2019

Good and solid course. Coming from an engineering and ESL background, I found this course content very useful. It provides a sound foundation for me to start in a right direction without wasting time in finding out what's relevant and what is not relevant.

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Overall Score : 92 / 100