Today, almost everyone dreams of opening their own profitable business. That's just how not to miscalculate with the choice of type of activity and which country is better to choose for this? Everyone can secure a good future in the United States, regardless of religion or nation. Quite a lot of Russian businessmen, during the ruble devaluation and the crisis, opened their own business across the ocean. The practice of doing business in an emerging market demonstrates that opening your own business in the United States is quite possible. So what do you need to know about this?
Work in the USA is one of the most profitable options. America with its well-developed infrastructure and high level of qualification of employees provides great opportunities for business development in the field of sales and services.
In this review, we will look at how to open a business in the USA, and what pitfalls can be when promoting your business.
Business Benefits
Why do many aspiring entrepreneurs today choose America to start their business? What is the advantage of working in the USA? Firstly, this country gives a chance to sell services and goods in the largest market. Secondly, in America, state support for representatives of medium and small businesses is well developed. Thirdly, the prices for professional activities are among the highest in the world. How to start a business in the USA? Consider an example action algorithm.
Business opening procedure
Let's dwell on this in more detail. The first thing to do is correctly draw up a detailed business plan. This should be a document describing the implementation of your ideas and desires in life. To compete with existing firms, you need to focus on offering unique services or additional bonuses. This document is required when crossing the border. To enter the United States, you also need a visa. You can get it if:
- You are an employee of an international company (work visa H, L, O, P, Q, R);
- Temporarily traveling to the United States on business (B-1);
- you are an investor (E-1).
The next stage is organizational. You have to rent a room, take out insurance, hire staff. For this purpose, you can use one of the popular resources for finding and hiring staff. The best include the services Workable, GlassDoor, AngelList.
It is recommended to hire a lawyer to complete all necessary papers. You can also consult with him about organizing a business. You will need to submit an application for opening a company and register with the tax office. After that, it remains only to open a bank account and obtain a license.
Recommendations
You should familiarize yourself with them in more detail. How to get the right to do business in the USA? You will definitely need preliminary preparation. Only with proper planning will it be possible to go through all the necessary legal procedures. The following recommendations will help you bypass the most common mistakes and avoid financial losses.
- Before you open a business in the United States, be sure to visit the country. This can be done even as part of a tourist trip. During the first visit, you can study in advance all the features of the business environment, as well as assess the level of supply and demand for various business ideas. You can also try to make connections and contacts.
- Perform an analysis of the economic situation in the selected state. Prepare an expense plan in advance.
- Study foreign law. Specify the features of migration policy and registration of your own business.
Choose a field of activity
For many start-up entrepreneurs abroad, the main question is: what business to do in the US? In order for the business to be promising and bring the expected income, it is better to give preference to demanded services. The following areas are suitable for beginning entrepreneurs:
- accounting and legal services;
- retail trade (sale of clothing, shoes, cosmetics);
- the provision of medical services. Dental services occupy a leading position in terms of cost and demand;
- Agriculture;
- rental of construction equipment;
- repair services;
- pharmacy business;
- security services.
We issue a visa
Let's dwell on this in more detail. How to become a businessman in the USA? The first thing you should think about if you decide to do your own business in this country - this is about obtaining documents for entry. With this option, a visa is a permit of a standard form, which gives the right to carry out commercial activities within the country. Foreigners do not always comply with the requirement to pre-open a visa. In this case, they will face legal liability. Violators must pay a high fine and will also be deported from the country.
How to get the right to do business in the USA? To carry out your own business, you need an L-1 visa. Its validity period can be from 1 year to 3 years. In addition, foreign nationals with an L-1 visa are able to obtain American citizenship.
What does an L-1 work visa do? This document entitles other members of your family to apply for entry into the United States, as well as apply for an L-2 visa. In addition, foreign citizens with an L-1 visa in America can open accounts in various financial institutions of the country, as well as receive loans for the purchase of real estate.
However, there are certain features. On an L-1 work visa, you can only work in the company that is written in the permit. After completion of employment in the specified organization, a citizen of a foreign state is obliged to immediately leave the country. As a rule, during the initial application a work visa is issued for a period of 1 year. The validity of the entry permit may be extended by 2 years. A year later, after living in America on an L-1 visa, a foreign citizen can apply for a green card. After 5 years, he has the right to apply for American citizenship.
To explore business opportunities in the USA, you can first come with a B1 visa. Work on this document is prohibited.
Investors who have invested in the development of the economy of the United States of 500 thousand dollars for a period of 5 years, can open an investment visa E1. In addition, to obtain this document, an investor must create at least 10 jobs for American citizens.
Room
What you need to know about this? The next step in organizing your own business is renting a room. In the United States today, the principle of coworking has become widespread. At the initial stage, it is not necessary to immediately open an office in a prestigious area. In coworking space, employees of various companies can rent jobs. This form of business organization contributes to the development and exchange of experience. Today, the most popular coworking networks are networks such as WeWork and Regus. The cost of one workplace on average is 600-800 dollars. This amount includes an equipped workplace, as well as coffee and tea.
In order to work in a coworking space, it is not necessary to draw up a long-term contract. Workers can independently reduce or increase the area required for work. Payment is made monthly. Office maintenance is much more expensive.
Also, at the organizational stage, one should be aware of possible risks and losses. On average, the cost of obtaining an insurance policy can range from 3 to 5 thousand dollars a year.
Search for colleagues
This aspect should be emphasized. One of the mandatory points in answering the question of how to open a business in the USA is hiring employees. You need to calculate how much each employee will cost your company on average.
First, it’s important to figure out what the salary is in the USA. The average annual income is approximately 44 thousand dollars. Depending on the scope of the organization and the position held, this amount may vary. For example, in the IT sector, the average wage starts at $ 70,000 per year. The city and the state where you are going to conduct your business still have a big impact on pay. For example, the average salary of a skilled IT employee in New York is $ 85,000 per year. In San Francisco, under the same conditions, the amount of annual income will be already 100 thousand dollars.
Many organizations also practice rewarding their employees in the form of bonuses, options, and covering the cost of paying for medical insurance for the employee and his family. Payment of insurance costs an average of 10-15 thousand dollars a year.
Tax law
This aspect is worth exploring in the first place. What taxes do you have to pay in the USA? This issue must be dealt with before starting a business in America. The federal tax, state contribution, and pension contributions are paid by the employee himself. The business owner must list only the salary fee in the amount of 10 to 15%. The size depends on the state in which the company is located.
If an employee works on a contract basis, all taxes are fully paid at his expense. However, this does not mean that all citizens of the organization should carry out their activities under the contract. This form of doing business can lead to unnecessary questions and inspections by supervisors. Plus, not all specialists can agree to work under a contract, since with this form of rights they have much less. For example, in the event of injury at the workplace, the organization is only liable for those employees who are officially hired.
What are the taxes in the USA? How are they paid? In order to properly register your employees, you will need to first hire an accountant with a CPA license. Payment for the services of such a specialist usually costs about $ 100 for each employee of the company. However, only a qualified worker can correctly pay wages and other payments. You can search for accountants by advertisements in print media or on specialized sites, such as UpWork or Craiglist.
Most companies make settlements using services such as SquareUp Payroll Service or ADP. This option will cost $ 35-50 per month for each employee and will significantly reduce costs.
Legal support
What is it, and what is its feature? Without qualified legal assistance, understanding the question of how to open a business in the USA is practically impossible. Therefore, hiring a professional specialist in the field of law is a mandatory expense item. The lawyer will tell you which form of doing business is best to choose. There are four in total in the United States, and each of them has its advantages and disadvantages.
The simplest form of organization is Sole proprietorship, an analogue of an individual entrepreneur. To register, you will need to collect a small package of documents. This type of business organization is suitable for medical, accounting, legal and other services. The main disadvantage of individual entrepreneurship in the United States is its full financial responsibility. In this case, the personal property of the businessman is threatened. Banking organizations with great care provide loans for business development in this form.
Partnership, or partnership, is a collective form of doing business that has two varieties:
- General partnership: business owners are financially responsible, as is the case with SP.
- Partnership with limited liability: this form provides for the liability of partners in the amount of the contribution to the common cause. Compensation and fines in this form of doing business do not affect the personal property of businessmen. Today, many experts choose this form for their companies.
Corporation, or corporation, is a universal form of doing business that is suitable for almost any type of activity. A significant drawback of this type is the complexity of the design. To complete the procedure correctly, you will need the help of an experienced lawyer. However, this type has its advantages. Thus, it is much easier for corporate owners to attract investment for business development.
Limited Liabiliry Company, or a limited liability company, is the most common form of doing business that combines the positive qualities of a corporation and partnership, but does not require a large number of documents, as when creating a corporation.
Entrepreneurs who are interested in starting a business in the United States are advised to choose the latest legal form. However, the conditions for opening a limited liability company may vary in different states. Therefore, before choosing one form or another, be sure to study the features of the law.
Conclusion
In this review, we examined the advantage of organizing your own business in the United States, the forms of doing business, and the main stages of starting an organization. The first thing you have to take care of is a work permit in America. You should also preliminarily study the features of the law and draw up a detailed business plan. If you correctly approach the issue, doing business in the United States ceases to seem an impossible task. The most important thing is to believe in yourself!