Hey guys,

Here's the deal. I'm 17 years old and I live in Missouri. I'm currently in the process of starting my own hosting biz. I resell for a company in this state. Here's a few of my questions:

1) Do I NEED to have a license? Or can I operate the business under my name?

2) If a license is needed, what steps do I need to take?

3) I currently cannot accept credit cards because I'm not 18 (6 more months), should I continue with the business? Or just focus on learning the tips n' tricks of the trade so I can launch the website six months from now?

I have a very good design I can use for the site too. My focus will be on the entertainment related websites (movies, television, music, games, etc).

What would you guys do? I have the time and the money saved up to do this. In addition, I believe I am responsible enough to do it. My parents are concerned with me and want to make sure I take the "correct" route. But they are not sure what route that is. I have a good idea but no solid foundation.

This is where I need your help. This forum will be my main resource for my information. Please respond with friendliness. :)

Thank you.

Best Regards,
Dustin Oder
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Sector31.com - The Gamer's Destination for Reliable Web Hosting

You don't have to have a "license" to do business. There really is no "license" to get. But it would be a smart idea to incorporate so if something happens, they sue the company, and not you personally, and since you're not 18 yet, sue your parents. But you have to be 18 to own a biz. So maybe wait or have your dad own the biz.

i started a biz underage with the help of my dad, he just signed everything. So if you can do that, that works, but if you want to go alone, then wait. Build up a website, start looking for customers, get everything basiclly ready. Get the server and all that stuff ready and then you should be set to launch.

you can really move forward with your plans and becan hosting sites , from what i found is that age is not really a problem , i have ran into companies and found out that the person was underage or even 12 or 13 of age but provided good service and support -- for the credit cards transaction he was using paypal for that in which all you need is a checking account with them lol--- as far as getting sued most people get sued when they are doing shaky biz -- if you do the best you can to support and provide great service and dont get upset with your clients you will have no problems , i had a reseller get sued for putting up a page that said this site is shut down due to none payment lol-- just a tip you dont do that


well i dont want to dump all this info on u at once laterz

Mas

Originally posted by IntraHost
i started a biz underage with the help of my dad, he just signed everything. So if you can do that, that works, but if you want to go alone, then wait. Build up a website, start looking for customers, get everything basiclly ready. Get the server and all that stuff ready and then you should be set to launch.

So I should launch the website, prepare customers, setup support forums, ticket system, etc and get ready for the "real" launch when I turn 18 and can accept credit cards? Or should I go ahead and get a select few customers?

I really wanna start ASAP.

Hi Dustin,
Your best bet is to get the company name registered. Make it legal. And then sign your company up for everything, not yourself personally. Makes you not liable, plus a good work around for the age factor.

I have a question, can minors own an llc?

the answer is no

Hmm.. I thought I read all of our states law on llc and didn't see an age requirment. Guess I'll have to read again.

Originally posted by Tetraboy
Hmm.. I thought I read all of our states law on llc and didn't see an age requirment. Guess I'll have to read again.

If their is no age requirement, then YES you can. But you will need SOMEONE appointed to handle legal issues (meaning they must be 18 or older).

Some states have age requirements, others don't... it all depends on the state.

Well, I'm in Missouri. Where could I go or call to find out this information?

The answer to that question is yes and no, depending on the state and the method of registration.

From the standpoint of a corporate consultant in L.A., CA:

As pointed out, there are no fields asking to input your age on the articles of incorporation (or those for llc, llp etc.). So yes, you can sucessfully register/form a corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership under the age of 18.

However, the risk that you encounter doing so is having those articles of formation being voided if the company was ever to be sued or encounter any other type of legal formalities due to you entering into a binding contract with a client as a minor.

The same goes for a Fictious Business Name Statement (Business license). I have one right in front of me from the County Clerk of Los Angeles County, and there is no information required that would even assist in determining your age nor are their any statues stating you must be of age outside of a signature which would be considered legally binding yourself to the 'contract.'

So the answer is yes ... and you can do it successfully if you run a legal and straight-forward business offering quality services and not defrauding customers as you would then not risk legal issues. But the answer is no if you're going into the formation with the intent to possibly see yourself in court one day, then you risk quite a few things.

Originally posted by Jeff Rambo
As pointed out, there are no fields asking to input your age on the articles of incorporation (or those for llc, llp etc.). So yes, you can sucessfully register/form a corporation, limited liability company, or limited liability partnership under the age of 18.

What's the difference between a corperation, an LLC and a LLP?

Dustin,

Send me an e-mail. I'll try to assist you with my own personal knowledge as well as some advice from our legal counsel.

There was some really good articles at inc.com dealing with the different forms of companies, thier tax liabilities, and what they can and can't do, all that good stuff. Try searching there.

Ok, on to newer questions...

How will most people react when they realize a business is being operated by a 17 year old? If you were a client, would you automatically leave the site? Should I publicly announce I'm 17 on the corperate info page?

As competition (which most of you will be), would you look down on me? Preferably, if you were talking to potential customers, would you say "we're not a company ran by some kids," etc?

Since I'm 17 and have to go to school still (Technical School), would you guys suggest outsourcing my tech support? If so, what companies are best? Would they give a personal 1-800 number for MY company only and would they answer, "Thank you for calling Sector31, this is Adam. How can I help you?" (using Adam as an example) This would be for a monthly fee I'm sure.

What do you guys suggest? Also, if you think of something I haven't mentioned, please feel free to post about it. I'd like this to be my one place for information.