Choosing a legal shape in plain English — sole proprietor, partnership, LLC, and corporation — what each choice commits you to on liability, taxes, and paperwork, and then the full registration sequence in order: the business name and DBA, the state filing, the free federal EIN from the IRS, state tax registration, licenses and permits at the federal, state, and local layers, a business bank account that keeps your money separate from the business's, and the records the law expects from day one. Includes the current rule on beneficial ownership reporting after FinCEN's final rule of August 2026. New episodes every Sunday. Run the Room builds business from the very beginning — foundations first, one step each week. Sources: U.S. Small Business Administration, Choose a Business Structure (https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/launch-your-business/choose-business-structure/), retrieved November 8, 2026; U.S. Small Business Administration, Register Your Business and Apply for Licenses and Permits (search sba.gov for Register your business and for Apply for licenses and permits), retrieved November 8, 2026; Internal Revenue Service, Employer Identification Number (search irs.gov for Employer identification number — the IRS page states an EIN is free directly from the IRS, to form the entity with the state first, and gives the online, fax Form SS-4, and mail timelines), retrieved November 8, 2026; U.S. Department of the Treasury, FinCEN Permanently Ends Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for Millions of Small Business Owners, August 11, 2026 (https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0603 — final rule effective August 14, 2026), retrieved November 8, 2026; Harvard Business Review Entrepreneur's Handbook, chapter Organizing Your Company (search learning.oreilly.com for Harvard Business Review Entrepreneur's Handbook Organizing Your Company), retrieved November 8, 2026. AI Generated
