Do you have a great business idea, but you’re not quite sure how to get from the idea phase into owning and operating your own business in Nevada? You’ve come to the right place! There are many important aspects to running a company, and like any other state, Nevada has its own rules and regulations to consider.
In this guide to starting a business in Nevada, we’ll discuss all the relevant details to business ownership in this state. By the time you’re done reading, we think you’ll have a strong grasp on the necessary steps involved.
How to Start a Business in Nevada (in 10 Steps)
1) Create a Business Plan
The first step to creating any business in any state is to plan what products and services you’ll sell, set your operational budget, and figure out how you want to market your company.
Your business plan doesn’t have to be fancy at all, you just need to make sure you spend enough time considering these important aspects before you actually launch your business. To get started, SBA.gov has a great free tool.
2) Choose a Name
The name of your business is an extremely important attribute because it’s often how you make your first impression to potential customers.
Legal Considerations
Depending on whether you choose to form a corporation or a limited liability company, there are some legal aspects as well (for example, an LLC must include “LLC” or “limited liability company” in the business name, and a corporation must include “incorporated,” “corporation,” “Inc.,” or “Corp.”).
Explanatory Naming
Beyond the basic legalities, you should focus on clearly identifying what your company does in your business name. You can also consider incorporating your values into your business name, like using the word “green” to denote environmental friendliness.
Something You Love
Finally, choose a name that you personally like and take pride in, and one that both sounds good when spoken aloud and looks good on paper.
One big piece of advice we have for naming a business is that you shouldn’t get too focused on one idea until you either form your company or reserve the name.
In Nevada, it is easy to determine your desired name’s availability by running a business name search right here. If you are not ready to file your formation paperwork, or are concerned that another business might take your desired name, you can file a name reservation with the Nevada Secretary of State. It costs $25 and the reservation will last for 90 days. You can file name reservations online at this link.
3) Decide on a Registered Agent
A Nevada registered agent is the person or service in charge of receiving your important government documents, and forwarding them to you.
There are three kinds of registered agents for businesses in Nevada:
- Commercial registered agents
- Non-commercial registered agents
- Business entity or entity member
For many Nevada businesses with a physical address, it is simpler to just designate the business or a member of the LLC as the registered agent. However, if you wish to have a third party as your registered agent, you can find more information here.
This position is vital to any Nevada business because without a registered agent, you could lose your good standing with the state, see your business dissolved by the state, or even remain unaware of a lawsuit progressing against your company.
If you would like to hire a registered agent, the Nevada secretary of state provides a list of commercial registered agents in the state.
Rocket Tip: We recommend designating an online service to handle these requirements. This eliminates junk mail and keeps your personal and/or business address off public record. ZenBusiness and IncFile both offer a free registered agent service when you use them to form a business online.
4) Choose a Structure and Form Your Business
If you’re just operating a sole proprietorship or general partnership, you don’t need this step (or several of the others in this guide, including selecting a registered agent), because those business structures don’t require any sort of formal formation process.
This leaves two main options: the corporation and the limited liability company.
The LLC is the more common option, partially because it’s much simpler. There’s not much paperwork involved, and the maintenance requirements basically amount to an annual report. Furthermore, LLC owners still receive the personal asset protection that makes a corporation so attractive as a business type in the first place. For more specific information about starting an LLC, check out our full article on the topic.
For some entrepreneurs, the corporation is the better choice. There’s far more effort involved both in forming one and in maintaining it with the state of Nevada, but for larger businesses they’re usually the better option, as they allow for more growth and investment than LLCs generally do.
If you would like to know more, check out our “LLC vs Corporation: What Is the Difference?” article. No matter which business structure you choose to form, you can find all the relevant forms on the Iowa Secretary of State’s website or have a professional business formation website do it for you.
5) Take Care of Tax Obligations
The vast majority of businesses operating in Nevada will need a federal tax ID number (EIN), which can be acquired from the IRS.
The majority of Nevada businesses are subject to the Modified Business Tax, which taxes most business income at 1.475%, though financial institutions will need to pay a higher rate. Additionally, there are a variety of business tax requirements that may or may not apply to your company, depending on the nature of your business.
Thankfully, Nevada taxes are made easy with the SilverFlume tool. This tool not only helps businesses register and file their taxes, but also offers assistance with business licensing, labor law requirements, and insurance.
Keep in mind that your city and/or county may have taxation requirements as well, so make sure to check with them to make sure you aren’t missing anything.
Here are some business resources for each of the largest cities in Nevada:
6) Acquire Business Licenses and Permits
Many states do not require a statewide business license, but Nevada does. According to Nevada state law, “a person shall not conduct a business in this State unless and until the person obtains a state business license issued by the Secretary of State.” For more information on the Nevada state business license, check out this link.
In addition to the statewide business license, there are hundreds of industry-specific licenses and permits that may apply to your company depending on the nature of your business. For a complete breakdown of professional licensing in this state, consult the SilverFlume tool.
Much like with taxation issues, there’s also the matter of local licenses to consider. You can learn more about county-level occupational licenses right here.
7) Obtain Required Insurance Policies
According to the Nevada Department of Business & Industry, “Nevada law requires business owners with one or more employees in the State of Nevada to obtain and maintain workers’ compensation coverage. There are few exceptions to this requirement.
Business owners failing to comply with this law face fines up to $15,000, may have their business ordered closed until the insurance has been obtained and be held financially responsible for all costs associated with an employee who sustains a work-related injury. In addition, the uninsured business owner may be subject to civil litigation brought about by an injured employee.”
You can learn more about this insurance type and how it applies to Nevada businesses by visiting the Division of Industrial Relations website.
It is the employer’s responsibility to get these policies to protect your employees, regardless of what line of business you’re in. Of course, it’s probably a good idea to acquire industry-specific policies to protect your company in other ways, but unemployment and workers’ comp are the ones strictly required by law.
8) Open a Business Bank Account
Whether you start a limited liability company or a corporation, you’ll need to keep your business and personal assets separated.
This is where opening a business bank account comes in. While having a separate checking account for your company isn’t a legal requirement, it makes separating your assets considerably easier, and we always advise that any business owner does so.
9) Develop a Business Website
In this day and age, even strictly local businesses should have a website, because the internet is your first point of contact for many of your customers. Your site doesn’t need to be fancy, but you should put some thought into your domain name, and make sure it’s something memorable and easy to type without misspellings.
If you’re not comfortable designing a site yourself ― and if you also don’t have the budget to hire a professional designer ― there are plenty of website builder tools that can help you put together a solid website. WordPress and Weebly are very easy to use.
10) Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Help
If you run into problems with any of the steps outlined in this guide, remember that you can always find help.
In this state, the Nevada Small Business Development Center exists solely to (in their own words) “increase business startups, create and retain jobs, and increase access to capital.” With locations in 13 districts across Nevada, the SBDC is ready and willing to help if you need assistance.
Another excellent resource is the Nevada chapter of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Their website has information regarding small business events, business resources, press releases, SBA programs, and more.
Conclusion
While there are several vital steps in the process of starting a business in Nevada, taken individually these steps aren’t terribly complex.
It can seem overwhelming if you consider the entire process all at once, but if you break down these steps and take care of them one at a time, they’re all quite manageable. Keep in mind that you don’t need to go it alone with the DIY option ― if this process becomes overwhelming, or if you simply don’t have the time and energy to devote to these steps ― assistance is available.