Registering to Sell Eggs, etc

[PittyLova]

I'm looking to see how others have registered their chicken/poultry/family farm business. Our long term goals were selling eggs, hatching eggs, and chicks/started birds as far as our poultry goes. Possibly excess meat from various livestock. I know the laws of selling everything for my area now. However, what I'm not 100% sure about is how to set up the "business" side of things. I want to operate under a farm name. Do I register the farm name some where and call it a day? Do I have to register it as a trade name? Regular business LLC? I am confused about this, but want to make sure I do it right to avoid any future issues!​

 

[PirateGirl]

I don't remember ALL the options, but here is some limited knowledge.

An LLC protects you personally. It legally separates your business assets from your personal assets. If there were to be a problem for example, and you were to be legally responsible for damages (say someone gets sick and sues you for medical bills) this could potentially bankrupt your business, however they could not come after your personal assets, they could not take your home, your personal vehicle, etc. Your business might fold, but you would still have something left, they can't take all you've got.

A sole proprietorship is when you own and control the business on your own. You are the one making the business decisions and the only one who can do anything legally with the business, but also the only one legally responsible for the business (as in all the money and taxes and stuff). You can have a single member LLC, which is a type of sole proprietorship.

With an LLC you can have partners. They would all be "members" of the LLC and you would be equal in the eyes of the law/government. You can determine with your partners how it is to run, who is in charge of banking, if things need to be voted on etc.

A corporation, which I am least familiar with, has to do with if the public can have ownership. So are there shareholders and stocks? If your company grows to a certain size, then there are probably benefits to being a corporation, but I don't know much about that.

Being from NH you will likely need to register here:

https://www.revenue.nh.gov/

The main point of registering your business is so that the government can tax you. You will be assigned an FEIN which is like a SSN, but for a business. This number is for taxes, and opening your business bank accounts, etc. States have different rules, so you may have to pay a licensing fee or something. You will need to pay sales tax on products you sell as well as income tax on profit you make. These rules vary state to state.

 

[PittyLova]

Thank you. Yes, I know the different actual business options as far as LLC, Corp, Sole Propriety, etc. I use to have a different type of business. I'd definitely register as an LLC. I just wasn't sure if it was absolutely necessary or if I could just operate under a "trade name", or if there was some other type of homesteading/small farming option.

 

[PirateGirl]

When you register your LLC you can register a trade name or doing business as name. There's a chance this varies state to state, so double check, but I believe it has to be a unique name within your state. So your business/farm name cannot be registered as the same name as another business/farm in your state. I believe it is ok if it is the same or similar to a name in a different state.

 

[PirateGirl]

This name will also be linked to your FEIN once registered, and it will prevent others from being able to legally do business with a name the same as yours. It will keep your name unique.

 

[Kee11]

I'm curious how many chickens you have... are we talking a couple dozen or a couple hundred?