C-Corporations: Small Business Start-Up Kit (The Small Business Library)

Rating:
Summary: Not Exactly...
Review: The sub-title of this book is "Everything necessary to set up a small business C-Corporation in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.". That's quite a hefty promise! The book is a good start, but hardly lives up to the claim.

At 286 pages, there is hardly room for a lot of coporate philosophy or specifics about starting a business. More than half of the book consists of forms that are found on the CD-ROM, or explanations of specific portions of those forms. I have to classify this as a bare-bones crash-course in how to start a C-Corporation, as most of it contains generic forms that may or may not be applicable to your specific situation.

The book includes a CD-ROM, which basically just includes MS Word and Adobe Acrobat versions of forms that are printed inside the book. No other software is included, other than the Acrobat Reader. It is impossible to navigate the files without the assistance of the Table of Contents in the book, as the documents are named in a numerical fashion, and no master list of documents exists on the CD-ROM itself. Basically, the CD-ROM will just save you from re-typing the forms contained in the book, although you will likely need to do a LOT of editing for your specific situation.

The book is a bit overpriced..., IMHO. The information and forms are simply way to general to rely upon to start your own corporation, and there is absolutely no state-specific information included, other than an appendix with the addresses of each state regulatory authority in the back of the book.

Basically, I would not advise anyone to use this book to start their own C-Corporation. However, it is a good resource for those who know zero about what is involved in forming a C-Corporation, or who want to use the CD-ROM to save them some time in typing. Compared to what most lawyers will charge, it's a bargain. However, if you rely solely upon this book as the basis of how (or why) to form your C-Corporation, you are simply headed for trouble. It's a decent, well-written little reference though, and for that alone I give it three stars.

Rating:
Summary: C-Corporation Small Business Start-Up Kit
Review: This book contains all of the forms and instructions that are necessary to set-up a small business "chapter-C" or standard corporation in any state. The forms on the included CD-ROM make the task of preparing Articles of Incorporation, By-laws, minutes of meetings, etc. a very simple task. Despite what Mr. Hefner states in his review, the appendix of this book contains far more state-specific information about corporate law than merely the addresses of the state corporation departments. It details the specific state statute where incorporation information is contained. It describes the title of the state filing necessary, as well as the amount of any filing fees or other required fees. It also outlines the details of corporate name reservation rules and the fees for name reservations. The number of incorporators, the required language for corporate purpose requirements, the number and residency requirements for corporate directors, any state-specific paid-in capital requirements, any required publication requirements, and details of any other relevant state corporation regulations are all outlined in the very useful state by state appendix of this book. This detailed appendix makes it very easy to tailor the forms in the book and on the CD-ROM for use in any state.