Transcript
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[00:00:00] Are you confused about an LLC and what it is and if you even need one? I hear this all the time, and let me just tell you up front, the question can feel a little overwhelming, especially if you’ve never even heard the term before, but the answer is going to be simpler than you think. So let’s break it down together.
step by step. Hey there, Chef Shelly here. I help passionate home cooks just like you start a personal chef business so that you can get paid to do what you love on your own terms. If that sounds like your dream, be sure to like, subscribe and hit that little bell so that you never miss one of my weekly videos.
Now back to the big question. Do you need an LLC? The truth is you don’t have to have one. You can absolutely start your business as a sole proprietor. Tons of people do that. It really is the simplest, fastest way to get started. You just decide to offer your services. Maybe get a DBA, which is a Doing Business As, so that you can operate [00:01:00] under your business name instead of your personal name.
If you’re just doing it under your personal name, you don’t even need that. Boom! You’re off to the races. Now here’s the big disclaimer. I’m not an attorney. This is not legal advice. This is information that you should validate, research on your own to
Now for the big disclaimer.
Now for the big disclaimer. I’m not an attorney. This is not legal advice. This is just information that you should research and validate on your own based on your situation and your location. All right. While you can start as a sole proprietor and with a DBA or even without one, the reason why most personal chefs have an LLC is because it has very real benefits that you want to consider, especially if you want to protect yourself and your personal assets as your business grows.
So what does an LLC actually even do? Here’s the deal with an LLC. By the [00:02:00] way, that stands for Limited Liability Company. The keyword there is limited liability. Let me give you a quick example. Let’s say, heaven forbid, you give a client food poisoning and they decide to sue you. Now, if you’re a sole proprietor or have nothing, everything you own could be on the line in the lawsuit.
Your house, your car, your savings, all of it. Again, these little details vary by state and everything else, so look into this on your own. This is just an example. But, if you have an LLC, you’re operating your business correctly. For instance, you have a business account and you’re not mingling your personal funds.
Your personal assets are protected. It’s just the business that would get sued. The only thing at risk is the business itself. Now, does that mean you have to rush out and file for an LLC tomorrow? No, [00:03:00] if you’re just starting out and you’re keeping things small, a sole proprietorship might work fine for you.
It’s just really about your risk tolerance and what makes sense for where you are right now. So how do you really decide, right? How do you decide if an LLC is right for you? Well, first start by asking yourself these questions. Are you planning to offer services to a lot of different clients? Are you thinking about hiring help or growing your business in the future?
Do you own assets like a house, car, or even have money in the bank that you want to protect? If you answered yes to these, an LLC might be worth looking into. Now, the good news is setting up an LLC isn’t as hard as it sounds. You can usually do it online through your state’s website. There’s a state fee.
You can just Google it. The most expensive one I found is Texas, which charges a fee of 300. But I Googled a whole bunch of other states and the [00:04:00] lowest I think I found was 50. So that can really vary depending on where you live. Once it’s done, it’s done and you’ll have that extra layer of protection in place that gives you peace of mind, especially if you’re growing your business.
Now, if you look it over and you don’t want to do it yourself, a ton of attorneys can do this for you or there are even online services that do it. But listen, don’t let this decision hold you back from starting your personal chef business. If you’re still on the fence, start slow, get that practice in for yourself, practice on friends and family, and then maybe just start off with one or two clients as a sole proprietor, and make sure that you really love it as much as you think you will before you start investing in things.
You can always get an LLC. The most important thing is to just get started. Start that recipe collection, start that practice. If you need help with your practice, there’s a free guide below on how to [00:05:00] do meal prep services for clients and
If you need to get that practice in, get that link below. Get my free guide on how to do meal prep services for clients. That’ll walk you through it step by step. And if you have questions, feel free to DM me over on Instagram or Facebook. Cause what do I always say? The clients are out there and they’re hungry for what you’re cooking.
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