Incorporate Your Business by State websites often provide resources for forming a business. For example, California has a step-by-step guide on starting a business. Delaware has a website explaining how to form a new business entity. Nevada has a page on how to form a corporation and Texas has a list of guides and resources. for starting a business.
Further, these websites explain how much filing a certificate (or articles) of incorporation will cost:
- California (Corporation filing fees)
- Delaware (Corporation filing fees)
- Nevada (Profit corporation filing fees)
- Texas (All entity filing fee schedule)
Besides traditional secondary sources, attorney-written and Practical Law Company articles are great resources.
Forming a Corporation Checklist - This general jurisdictional checklist from Practical Law Company highlights issues necessary to resolve while forming a corporation. It is organized chronologically and actually prints off with check-boxes!
Starting From Scratch: A Laywer's Guide to Representing a Start-Up Company - This article is slightly dated but still raises and addresses many issues surrounding forming a new company from choice of the business entity, to intellectual property and employment issues. 56 Ark. L. Rev. 773 (2004). The link is to WestlawNext.
Forming and Organizning a Company in Delaware - This resources walks a practitioner step-by-step through the different considerations regarding structure of the corporation, the procedural steps to forming the corporation including how to file the necessary documents, and the post-incorporation logistics necessary to actually start business. It is specifically for Delaware which is the most common state to incorporate in.
Do not forget to visit the blogs, like Startup Company Lawyer, listed on the Shared Secondary Sources tab.