I was scared to register my small business...

Since starting my business in June, one question has loomed over me: “When am I going to register my business?” In my figure-it-out-as-I-go journey, I know there are handbooks on launching a business from scratch. But honestly? I probably wouldn’t read them even if they were in front of me. A friend reassured me, “You’re already getting clients; that’s the real first step.” So I rode that wave for a bit. But as the year winds down, those other business “to-dos” started creeping up on me—like taxes, paperwork, and registering my business. I knew it was time to take action.

How I registered my small business

When starting a business, you have several structure options: Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Limited Liability Company (LLC), and Corporation. Each has unique benefits. A Sole Proprietorship is the simplest—it's just you running the business, with no legal separation between personal and business assets, so it’s easy to set up but offers no personal liability protection. A Partnership works similarly, but for two or more owners, who also share the liability. A Corporation, on the other hand, is a formal structure that offers strong liability protection and certain tax advantages, but it’s more complex to set up and manage, often suiting larger businesses. For small business owners, an LLC is often ideal, providing the liability protection of a corporation with the simplicity and flexibility of a sole proprietorship. It lets you separate personal and business assets, offering peace of mind and making it a popular choice for small businesses like mine.

Here’s How Simple It Really Was (Seriously, Don’t Stress!)

If you’re like me and a bit nervous about the “official” side of business, here’s the step-by-step I took to register my business as an LLC (and how surprisingly easy it was):

1. Google Is Your Friend

• I literally Googled: “how to register my small business in Tennessee”  (choose your state, of course).

2. Find the Right Website

• Ignore the sponsored ads and scroll to the official Secretary of State website. For me, it was the Tennessee Secretary of State’s .gov page. Click on “How do I register a business?” or a similar link.

3. Follow the Prompts

• On the next page, I found a direct link to the online registration system and clicked through. The system walked me through each step with clear prompts. So far, so good. Only a little bit scary.

4. Click the Big Red “Start Here” Button

• This led to a page called "Instructions to Register a New Business" with a big red button that said START HERE. Easy peasy. Click.

5. Register your Small Business and Pay the Fee

• I filled in my details, paid the registration fee, and saved the printable documents. (If you want to avoid extra fees later, go ahead and download the printables that they give you once you've paid. I started an official "LLC" folder on my computer.)

And that’s it! I’m officially a registered business owner—whoop whoop! Looking back, I can say that it’s a simple process that I would tackle again without a second thought. So, if you’ve been hesitating, let my experience encourage you: registering your business is way easier than you might think. Let me be your been there, done that small business friend!