How do you start? You just start. Six months, three forms, and one state filing fee you can’t get back. That’s what it cost one founder I know who guessed his way through a US company setup, then filed in two states because a forum post told him to. Nobody needs to repeat that.

As someone who has advised on and helped set up multiple businesses, restructured, sold, exited and more, it’s about the process. Setting up a US business entity from outside the country isn’t hard. It’s just ordered. Get the sequence wrong and you spend real money fixing something that took five minutes to file. So here’s the order that actually works, written for founders, freelancers, and side-project people who want the boring parts done right the first time. The good news: once you know the order, you can apply for ein and clear most of the remaining work in an afternoon, without a plane ticket.

Agree with it or not, the US rewards people who pick a structure and move. Here’s the sequence I’d hand to any founder.

Step one: pick your state before you pick a name

Most people start with the name. Wrong end of the rope. Your state determines your filing fee, your annual report cost, your privacy rules, and how much paperwork you touch each year.

Two states earn most of the attention. Delaware is the standard for startups that plan to raise money, because its courts have handled corporate disputes for so long that investors know what to expect. Wyoming is the quiet favorite for small operations: cheap annual filings and no state corporate income tax for most entities.

But here’s where people overthink it. A single owner selling services or building a small product company usually has no reason to file in either one. If you live in the state where you operate, file there. Paying a registered agent in Delaware so you can also file a foreign qualification in your home state is a hobby, not a strategy.

Pick based on where your customers, money, and habits live. Not on which name shows up most in a founder thread.

What entity type should you actually form?

This one trips up almost everyone, so let’s make it plain. If you’re a solo operator, an LLC gives you liability protection with the least paperwork. You file once, keep basic records, and the tax treatment passes through to your personal return.

If you plan to take on investors or issue shares to employees, a C corporation is the structure those people expect. The tradeoff: more formal recordkeeping and corporate-level taxation. Worth it for some businesses, overkill for many.

A quick way to decide: ask yourself what future you’re building toward.

● Freelance or consulting: LLC, almost always.

● Product business with outside money: C corporation.

● Two or three partners splitting work: LLC with a written operating agreement.

● Testing an idea: don’t form anything yet. Sell first.

That last point doesn’t get said enough. Forming an entity costs money every year whether you earn a dollar or not. Sell a couple of invoices first, then form the entity that matches the business you actually have.

The number that unlocks everything

After your state approval, your next move is your Employer Identification Number. It’s a free federal tax ID from the Internal Revenue Service, and half the doors you need to open ask for it before they’ll talk to you.

Banks, payroll processors, payment platforms, accountants, and many clients all want that number. You can request it directly through the Internal Revenue Service, and if you don’t have a Social Security Number, the process gets less obvious. That’s the exact scenario where a certified acceptance agent earns their fee. They validate documents and send the paperwork through the proper channel, which saves you a round of rejections.

Set aside the afternoon for this one and do it early. Every later step depends on it.

Step three: open the bank account, and expect a wait

Here’s the part that surprises most international owners. A US bank account doesn’t come automatically with your state filing. Banks run their own checks, and many require a real conversation with the owner, plus documents that prove the company exists and that you control it.

The Small Business Administration maintains plain-language guidance on what institutions typically ask for, and it’s worth reading before you apply anywhere. Most banks want your formation documents, your EIN confirmation, and a passport or ID. Some want a physical US address. A few want to see you on a video call.

My advice: open the account before you need it. A business that suddenly has a client waiting on an invoice is not the moment to discover your bank needs three more documents.

Banks are also where the real learning happens. Expect one rejection and plan for it. That’s normal, not a sign you did something wrong.

Step four: set up the boring stuff before it bites

Once you have a bank account, the temptation is to go find customers. Do these four things first, and you’ll thank yourself in April.

● Register for state taxes where you operate

● Get a registered agent, or confirm you have one

● Put your annual report deadlines on a calendar

● Keep your business and personal money separate from day one

That last one is where new owners slip. Mixing funds in the early months is easy and cheap, and it weakens the liability shield you just paid for. Open the business account, move business income into it, and stop treating it like a personal wallet.

Step five: file your first year and stay legal

Every state expects an annual report or a periodic filing, and the fee is small. The penalty for missing it isn’t. Your entity can be administratively dissolved, which means the paperwork and fees start over.

Track three dates: your annual report deadline, your tax return deadline, and your registered agent renewal. Set reminders for all three a month early. That’s it.

One more thing. The U.S. Census Bureau publishes regular data on business formation and survival that’s worth a read for anyone treating this as a long game. New business applications have stayed high in recent years, and so has the number of owners who quietly stop filing. The difference between the two groups is usually nothing more than a calendar reminder.

The order matters more than the form

Line up the steps in the order they depend on each other and the whole thing becomes predictable. Pick the state, pick the structure, get the number, open the account, then keep your filings current. Any founder can do this. Getting the sequence wrong is what makes it feel harder than it is.

So here’s my challenge for this week: pick your state today. Not next month, not after you finish the logo. Today. Once that decision is made, an EIN, a bank account, and a clean first year are just a checklist you work through. Which step is holding you up right now?