Legal Question in Business Law in New Hampshire

Re: NH Business

All of the various business types can be created rather quickly, so I suggest not focusing on the speed of becoming a registered business but rather on which type of business entity gives you the protection and flexibility that you'll most likely need in the future. One way of approaching this is to consider what you'd like your business to look like in 2 to 4 years. For example, will it likely still be just you and your partner, will you want/need investors, will you have employees and a manufacturing facility, etc.? With this information, an attorney can then guide you in creating the type of business that will most easily let you achieve your longer-range goals.

As to the split between you and your friend, it really depends. One way of viewing it is to factor in the comparative expertise: Does your friend have some particular marketing expertise that you need or could another marketing person do as good a job? If the latter, your creativity in designing the product should be properly rewarded. If, on the other hand, your friend has some particular marketing skill or contacts that are unusual and that you need to be successful, it is reasonable to pay more for that expertise by an increased share.

Additionally, of course, the friendship versus profit tradeoff comes into play in your situation that is difficult for outsiders to comment on. Having your priorities defined up front might help make your decision easier: Are you going to approach this as being friends first and business partners as a second priority or is it the other way around? Sad to say, it is very difficult to have both of them be top priority and ultimately (starting with defining the split between you and your friend, I suspect) you'd likely have to choose one over the other.

Re: NH Business

RSA �349 governs registration of fictitious names -- no need to create a corporation or other entity just to register a business name. The registration is filed with the office of the Secretary of State.

As to your partnership question, the percentages of equity ownership are determined on a case-by-case basis in light of the particular entity: for example, some partnerships involve one partner performing key services and the other handling back-office functions, so the service partner's contribution is more valuable and might yield a 75-25 split; others may involve a creator of valuable IP and a money partner, where each partner deems its contribution to be paramount and they agree to a 50-50 split. There really is no norm here, and negotiation is at the heart of the process.

Best wishes,

LDWG