2ND STEP - Take a few minutes each month to review your corporate paperwork. If you took action without holding a board meeting hold a board meeting after the fact asking the board to accept your decision. Don't forget the Minutes of the meeting (Note: There are several examples of Board and Stockholders Minutes in the Corporate Forms on CD).
3RD STEP - Set up reminders to hold your crucial meetings each year (Annual Stockholders Meeting and Annual Board Meeting)! Be sure to hold them on the dates and times stated in your corporate bylaws. If you don't like the dates and times, be sure to follow the procedures laid out in the bylaws before changing them.
Have some fun with this. In other words hold your board meetings or stockholders meetings someplace other than your office! Be careful and review this with your accountant before you decide to hold it in Tahiti and write it off as a corporate expense! (Note: To find a good accountant who can answer these questions go to
SmallBiZ eMarket and search for an accountant in your area)
NOTE: Your formation state will require some sort of franchise tax or annual fee and often the completion of an annual report or statement. Some states even require a filing of a statement plus an additional fee immediately after the filing of your corporation (i.e. NV & CA). Check with your registered agent or if you are acting as your own agent, with your state, to make sure you are always up to date with these filings.
FINAL SUGGESTION - If your company consists of just you (less than say three shareholders and directors) consider asking others to join your board of directors. Ask someone who you look up to and in an area you are not as knowledgeable (your accountant a respected business person or politician in your community a professor etc.). Besides gaining another mind to run ideas or decisions by you gain a certain respectability (imagine when you go to a lender or investors how much better you will look) that wouldn't be there if it was just you. Most important your company looks more legitimate to an outsider such as the IRS or the courts. How do you pay them? Many would be willing to do it for free just because they want to help. Perhaps, they would be interested when you tell them that your annual meeting is in Tahiti
