Nellie Akalp

Nellie Akalp is an entrepreneur, small business expert, speaker, and mother of four amazing kids. As CEO of CorpNet.com, she has helped more than half a million entrepreneurs launch their businesses. Akalp is nationally recognized as one of the most prominent experts on small business legal matters, contributing frequently to outlets like Entrepreneur, Forbes, Huffington Post, Mashable, and Fox Small Business. A passionate entrepreneur herself, Akalp is committed to helping others take the reigns and dive into small business ownership. Through her public speaking, media appearances, and frequent blogging, she has developed a strong following within the small business community and has been honored as a Small Business Influencer Champion three years in a row.

What Successful Entrepreneurs Know (That You Don’t…Yet)

I spend a lot of time reading articles and books written by successful business owners to learn from them. After all, if they share their wisdom, maybe a little of that success will rub off on me! Here are some of their nuggets of wisdom that you can learn a lot from.

Watering Can Over Growing Success

Starting an LLC in Georgia: Fees for Forming Your New Business

If you’re looking for a great place to launch a business, why not try Georgia? Forming an LLC in Georgia is a great idea because it’s relatively inexpensive to live and work in this peach of a state.

First, Why an LLC in Georgia is Right For Your Business

We see a ton of CorpNet customers that prefer the flexibility the LLC offers. It’s a bit of a hybrid business structure because it offers the best features of a corporation as well as a limited liability partnership, all the while protecting your personal assets.

Business women standing with confidence

Just Starting a Biz? CorpNetNellie’s Top 10 Pieces of Advice

If you’re at the start of your entrepreneurial journey, congratulations. You’ve got a lot of exciting times ahead of you, as well as a lot of lessons to learn. Let me help you get started on the right foot with some advice I’ve learned on my own path to small business ownership.

Nellie Celebrating at Pool

5 Small Biz Secrets of Success When Your Kids are Home for the Summer

Whether you work from home or run your business elsewhere, having your kids at home for three months can create a logistical problem that can threaten your small business’s productivity during the summer.

Short of closing your business for several months (not happenin’, am I right?), here are a few strategies to help you keep your business booming while still being a kick-butt parent.

Nellie and Family Having Fun

5 Tips to Creating Loyal and Long-Term Employees

One of the things that I’m most proud of in running CorpNet is how long our staff has been with us. Many were there at the start. Our turnover is incredibly low. Clearly, we’re doing something right to keep our employees happy! Here are a few of the ways we do that.

Business people giving high fives

Knock Your Next Networking Event Out of the Park with These Tips

All your social media efforts, blogging, and emails might not get you as far as one simple strategy: in-person networking. By building relationships with people in real time, you can pave the way for future sales success.

Still, few people actually master the art of smart networking. I’ve gleaned a few helpful strategies over my years of attending networking events to help you.

Man pointing at male icons

Fees for Incorporating by State: Understand Your Costs to Become a Corporation

Here’s a question I get almost daily: what’s the best state to incorporate in?

The second most asked question I get is: “what are the fees for incorporating in [state]?”

It’s interesting that the fees vary so much. For example, to incorporate in Connecticut, it costs $455. That’s on the high end! On the opposite end is Mississippi, at just $50.

US map made of red dots

How I Make Time for Myself After the Stress of Tax Day

Thank goodness tax time is over, right? I, like most small business owners, find this time of year a bit stressful. So after April 15 passes, I’m all about rejuvenating and recharging my battery.

When you run a business, whether you’re the only staff or you manage a team of ten, it is essential that you make time for yourself. Otherwise, you’re a stressed out ball of tension that puts your business —and your health — in jeopardy.

We’re all in the same boat here, so I thought I’d share how I decompress.

Woman smiling with arms raised

Small Business Taxes and How Incorporating Affects Them

This time of year, most business owners are thinking about their small business taxes: how much they owe, what they need to do to file them, whether they have enough to pay what they owe. But did you realize that if you incorporate a business, how you file your small business taxes and how much you pay can sway in your favor (depending on the corporate structure you choose)? Let’s take a look at how incorporating affects your taxes.

death by taxes

14 Days Until Tax Day? 14 Things You Must Take Care Of

If you’re like a lot of other small business owners, you drag your feet until the last minute to file and pay your taxes. It’s getting down to the wire, folks, so even if you want to wait until April 15 to file your taxes, you still have a lot of work to do to prepare.

Money Bag and Calendar

How To Find Motivated Employees for Your Small Business

When you first start a business, you may not need to hire, But as you grow, you start looking for people to help you take your business to the next level. But where can you find the right motivated people? Sure, you can post your job on a job board, Craigslist, or career site, but you can’t always know that you’re getting quality applicants.

So where DO you find the right people?

Group of People Holding Hands

Starting a Business: What Roles Do You Need to Fill?

When you first start your business, whether you are set up as a sole proprietorship, partnership, a corporation, or a Limited Liability Company (LLC), you may take on all the work yourself. After all, you consider yourself a great multitasker, so why not do it all yourself?

You’ll learn this lesson sooner than later, but I’d rather you do it now and save yourself a lot of headache later: you’ve got to delegate to be an effective entrepreneur. That means that from Day 1, you should have the right people on your team that will help you skyrocket to success.

Business woman standing with arms crossed

Owning Real Estate in a LLC: Pros and Cons

Owning investment properties can be an exciting and lucrative decision. However if you're considering an investment in real estate (whether a vacation rental, long-term rental, or for re-sale), be aware that these properties can also create liabilities.

Short sale real estate for sale sign in from of ranch home

Starting a Business? Can You Afford it Right Now?

No matter how good your business idea, no matter how passionate you are about your new idea, no matter how thorough your marketing plan, there is one factor that can completely put a halt to you starting a business.

Glass Piggy Bank With Coins Inside

Forming an LLC – Big Benefits for Small Business

When it comes to choosing the right business structure for your business, the LLC is worth consideration. Not only does it make it possible to be a shareholder if you’re not a US citizen, but there’s also no limit to the number of shareholders you can have.

Woman standing at counter

7 Places to Find Inspiration for Your Small Biz

Ah, a new year and a fresh start for your business. I’ll admit, sometimes my ideas for CorpNet get a little stale, so I have to look for inspiration to rejuvenate my brain. Here I share five places you, too, can be inspired with creative ingenuity for your brand.

Woman in sundress leaping in weeds

Let’s Make This Year The One We’re Honest With Ourselves as Entrepreneurs

As people -- more specifically as entrepreneurs -- many of us feel obligated to put up a shield to hide what’s really going on. When we’re asked how things are going with our businesses, we’re more inclined to focus on the highlights rather than the brutal truth. That truth might be that we’re working too much and getting sick a lot. Or that business has ground to a halt. Whatever that truth is, we feel it makes us vulnerable, and we feel like that compromises our ability to succeed.

Successful Woman Celebrating

5 Small Biz Excuses That Shouldn’t Follow You into the New Year

Do you ever find yourself blaming everyone around you when things don’t go the way you want in your business? Maybe it’s “the economy” that kept you from hitting your sales numbers this year. Or your lack of employees that had you in the weeds all year. Whatever your favorite excuse, put the the kibosh on it in 2015.

If any of these sound familiar, make a New Year’s resolution to strike them from your vocabulary.

Highway sign with no excuses words

5 Signs That Your Hobby is Ready to Be a Business

You’re passionate about your hobby, whether that’s hand sewing baby clothes or creating terrariums. And maybe you’ve started to make a little money selling these items. So when should you take your hobby to the next level and build a real business?

Here are five signs that it’s time to take your hobby up a notch.

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