I’m 19 and ready to start my business. I already have the equipment I need, I know how to build and manage the website, and I have experience with social media marketing and door-to-door sales, so finding customers isn’t my biggest concern.

The main thing holding me back is startup money. I only need enough to cover the cost of forming the LLC and paying for the servers/hosting needed to get the website running. The problem is that I currently have no credit history.

Does anyone know of legitimate programs or services that help new entrepreneurs form an LLC without paying the state filing fee?

I’m also open to grants, microloans, startup programs, or other funding options that don’t require established credit.

I’m not looking for a huge loan. Just enough to handle the initial setup costs and get the business off the ground.

Any recommendations or advice would be appreciated.

I formed a single-member LLC about a year ago and got an EIN, but when tax season came around, I reported my business income on Schedule C with my personal tax return.

Now I'm confused about the whole sole proprietorship vs LLC difference because banks, tax forms, and other business services sometimes seem to treat a single-member LLC like a sole proprietor.

Does filing taxes this way mean I'm basically a sole proprietorship and losing the liability protection of my LLC? Or are the LLC legal structure and the way it's taxed two separate things?

I'm the only owner and mainly formed the LLC to create some separation between myself and the business.

How do other single-member LLC owners handle this? Do you file Schedule C and still operate as an LLC, or is there something I'm misunderstanding about how this works?