Speaking with Assets Lancaster on Entity Formation and Limited Liability

Thank you to Assets Lancaster for giving me the opportunity to speak with a group of entrepreneurs about forming a business entity and the concept of limited liability. Assets Lancaster is a community-based organization whose mission is to create economic opportunity and cultivate entrepreneurial leadership to alleviate poverty and build vibrant, sustainable communities.

One of Assets Lancaster’s ongoing programs is the Lending Circle, which provides access to capital and business technical assistance services in a group workshop setting. The benefits of this program include access to a lump sum of money, a way to establish and improve your credit score, peer group support, monthly business workshops and individual technical assistance, and access to larger loans from Assets Lancaster or other financial institutions.

In order to learn more about Assets Lancaster, visit them on the web at www.assetslancaster.org, by phone at 717-393-6089 or at their office, which is located in Southern Market Center, 100 South Queen Street, Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

My presentation focused on the decision as to when it makes sense to consider forming a business entity rather than operating as a sole proprietorship or partnership, and the nuts and bolts of forming a business entity in Pennsylvania. We also cleared up some common misconceptions about Pennsylvania law relating to fictitious names. Finally, we discussed what “limited liability” means in the context of a business entity, structuring your business entities to effectively protect certain groups of assets, and best practices to prevent “piercing the corporate veil.”

Matt Landis is an attorney at Russell, Krafft & Gruber, LLP, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He received his law degree from Widener University and works regularly with business owners and entrepreneurs.