Your ultimate goal in forming a small business in Troy may be to grow it into an enterprise that employs many people and eventually is open to ownership acquisition through public markets. Yet first things first; you and your business partners need to follow the appropriate process when filing articles of incorporation with the state. This is something that you can choose to do on your own, yet given the importance of this action in the legal establishment of your corporation (and the complexities involved in the process), it may be to your advantage to seek assistance from the appropriate legal professionals.
According to the Division of Corporations, State Records and UCC of the New York Department of State, you and your fellow incorporators must file a Certificate of Incorporation with that very department. If you and your partners are planning to provide professional services that you are legally authorized to render (such as legal services or medical care), then your corporation must be formed as a professional corporation. Whatever entity you choose to file as, your Certificate must be signed by each individual incorporator.
Filing your Certificate of Incorporation is only half the battle, however. Upon being recognized as a corporate entity, you and the other incorporators must hold an initial organizational meeting in order to elect corporate officers and establish your by-laws. While these by-laws do not need to be filed with the state, they must be maintained to be available for review by future partners and shareholders. Once established, you must hold an annual meeting with shareholders to discuss organizational leadership. Minutes must be taken from such meetings and made available for review, along with detailed shareholder records.
