At Thomas Law Firm, one of our areas of expertise is helping other professionals set up their own practices. We frequently work with architects, engineers, land surveyors, and other design professionals to get their businesses established and registered with the State of New York.
Form Your Business Entity
Most of our Architect clients choose to form a PLLC business entity (Professional Service Limited Liability Company). This is a great option for solo practitioners or partners starting a small architecture firm in New York. Architects may also form a PC (Professional Service Corporation), LLP (Limited Liability Partnership), or a D.P.C. (Design Professional Service Corporation) although these options are not as popular in my experience.
Setting up a professional business entity provides the owners many benefits, namely, limited liability protection and protection of one’s personal assets. Note, that Architects can’t form a regular LLC or Corporation; the New York Department of State requires that the company’s organizational documents are compliant for professional service companies and must be accompanied by a Certificate of Authorization issued by the New York Department of Education.
Architecture Practice Naming Restrictions in New York
The name of the your new practice must conform with the naming restrictions enforced by the New York State Department of Education. We do a name a clearance search in advance of every formation project make to sure that the name is available for registration and compliant with their list of restricted words and phrases.
Open Bank Accounts
Once your entity is established you’ll need an EIN number (Employer Identification Number) to open a business bank account. These are also referred to as a Tax ID Number and are issued by the IRS. We include these as part of our professional practice formation services.
Hang Your Shingle
Once the company is set up you can start marketing your services. This is the fun part. There are so many ways to connect with potential clients the possibilities are endless. SEO, PPC, traditional advertising, networking, coworking, referrals, blogging, etc. It will take some time to hone your strategy, but once you do the phone will start ringing.
If you’re interested in starting your own architecture practice contact us for a free phone consultation.