The ActiveFilings' Blog

Archive for the ‘General’ Category

Few minutes ago I was watching an interview where Jason Nazar, co-founder and CEO of Docstoc.com acting as a host, was helping Brian Lee, LegalZoon co-founder, to promote his legal services company and a new venture called ShoeDazzle.

As a side note, Brian Lee looks a very nice person. You can watch the interview here: http://blog.legalzoom.com/small-business-tips/entrepreneur-interview-with-brian-lee-legalzoom-co-founder/

His new company sells shoes! It is not a website offering legal prepaid plans, compliance  services or Real Estate Closings, but shoes! LZ says they put the law on your side and now, they want to put fashion too!

It’s funny, and I immediately had the idea of making some fun of this situation by writing this post.

The reason is simple: Every day, a 30% of the phone calls we receive from potential customers have something in common: a question: “how do you guys compare with LegalZoom”?. This question is so common that we are waiting to receive it and, of course, we are  happy when it happens because it gives us an unique opportunity to establish a difference.

ActiveFilings is different from LegalZoon in many ways. Not only the price -we charge $69 for what they price at $139, or we get a Tax ID (EIN) for $49.00 when they do it for $79.00 and so on- but the services we include are more valuable.

For instance, our customer service and support have become legendary. After 9 years, our customers’ satisfaction rate is the highest in the market. Not because we just say it, but since we allow our customers to rate our services and this action is administered by an independent third party – RatePoint- we can prove it. LegalZoom can’t.

We also provide 1 year of Registered Agent Services at no charge. Even if you order our basic plan (the one priced at $69.00), you will get 1 year of RA services for free. We have developed some interesting guides, like the “Day-After Check List” or “The Corporate Compliance Guide”, or “How to Create a Company Name and get State Approval in one Shot” just to name a few of the products we offer at ActiveFilings.com. LegalZoom doesn’t.

But above all, we are specialists in business formation services. Period. LegalZoom does a little of everything: divorces, wills, trademarks, incorporation, etc.

However, not everything separates us. We have some similarities too.  ActiveFilings holds an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau, as does LegalZoom and we both started almost at the same time, 9 years ago.

After having watched the interview, I know now that we have a new sales argument to share with those who ask: We don’t sell shoes!!!

Considering that LZ is much bigger than AF, perhaps we should start selling skirts… who knows!

Brian, congratulations for your new venture. We wish you the best and for those curious about the new website, here is the link: www.ShoeDazzle.com. I promise to tell my wife about it too.

Roberto Neuberger

Florida started to send thousands of emails to business owners to inform them about the state intention to administratively dissolve their entities unless they file the annual report which was due by May 1st. Read the rest of this entry »

Now, our customers -and hopefully, soon-to-become-customers, can experience the most realistic approach to obtain Business Credit and Insecure Credit Cards for their business without any risk. Read the rest of this entry »

What a challenge… to keep our blog updated after a long working day. Sometimes I envy some of our competitors, the big ones that have large marketing departments in charge of updating Twitter, Facebook, their blog and so on. Read the rest of this entry »

The location of a prospective company is important to the success of the business. Not only do different states have unique markets that will be more or less amenable to different business types, but also each state has its own laws governing corporations. Read the rest of this entry »

If you are considering business formation, of course your best state to incorporae your business will be your home state, where you do businesses in. But regardless of where you operate, you should remember that today’s economy calls for catering to a global market. Read the rest of this entry »

As the economy is slowly recovering, it may be time for small business owners to start thinking about how to expand their enterprises. Here are some tips for growth that might benefit all business types. Read the rest of this entry »

For startup business owners, deciding when to incorporate and which business entity to form is an important step for growing a company. Two well-known forms of business are corporations and limited liability companies. The eCommerce Times offers some insight into the original purposes of these entities and how they remain viable ways to protect businesses. Read the rest of this entry »

Earlier this week, Senators John Kerry and Richard Luger – the two ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee – formally proposed legislation to create a Startup Visa, according to the Industry Standard. Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to start a small business, then a smart good name is mandatory for your success as a brand. The website Company Name Generator.com comes in your aid with a few simple suggestions that can make your choices easier and smarter. Read the rest of this entry »