What is This Registered Agent Stuff, Who is This Nat Smith Fellow, and Why the Saint Joe Road Address?

The Fairfield Neighborhood Association Board of Directors have received one form or another of these questions several times both in-person at Fairfield Neighborhood Association meetings and via our website contact form. Further, whereas August marks my twentieth anniversary of being unceremoniously ‘laid off’ from corporate America, and thus my original thought for this month’s Small Business Spotlight was to type up an article sharing some lessons learned over the past two-decades traversing the ever-more hostile terrain of starting/running a small business, now provides a perfect opportunity to share the answers to all questions contained within the above headline while ensuring the widest possible distribution to those whom possess the most germane reason in having their inquiry satiated.

What is This Registered Agent Stuff?

As it stands at the time of drafting this column, all fifty (50) states require by LAW that incorporated entities with operations within said state continuously maintain a registered office and agent within each so as to receive formal documents. Further Indiana Code specifically prohibits a member of the corporation from acting as their own registered agent and also prohibits the use of Post Office Boxes serving as a ‘registered office.’ Registered agent fees are generally paid annually and range in my experience from $115 to north of $300 dollars. Although there existed at least at one time, several companies offering to bill for the service quarterly, such is helpful (maybe) for those just starting out with a duct-taped shoestring for a budget. Whereas the total cost for missing a payment -> resulting in the service being cancelled -> missing a required report or tax filing, quickly results in fines from the state(s) heftier than the average annual cost of retaining a registered agent. Thus, making such quarterly arrangements even less appealing.

Who is this Nat Smith Fellow?

Nat Smith is the Registered Agent for the Fairfield Neighborhood Association. He has proven himself to be efficient, affordable, competent, and professional in the execution of his duties.

Why the Saint Joe Road Address?

The Saint Joe Road address is the primary office for Mr. Nat Smith. Such provides the Fairfield Neighborhood Association with a centralized mailing address for all formal notices.

Other Lessons Learned from the Trenches of Small Business

Were it possible to bend the ear of the 2003 twenty-something version of me, in between the frantic pacing over how in the world I would be able to provide for my then four-year old son having lost the cold comfort of a weekly corporate paycheck, I would relay the following:

1. The timing is never going to be perfect to start a small business, with everything neatly aligned & wrapped in a bow to appease your Type-A personality.
2. Don’t sweat the small stuff; contracts are not ‘small stuff’ so stay focused.
3. That green-colored coffee company ain’t the golden ticket and they are going to take FOREVER to pay their invoices.
4. Get an accountant, yes I know you can’t ‘afford’ it, but get one anyway. You will nearly give yourself a heart attack trying to file corporate taxes. Also, your skin & finger nails will thank you.
5. You will hear ‘NO’ many times more than ‘YES.’ Don’t despair, pound the pavement, pick up the phone, and never let ‘em see you sweat, so keep that nose to the grindstone.
6. Yes, you are going to have to ‘learn to code.’
7. You will have an excellent anecdote about a venture capitalist who ended up eating crow after laughing you out of his office. Do not doubt yourself or the insights gleaned from your market research.
8. Be the ant, not the grasshopper.
9. Since you will flat out ignore number eight for several more years, you will find yourself in an Aldi, calculating in real-time (yay math) the total for the groceries in the basket to ensure you have enough at checkout. No one told you this was for the faint of heart. However, God is on the Throne and working all things for Good.
10. Yep, you read that correctly and I know it sounds antithetical to your know-it-all agnosticism, however you will move to a place known as the ‘City of Churches’ and it will turn all of your arrogance-ridden smarty-pants presuppositions on their head. Trust me, it’s going to be great.

“Facta non verba”