Credibility is one of the most critical traits that can make or break a business. It is built through authenticity and consistent action. The words you speak and the actions you take should all perfectly match your business goals.
Often, people choose to transfer ownership of their LLC membership interests into a trust because doing so allows the property to bypass the probate process upon death. If confidentiality is important, consider naming the trust after something that has nothing to do with its creators.
1. Keep it simple
Credibility is a big deal when it comes to attracting customers and investors. It provides people with a sense of assurance that you’re running a business that values their trust and keeps their best interests in mind. Visit for LLC name.
As the owner of an LLC, you can put your membership interests in a trust to protect them from being subject to probate upon death and potentially claimed by creditors. You can choose between a revocable trust or an irrevocable trust, each of which comes with its own benefits.
Putting your LLC in trust can also be helpful for estate planning and managing incapacity. A trustee can take over the management of your business if you become incapacitated, giving you peace of mind that your business will continue to operate as you planned. To learn more, you can visit Northwest’s Can a Trust Own an LLC page. You may need to get consent from other members if you’re in a multimember LLC, but this is typically easy.
2. Be honest
When it comes to building trust, honesty is key. Lying is one of the quickest ways to destroy your credibility, as is unnecessarily embellishing or providing information out of context.
Showing your vulnerability and admitting to making mistakes can also help you build trust. It shows that you are human and people can relate to your situation. You can also demonstrate your honesty by focusing on helping others. This can be as simple as offering assistance to a stranger or volunteering your time for an organization.
Be transparent about your business and your accomplishments, and be proud of them. Share them with stakeholders, put them front and center on your website and make sure your employees know about them too. Transparency is especially important when it comes to addressing concerns, troubleshooting production issues and requesting credit or loans. It helps establish credibility for small businesses and their leaders. Moreover, it can help you establish a positive owner-employee and company-client relationship.
3. Be consistent
It takes a lot of time to establish your business’s credibility. Once you have it, consistency is key to maintaining that credibility. The messages you send out, the actions you take and even your thoughts should all be consistent. This will help you build trust with your customers and allow them to grow loyal to your brand.
One example of consistency is making sure that all of your employees are representing the brand consistently. This includes wearing the company’s logo, using a consistent voice and posting messages on social media in a similar manner.
Another way to show consistency is by having the LLC membership transfer from the owner to a trusted third party. This will make it more difficult for creditors to seize the assets of the LLC upon the owner’s death. This can be accomplished by transferring the LLC ownership interests to a revocable or irrevocable trust.
4. Don’t be afraid to fail
Your LLC ownership interests represent one of your most valuable assets, and they should be safeguarded. Currently, they’re considered personal property and could be subject to probate or even seized by your creditors in the event of your incapacitation or death. Working with a Wyoming trust attorney to create a self-settled asset protection trust that holds your LLC membership interests is an excellent way to ensure that they’ll be protected. While this will require legal assistance and incur both initial and annual fees, it’s an affordable way to protect your business’ most important asset.
Keep in mind that you’ll need to have other members consent to a transfer of their LLC ownership interests to a trust (assuming your LLC operating agreement permits this). While other members will seldom object, it’s still best practice to have them sign a resolution to underscore the validity of such a move. This will also provide further proof that your trust is truly independent of you and, therefore, offers liability protection.
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