Nellie Akalp is a passionate entrepreneur, small business advocate and mother of four.

As CEO of CorpNet.com, an online legal document filing service, Nellie helps small US business owners form an LLC or incorporate a business to start their ventures off the right way.

Nellie has been in the industry since 1997 and throughout her career has created over 100,000 business formations. Nellie and her husband (who is also her business partner) founded MyCorporation.com, which they sold to Intuit in 2005. They started CorpNet.com in 2009.

You can find Nellie on Twitter, Facebook and Google+.

We spoke to Nellie about why she's passionate about helping entrepreneurs; about why small business owners should form a business structure; and why as CEO she still loves answering the phone.

TNW: How did you come up with the idea for CorpNet.com and then arrive at the decision to turn your idea into a reality? 

I have a strong passion to educate small business owners and entrepreneurs on the importance of protecting their assets through a business structure.

My first company, MyCorporation.com, did just that. After I sold the company in 2005, I dabbled in other industries but nothing really sparked my interest more than helping small business owners start, protect and manage their small business. In 2009, I started CorpNet.com, and it just fits.

TNW: What makes your company different from your competitors?

NA: I really believe my company is different from competitors based on the pure fact that with us, you work with real honest people. I will answer the phone and handle sales calls or work directly with someone who may have an issue while juggling CEO duties and marketing efforts. We’re a small team of top business formation experts with over a decade of experience behind us who care and want other entrepreneurs to be successful.

TNW: What is the #1 question you get from CorpNet clients and what is your answer back?

NA: The number one question I always get is ‘What makes you different from your competitor, Legalzoom who is everywhere...” Our answer is always our personal care that we put into each client. We explain that we take the time with each client from beginning to end to ensure they’re happy with our services. Sometimes we even get unhappy customers from Legalzoom and end up making things right for them in the end.

TNW: What are the most popular business structures?

The most popular business structures with my clients tend to be LLC (Limited Liability Company), a C Corporation and an S Corporation.

Here’s a bit about each structure:

• LLC (Limited Liability Company): In an LLC, the owner’s personal assets are shielded from business liabilities just as they would be in a Corporation.  In addition, the IRS views the LLC as a “disregarded entity”. Thus, an LLC does not file separate taxes; company profits and losses flow through to the owners and are subject to each owner’s individual tax rates. The LLC is great for a business that wants liability protection, but seeks minimal formality.  It's also the perfect structure for a business with foreign owners since anyone (C Corp, S Corp, another LLC, a trust, or an estate) can be an owner of an LLC.
• C Corporation: This entity is not recommended for small business owners. The C Corp is ideal for a business that intends to raise capital by issuing stock or attracting investors through VC funding.
• S Corporation: An S Corporation is great for a small business owner who can qualify: The IRS places limits on the number of owners and who can be an owner in an S Corporation.  Plus, all owners are taxed based on their percentage of ownership.

Why should entrepreneurs form a business structure for their new ventures?

There are many reasons entrepreneurs should form a business structure for their ventures no matter how many employees there are.

A few reasons are:

• Liability protection: A corporation or LLC separates your personal assets from the assets of the corp/LLC and provides you with liability protection
• Taxes: Federal income tax rates can be lower for corporations than for individuals. And as a corporation, you may be entitled to additional deductions.
• Credibility: Adding ‘LLC’ or ‘Inc.’ after your company name boosts your credibility in the eyes of some customers and partners.
• Business credit/capital: As a corporation or LLC, it can be easier for you to access a line of business credit. And forming a C Corporation will be essential if you plan to seek Venture Capital funding.
• Added layer of privacy: With an LLC or a corporation, the company’s ‘registered agent’ goes on public record, and not your home or business address (in most cases).

TNW: What do you love about your business and why?

NA: Running my own business has proved to be more challenging today than my first time around, but it’s this tough economic climate that makes what I do all the more rewarding. In today’s economy, I want to give everyone a shot and help as many Americans as I can start their own business and feed this economy. For full disclosure, I can get a little teary eyed when I hear the president talk about the power and potential of the small business and the American entrepreneur.

Every day, aspiring entrepreneurs call our office. I talk to brilliant workers who have been laid off, can’t find other work, and have decided to take matters into their own hands by launching a business. I see busy moms who want to supplement their family’s income and make their own mark on the world.

We see career professionals who are finally ready to put the 9-5 way of life aside and follow their dreams.  Each and every story touches and inspires me.

I might be CEO of the company, but I will never stop fielding customer calls. Talking to business owners and potential business owners is why I started this company, and it’s what keeps me going.  I can’t imagine anything better and that's why I love what I do each and every day and I live by the mantra of "Do what you Love and Love What you Do each and every day because you ONLY live once!”

TNW: What lessons have you taken from your successes &/or failures?

NA: My instincts are my most valuable asset. I have learned to rely on my instincts more from this point forward which was something I failed to do in the past and by failing to do so have been burned and hurt in the process.  Now I am much more careful. Also, because I am such a people pleaser, I have learned than in business, you have to set your expectations and clearly communicate your expectations to others. It’s OK to say no.

TNW: Do you have any tips or any advice for women who are thinking about becoming entrepreneurs?

NA: I would say if you want to have success, you can’t make success your goal.

The key is not to worry about being successful, but to instead work toward being significant – and the success will naturally follow.

If you do work that you love, and work that fulfils you, the rest will come. I truly believe that the reason I’ve been able to be so financially successful is because my focus has never, ever for one minute been money.

TNW: If you hadn’t chosen entrepreneurship, what alternative career path might you have pursued?

NA: Dancing, acting or singing or a cardio fitness instructor teaching high intensity kickboxing or cardio barre classes. I would really enjoy being a fitness instructor as it’s actually what I do in my spare time.

TNW: What has been your biggest challenge throughout the history of your company, from planning to funding and execution, and how could others learn from it?

Overall, my most challenging part of running a business is aligning the business tasks that I enjoy doing the most with the “must do” business tasks that make us a profit. It’s not always fun stuff - but in the end it’s rewarding.