Welcome to your daily briefing on small business developments in Michigan. Today we're covering 5 key stories including updates on michigan small business headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
2 stories
A DBA, or 'doing business as,' is a registered business name that an individual or company operates under that differs from their legal name.
Michigan small business professionals often need a DBA to operate under a brand name, open business bank accounts, or build market recognition without forming a separate legal entity.
The MiBusiness Registry, maintained by LARA, allows users to search Michigan business entities and verify LLC and corporation status at no cost.
For MI small business professionals, confirming competitor or partner entity status helps prevent costly legal conflicts and ensures due diligence before contracts or formations.
Reach professionals in this market
3 stories
Buy-sell agreements among co-owners specify what happens at death, disability, or departure — but only matter if there is a funding source to actually execute the buyout. Common defects: insurance policies that lapsed, valuation methods that produce numbers no one can pay, and trigger events that include voluntary departure without a payment plan.
Without funding, the surviving owner faces a co-owner's heirs as the new business partner. Most buy-sell disputes that reach litigation are not about the agreement's terms but about the absence of a funding mechanism.
Most small-business credit cards — even those issued in the company name — carry a personal guarantee in the application terms. Default by the business becomes personal liability. This applies to most issuers including those marketed as "business credit builders.".
Owners assuming corporate-veil protection on business cards can be blindsided by personal collections actions years later. The card's branding does not match the legal exposure.
The S-corp election lets owner-operators take part of their income as wages (subject to payroll tax) and the rest as distributions (not subject to self-employment tax). The savings only matter once profit consistently exceeds a "reasonable salary" — typically $50K-$80K of pure profit above the salary baseline. Below that threshold, the added payroll-processing cost eats the savings.
Many LLCs elect S-corp status before they have enough profit to benefit, paying payroll processing for no tax savings. The election is reversible but not on a clock that matters in real time.
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