Ep 64 - Almost ALL Nature-Based Business Owners in the United States Must Comply with this New Law
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Welcome to Therapy in the Great Outdoors, the podcast where we explore the business and practice of nature based pediatric therapy of all kinds. If you're an outdoor loving pediatric practitioner in the fields of occupational, physical, or speech therapy, social work, or mental health, this podcast will help you start and grow a successful nature based practice or program.
I am the ever honest, always a hundred percent real. You'll hear it all on this podcast. Dr. Laura Park Figueroa. I'm a pediatric OT with over 20 years of experience and I run a thriving nature based practice with profitable locations in two different states and multi six figures in revenue. I also host the free online community at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.
com to help you pursue your nature based therapy dreams too. Are you ready to take action on those dreams? Let's jump [00:01:00] in.
Hello friends. If you are running a nature based business of any kind, really. In the United States, you must listen to this episode. This is very important information so that you do not get a bunch of unexpected fees and fines in your business because there is a new law that came out this year called the corporate transparency act.
And it requires that you do a very simple little, 10 minute filing online to show who owns your company. In order to make sure that. Money laundering and weird stuff isn't going on in your business. This is probably due to the shady actions of some like really rich person, but it affects small business owners like us. Because we have to comply with this requirement to report who owns our business.
So in this episode, I'm going to break down. Not all. I was going to say all, but not all because I'm not an expert on this, but I'm going to break down the basics of this corporate transparency act [00:02:00] and tell you that it only took me less than 10 minutes to file online and comply with the act to report. Me as the owner of my company.
So I want to explain the act to you and then explain where you need to go to do this so that you don't get hit with a bunch of fines and fees in your nature based business. But before we dive into that, I want to share. That the business hive, my group coaching program for nature-based business owners will open at the end of may.
We are going to do a six month cohort from. Mid June until mid December this year. And you can get all of the details on it and join the waitlist so that you will be notified when I open enrollment. If you go to therapy in the great outdoors.com. Backslash hive. H I V E like busy bees working inside of a hive.
That's why I named it that. So that's where you can get all the information about what all is included in the program. I won't go [00:03:00] into it in great detail here, because if you're interested, you will probably go to the website and read all about it. There's tons of FAQ's there. And as always, I am always available to you.
Reach out to me on Instagram, Facebook, all the places you can go to the website and click the support button. There's lots of places you can get in touch with me. And. Ask me any questions that you may have about your specific situation in your business? Okay. Let's dive in to what we are here to talk about today.
This corporate transparency act thing. So I want to give a shout out. to. Athena legal solutions because they are a local business here in Madison that where I live in Madison, Wisconsin. I forget that everyone listening to this does not know me and has not listened to every episode. I live in Madison, Wisconsin. My main practice is still in California, where I used to live.
And now I have a very small branch of my nature-based practice as well [00:04:00] here in Madison. So I live in Madison, Wisconsin, and Athena legal solutions is a company that I've worked with some trademark, things that I'm getting trademarked in my business. And they sent out in their newsletter. This little blog posts they did on the corporate transparency act.
And I did not know about this before they sent me this. Blog post. So that is why I'm sharing this with you. So basically what it is that. Starting on January 1st of this year, it's 2024. As I am recording this. Certain entities registered to do business in the us. Have to start complying with this corporate transparency act.
So there's reporting requirements that we have to do. In alignment with this corporate transparency act. And this blog post from Athena legal solution says that the corporate transparency act was implemented to try and combat the use of shell companies to facilitate money laundering, tax evasion, and other illicit activities. [00:05:00] So to do this, it's really to be transparent about who owns your company and who has beneficial ownership in your company.
So who does your company exist to benefit now? For most of us that are in nature-based practice. It probably is just us. This is going to be very simple. Like I said, it took me less than 10 minutes to do this online. To save yourself from getting all these fines and fees that they may give you. If you don't do the 10 minutes to report. But for some of you, it may be that you're a partnership or maybe. I believe nonprofits are exempt.
We'll get into that in a little bit, but if you're running a for-profit business, it should be pretty simple for you to report who owns the business essentially.
Okay. So if your company existed before January 1st, 2024. If you had a business before the first of this year in 2024. You have until next year, January 1st, 2025 to report. So you need to go [00:06:00] online to the website that I'll give you and report to your beneficial owner information. So for entities that are formed after January 1st.
So if you have formed your business this year in 2024, then you only have 30 days to report this information. So if you are starting a business, This year, this is really important information for you to have, because. You also. Need to do this. Right away not you don't have a year. Like those of us who had businesses before to report it.
For eligible companies, any changes in ownership need to re be reported within 30 days as well.
So if any of us have owners come in, or if we sell the business that needs to be reported as well.
Okay. What it's going to be is you are going to go to a website, which is fincen.gov/boi. So it's. Like financial centers, what it's short for? So F [00:07:00] I N C E n.gov backslash B O I beneficial owner information is what it stands for. Find Sen. sen.gov/boi. So you're going to go to that website. And it's simply going to ask you really simple information. Honestly, it did not take me long. You'll have to enter the tax ID number for your business.
Some information about your business name. And then your own information, like your well and your business address and that, but. Then they'll ask you to enter your own information as well. So your name, your Your social security number, your personal residence address. And then also a photo of your. Some type of identifying document.
So I chose to just use my driver's license. I snapped a photo. I airdropped it to my computer and I was easily able to upload it. So again, it doesn't really take long to avoid the fines and fees that they may give you. If you don't, if you don't do this. You will enter [00:08:00] all that information and it's an online form.
So it's really easy to use. It was very simple. And then you will just click submit and then you're done. We only need to do it when we initially report. Cause it wouldn't change unless there was a change in ownership.
Okay, let's talk about who needs to do this? An eligible company under the corporate transparency act is either, and this is from the Athena legal solutions blog. Okay. So I'm giving you from legal advice that is online. I'm giving it to you audibly in a podcast episode for you to consume. And eligible company under the corporate transparency act is either a domestic or foreign corporation, an LLC limited liability company or similar entity that is either formed in a us state or is registered to do business in a us state. And does not meet any of the exemptions.
So the exemptions are things that would not be nature-based businesses. Security issues. And public [00:09:00] companies, government authorities, banks, credit unions. Depository institution holding companies. None of these on this list. Securities exchange investment companies, venture capital firms, which is crazy to me, honestly, all because some of these companies seem to be the ones that would be engaging in shady business practices.
Anyway. So it's weird, right? That like small business owners have to do this, but all these companies that are dealing in like billions of dollars of financial transactions don't need to report. So it's just strange, but anyway there's a long list of. Companies here that don't need to report. None of them, except for tax exempt entities would be a nature-based business.
Okay. So if you are a nonprofit. Then you do not need to worry about this, so you can just stop listening to the podcast now. And go on your Merry way and be happy that you don't have to do this. Everyone else, If you are a nature [00:10:00] based business, you likely are needing to report this information. On that website. One more thing. Which I should say.
I don't think any of you will qualify under this, but maybe there is some very large nature-based business out there that is listening to this podcast. The other entity that is exempt is. Large operating companies.
That means you employ more than 20 full-time employees. You have a physical presence in the U S and you reported more than $5 million in gross receipts or sales from the U S from us only sources in a previous year. To my knowledge. I do not know of any nature based practices out there that are grossing $5 million in revenue.
If that is you, please come on the podcast and talk to me because I would be so interested in how you run your business. But if your business is that big, then you probably don't have time to come on a podcast. So anyway. If that applies to you, you would be exempt from reporting. And again, just an aside here, I think this is crazy that the people who are making the tons of [00:11:00] money don't have to report, but a small people do.
So I don't know. I'm just reporting it like it is y'all that being said, most of you listening to this. If you are running a nature based business, you likely do need to report your beneficial ownership information at fincen.gov/boi almost every LLC and corporation with less than 20 employees in the U S needs to file.
There's a little bit more information here on the blog post, which I will link this blog post in the show notes. So you guys can read it. If you want to see it all in one place, I'm not reading it word for word. I'm just pulling from the information here. Cause I trust it because it's from a. Legal firm that I trust. One other thing they say is that a beneficial owner under this act as any owner that directly or indirectly exercises substantial control over the reporting company. Or who owns at least 25% of the company.
So if you own at least 25% of your business, or if anybody else does, you need to report them and their [00:12:00] information Okay. So if you fail to comply with a requirement and you don't submit your information, which again takes less than 10 minutes, y'all. Their civil and criminal penalty penalties, which include fines up to $10,000 in the possibility of two years in prison.
Now I hope that they wouldn't take like a really small business owner with a few employees and put you in prison for this, but really I think it's just something I wanted y'all to know about because it's very simple to do and may save you some hassles and annoying. Fines later down the road for your business.
That's it. If you have any questions I would say feel free to reach out to me, but I don't know that I'm the expert on this topic. I'm more just the announcer here, letting you know that this act exists and that what you may need to do in your business. But if you do have any questions on anything, I said, feel free to reach out to me or go to the show notes at therapyinthegreatoutdoors.com. You can click on podcasts there and find this episode. And then the link will be there to the blog [00:13:00] post.
So you can see that. As well, and you can also just search corporate transparency, act online and find more information about it. So I hope this was helpful to you. If you're running a business and maybe saved you a little headaches down the road, and I will talk to you next time. Bye.
Thanks for joining me today for Therapy in the Great Outdoors. If you want valuable advice as you start or grow your nature based pediatric practice, get my free ebook, The Nature Based Practice Roadmap. It is a guide to help you focus and avoid costly mistakes.
I share the four stages of nature based practice, what you need to focus on and common mistakes to avoid in each stage, plus a checklist of specific action steps for you to take at each stage in the process. Get it at therapyinthegreatoutdoors. com. roadmap. So until next time, get outside, connect, reflect, [00:14:00] and enjoy therapy in the great outdoors.
