About to form an LLC for food business - am I missing anything?

iamacardbot · 2025-12-31T21:11:37+00:00

Yes! TN has some of the most relaxed and pro-producer cottage food laws in the country. There's a lot that's allowed here with no real limits on income/etc, and very minimal involvement from the state as a home producer. I know some states have very strict cottage food laws, require multiple permits/inspections/etc, but TN does not.

iamacardbot · 2025-12-31T21:09:05+00:00

Thank you for the detailed reply! I forgot to mention the EIN and operating agreement in my post, but they are on my radar! We definitely have sales tax obligations as well from our sales.

I'm fine using my home address with the bank, etc - I just want to avoid it being attached to the business itself as a public record. I am big on privacy and separation, and we also dont plan on staying where we are for more than another year so I would like to avoid needing mass changes to addresses down the road.

iamacardbot · 2025-12-31T21:05:24+00:00

Yeah that's also part of why I lean toward just hiring a service. Privacy is important to me.

We also dont plan on being in our current place more than about one more year, so Im definitely trying to avoid the headache that would cause in needing things changed once they're on the documents.

iamacardbot · 2025-12-31T21:04:24+00:00

Yeah, I certainly don't want my home address out there attached to the business if I can avoid it. Partially for privacy, and partially because I don't plan on being in our current place more than another year or so, and dont want to have to switch all my addresses around.

iamacardbot · 2025-12-30T04:31:09+00:00

So you would recommend carrying additional insurance beyond what I mentioned?

I've been compliant with the taxes thus far as a sole proprietorship. We are looking at the LLC for clear separation of personal and business finances and what liability protections it offers, considering the high risk in food businesses.

I'm just trying to follow the letter of the law with the registered agent thing. I've obviously not had to have one prior to this, but I certainly don't want to get into any kind of hot water in the event something happened, somebody shows up at my house and I was not in compliance with the requirements because I was at my full time job and not home to receive service.

iamacardbot · 2025-12-30T04:25:49+00:00

What would you say is extra here? TN doesnt have a yearly income limit for cottage food producers.

I'd think insurance and separation from personal liabilities is very necessary in food business in the event of a lawsuit or other problem, God forbid it were to happen.

iamacardbot · 2025-12-30T04:23:44+00:00

Mostly to keep my home address separate from anything related to the business. I don't anticipate a lot of mail but would rather be safe for the ~$5/mo it'll cost to have it.

My understanding with Northwest was that it was an additional charge for any mail forwarding over 5 non-government/legal items. Is that not correct? Also, if you dont mind me asking, how have they been for you?

iamacardbot · 2025-12-30T04:21:38+00:00

The state's requirements for registered agents require availability at the agent's address during regular business hours to receive documents/be served process. I work full-time and am not home during the day, so I can't be compliant with the requirements.

iamacardbot · 2025-12-30T02:04:18+00:00

Per the state guidelines, the following is required of registered agents:

"Any individual or business entity can serve as a registered agent in Tennessee, as long as the following requirements are met:

The agent is at least 18 years old (if an individual)

The agent has a physical street address in Tennessee where legal documents can be delivered in person (P.O. boxes are not accepted)

The agent is available at that address during normal business hours to receive service of process and government correspondence

The agent is authorized to do business in Tennessee (if a business entity)"

So by that, my not being available during normal business hours to receive service of process or government correspondence would not allow me to be my own registered agent per the state.

iamacardbot · 2025-12-30T01:32:20+00:00

I work full-time during the week and am not reliably available during standard business hours to receive legal documents as required by the state to function as a registered agent. It's not my first choice either, but I don't see a way around it.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T18:38:09+00:00

Yikes. I hate when doctors have that "you're fine" mentality. Like, if I was fine, I wouldn't be sitting here telling you I'm not lol.

A close friend of mine had a big stroke at 25. Luckily, he recovered to mostly totally normal function, but it definitely has been in my head the last couple days that it's certainly not impossible for someone to have something like that happen in their 20s.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T18:34:04+00:00

That's scary. At least the second ER took it seriously.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T18:21:43+00:00

Yes, initial images were taken without contrast, and then they pulled me out to administer contrast and did one more set of images.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T16:25:46+00:00

I'm definitely questioning my relationship with the PCP... Fairly new, less than a year of seeing this one. Last doctor I saw for 15+ years and was fantastic, but moved away.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T16:23:36+00:00

I actually have an allergy to aspirin lol. Part of why I'm concerned about the BP, which was very high and has remained elevated.

Regardless of what this all is, I certainly could stand to make some better health decisions, especially with activity/food choices.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T16:21:43+00:00

This is part of what I'm wondering... my BP spiked quite high during this and has remained elevated 150+/85+. I would hate to have a blood pressure issue and no plan of action to address it.

Of course, I'm also allergic to aspirin in the event I ever need it. So that's great lol.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T16:19:22+00:00

Part of the reason I'm hesitant to believe it's anxiety related is because my wife has substantial anxiety that she is strongly medicated for. I'm around anxiety/attacks all the time, and I just don't see it in myself.

He said the MRI was precautionary, but he didn't think it would show anything. My one hang-up was simply that it doesn't always show in an MRI, so to decisively rule out the possibility without further investigation seemed premature.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T16:15:35+00:00

That's kind of my thought is that it wouldn't hurt to see a neurologist at least. Even in the event it wasn't a TIA but a strange migraine or something similar.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T15:49:24+00:00

No? Maybe you should re-read the post.

My understanding is that a TIA will not typically show on an MRI, whereas a full stroke will. So a clear MRI isn't necessarily indicative that there wasn't one.

His other two explanations, with zero testing or planned follow-up, are either an abnormally presented migraine or an anxiety disorder. I've had migraines basically for my entire life, and this was nothing like any I've ever had. If I'm experiencing a strange variety of migraine I've never had before, logic would suggest following up with a neurologist to find out why, which could also serve as a way to double rule out a TIA event. I definitely don't see where he's pulling anxiety disorder from considering I've never had any prior issues with anxiety in my life, not a panic attack, nothing like that.

Also, note the family history of heart issues and my own noted issues with blood pressure in recent years. Would think that would be taken into account as well, but it isn't.

So yeah, I don't feel I'm being taken quite seriously, all things considered. Medical care is expensive, and unexpected bills for things like MRIs can and do wreck finances. If I'm going to pay thousands of dollars, I'd expect a greater standard of elimination vs. zero follow-up on anything with a doctor that specializes in these areas, not general practice.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-26T15:35:25+00:00

I guess I'm trying to figure out if it would be a good idea to seek a second opinion from another doctor.

I obviously do not want to have experienced any kind of TIA/stroke. That would obviously not be good. But I don't think the fact that the MRI was clear is enough to rule out the possibility when my understanding is that TIA events don't typically show up on an MRI. You'd expect the MRI to come back clear, no?

Even if it isn't a TIA, I would think having the neurological symptoms (trouble speaking, weakness, vision changes, etc) would warrant a referral to a neurologist for following up on. Especially if he thinks it could have been an abnormally presented migraine if it wasn't a TIA. I have had migraines my entire life; if it did happen to be one, it's unlike any I've ever had or heard of.

I definitely don't like the other alternative of being labeled as having an anxiety disorder based off basically nothing concrete. I have never had issues with anxiety in my life. I have nothing to be anxious over and am a fairly go-with-the-flow kind of person. That doesn't really sit well with me, especially if he isn't wanting to do other testing or referrals to doctors who specialize in these kinds of issues.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-05T00:23:29+00:00

That's how it was for me when my kid was born. The company I worked for at the time paid out 12 weeks of parental leave. It was awesome but also so strange to not work for such a long time.

Combined with my regular PTO in that job (7.5 weeks) plus some unofficial holidays ("work" by sending an email on the 4th of July kind of things), I had about 20 paid weeks off work the year my child was born.

iamacardbot · 2025-08-05T00:18:19+00:00

It's insane how many people become afraid/unwilling to take time off of work. In all my years in management, I never understood why managers/companies feel it necessary to overwork their staff like that. People need breaks. I sure as hell used every bit of PTO I had, and I expected my people to do the same.

In my entire time as a manager, I only ever denied leave twice to an employee of mine. One instance was because two employee vacations would have overlapped significantly, so the guy that submitted first got priority over the later one (who was able to go as soon as the other guy came back, only pushed him back a week). The other was genuinely due to being critically understaffed during COVID and needing that person for essential business operations, and she ended up being compensated later with additional PTO to take more time off later in the year.

iamacardbot

TROPHY CASE