/General Questions
Question
Do I need to register a company before I start selling or can I test first?
Posted by •10/27/2025
Beginner here, and this part is confusing because everyone is from a different country with different laws.
Some people say:
- “Don't overthink it, just start selling and register later”
Others say:
- “You must have an LLC / company BEFORE you run ads or you'll get in trouble”
I'm in the EU, but I think the principle is similar everywhere:
- I want to test a product with maybe a few hundred dollars in ads
- I don't know yet if it will even work
- I don't want to spend time & money setting up a full company if it completely flops
How did you guys handle this in the beginning?
- Did you register from day 1?
- Or did you wait until you got some consistent sales first?
- Are there any practical risks (besides taxes) of starting without a formal company for the first few sales?
Not asking for legal advice, just want to hear how other people approached this in real life.
Some people say:
- “Don't overthink it, just start selling and register later”
Others say:
- “You must have an LLC / company BEFORE you run ads or you'll get in trouble”
I'm in the EU, but I think the principle is similar everywhere:
- I want to test a product with maybe a few hundred dollars in ads
- I don't know yet if it will even work
- I don't want to spend time & money setting up a full company if it completely flops
How did you guys handle this in the beginning?
- Did you register from day 1?
- Or did you wait until you got some consistent sales first?
- Are there any practical risks (besides taxes) of starting without a formal company for the first few sales?
Not asking for legal advice, just want to hear how other people approached this in real life.
2 Replies
•10/27/2025
I wasted 3 months “waiting to register my company” instead of actually learning how to sell.
In reality:
- My first store did like €300 revenue total
- The real lesson was in ads, product pages, conversion rate
- Company structure only mattered once I had something to actually protect and optimise
Do **check local rules**, but don't let “what if I need an LLC” become another way to procrastinate.
In reality:
- My first store did like €300 revenue total
- The real lesson was in ads, product pages, conversion rate
- Company structure only mattered once I had something to actually protect and optimise
Do **check local rules**, but don't let “what if I need an LLC” become another way to procrastinate.
•10/27/2025
Not a lawyer or accountant, just telling you how I and many others did it:
- I validated the business as a **sole trader / personal income** at the start
- Once I saw consistent sales (~€1–2k/month), I moved to a proper company structure
Main things to keep in mind:
1. **Tax man cares that you declare income**, not whether you had a logo and an LLC on day 1.
2. Having a company gives:
- Better protection (in some structures)
- Easier to separate finances
- Sometimes better ad account billing options
3. But if you're at the “maybe I'll get 3 sales” stage, the bigger risk is never starting.
What I suggest (again, not legal advice):
- Check your country's rules on running a small side business / sole proprietor
- Use your own name for invoices in the beginning if allowed
- Track EVERYTHING (revenue, ad spend, product costs)
- Talk to an accountant once you start seeing regular sales
The **biggest mistake** is:
- Making money
- Not tracking anything
- Not declaring it
That's what gets people into trouble, not the fact that they didn't have an LLC on day 1.
- I validated the business as a **sole trader / personal income** at the start
- Once I saw consistent sales (~€1–2k/month), I moved to a proper company structure
Main things to keep in mind:
1. **Tax man cares that you declare income**, not whether you had a logo and an LLC on day 1.
2. Having a company gives:
- Better protection (in some structures)
- Easier to separate finances
- Sometimes better ad account billing options
3. But if you're at the “maybe I'll get 3 sales” stage, the bigger risk is never starting.
What I suggest (again, not legal advice):
- Check your country's rules on running a small side business / sole proprietor
- Use your own name for invoices in the beginning if allowed
- Track EVERYTHING (revenue, ad spend, product costs)
- Talk to an accountant once you start seeing regular sales
The **biggest mistake** is:
- Making money
- Not tracking anything
- Not declaring it
That's what gets people into trouble, not the fact that they didn't have an LLC on day 1.