One-person corporations are legal in many states, and Maryland is one of them. Although any corporation should have a board of directors to hold meetings and vote, a small corporation does not have to necessarily include a “room full of suits”, as says Michael Hanley, an accountant at Merl & Hanley in Smithtown, N.Y. Sole-director boards are typical for single-shareholder corporations, and such a structure does not have to create any difficulties in holding an annual meeting or keeping minutes for a sole director and the 100 percent owner of his own corporation.

C. Dickinson Hill, a business attorney from Los Angeles, says that a written consent is the most appropriate form to accomplish a required meeting for a one-person corporation. Gerald Bloch, an attorney from California, notes that corporations, including the single shareholder corporation, should technically have three types of officials: the shareholders (elect the board of directors), the board (appoints officers and managers), and three corporate officers (chief executive, treasurer, and secretary). For a sole owner of her corporation, running the business is just a matter of arranging the appropriate documentation: a stock of certificates and minutes showing that, as a shareholder, she has elected herself as the director, and, as a director, she has appointed herself to the positions of president, treasurer, and secretary.

When preparing to incorporate your business from a LLC (limited liability company), make sure to get an expert advice for your unique case.