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StretchLearn Course

Set up your freelance business the right way, before your first client pays you.

A step-by-step legal and business setup for new freelancers: pick a structure, register it, get your tax IDs, open clean banking, and send a contract that protects you.

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Beginner9 hr 35 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Most new freelancers either skip the legal setup entirely and hope nothing goes wrong, or they freeze and overspend on an LLC they do not yet need. This course gives you a clear decision path instead: when a sole proprietorship is genuinely fine, when an LLC or limited company earns its cost, what registrations and tax IDs you actually must file, and the four documents every freelance engagement needs. You finish with a registered business, a separate bank account, a bookkeeping system, and a contract template ready to send, so your first paid project starts on solid legal and financial ground.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

01

Compare sole proprietorship, LLC, S-corp, and limited company structures and choose the one that fits your risk, income, and country

02

Register your business and name correctly, including DBA, EIN, GST/HST, and equivalent filings for your jurisdiction

03

Set up separate business banking, a bookkeeping tool, and a tax-savings system before money starts moving

04

Draft the four core documents every engagement needs: contract, scope of work, invoice, and IP and confidentiality terms

05

Identify the licenses, permits, and insurance a solo freelancer genuinely needs and skip the ones you do not

06

Build a simple compliance calendar so tax filings, renewals, and estimated payments never catch you off guard

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: Choosing the Right Business Structure

Before you register anything, you decide what legal form your business takes. This module gives you a decision framework so you pick the structure that fits your liability, income, and country, instead of copying what a stranger online did.

3 lessons
Sole Proprietor vs Company: What Actually ChangesContent · 45 min
Preview Enabled
When an LLC, S-Corp, or Limited Company Pays OffContent · 50 min
LMS Access
A Decision Framework You Can Actually UseContent · 45 min
LMS Access
Module 2

Module 2: Registering Your Business and Name

With a structure chosen, you make it official. This module walks through the exact registrations, names, and tax IDs you need in the US, Canada, and the UK, and the ones you can safely skip.

3 lessons
Naming, DBA, and Protecting Your BrandContent · 45 min
LMS Access
Registering in the US, Canada, and the UKContent · 55 min
LMS Access
Tax Registrations and Sales Tax ThresholdsContent · 50 min
LMS Access
Module 3

Module 3: Money Setup: Banking, Bookkeeping, and Taxes

A registered business with mixed-up money is a problem waiting to happen. This module sets up separate banking, a bookkeeping system, and a tax-savings habit so your finances are clean and your structure actually protects you.

3 lessons
Separating Business and Personal MoneyContent · 45 min
LMS Access
Bookkeeping and Tax Savings From Day OneContent · 50 min
LMS Access
Invoicing and Getting Paid ProperlyContent · 45 min
LMS Access
Module 4

Module 4: Contracts, Protection, and Staying Compliant

The final module covers the documents and protections that keep an engagement safe, plus the ongoing filings that keep your business in good standing. You leave with a contract ready to send and a calendar so nothing lapses.

3 lessons
The Four Documents Every Engagement NeedsContent · 55 min
LMS Access
Licenses, Permits, and Insurance You Actually NeedContent · 45 min
LMS Access
Your Compliance Calendar and First-Client ChecklistContent · 45 min
LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

freelance business setupbusiness structureLLC vs sole proprietorself-employment taxfreelance contractsbusiness registrationEIN and tax IDfreelancer legal basics