How FirstBearing is different
The short version: LegalZoom and ZenBusiness file your paperwork and sell you a registered agent. FirstBearing takes you from an idea to your first paying customers — and keeps helping after you open.
| FirstBearing | LegalZoom / ZenBusiness | Doing it yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helps you decide what business to start and what to charge | Yes — that's the starting point | No — assumes you already know | You figure it out |
| Register the business (LLC or sole prop) with the right state links | Yes, all 50 states | Yes (their whole product) | Yes, if you find the site |
| Free EIN, operating agreement, licenses, sales tax, employer steps | Yes, in one roadmap | Some — often paid add-ons | Scattered across gov sites |
| Operating agreement + LLC/EIN forms filled in with your answers (PDF) | Yes, included | ~$99 for the operating agreement alone | Find a template, fill it yourself |
| One clear next step each day so you don't stall | Yes | No | No |
| Research on your actual local competitors and their pricing | Yes | No | No |
| A ranked plan to get your first customers | Yes | No | No |
| Ongoing help after you open — reviews, referrals, ads, weekly plan | Yes — every month | No (they sell tax & bookkeeping add-ons) | No |
| Pricing | $99/month flat, everything in, cancel anytime | $0 to form, then $100–$400/yr registered agent + upsells | Free (your time) |
| Files paperwork for you | No — you file on the official site (no filing-mill markup) | Yes, with a markup | You file |
Why the difference matters
More than half of small-business owners say their hardest problem is finding and keeping customers — and half of new businesses don't survive five years. Filing an LLC is the easy part. The formation services walk away right before the hard part and make their money on a renewal fee you forgot to cancel.
FirstBearing is built the other way around. Getting you set up is month one. Helping you get customers — with research on your real local competitors, a ranked plan, and a weekly review of what's working — is every month after. That's what the subscription is for.
When to use something else
We'd rather be honest than oversell. Use a formation service if you just want someone to file the LLC and you don't want ongoing help. Use SCORE or your local SBDC (both free) alongside us for a human second opinion. Use an attorney or CPA for anything with real legal or tax stakes — we'll tell you when that's the case.
$99/month. Cancel anytime. See everything included.