Rob:
What you will have to do in order to start the business will depend on your location. In Colorado, at least, and I believe throughout the US, you don't need to do anything to start a business. There's an entity called a "Sole Proprietership" which basically means you're running the business as yourself. So you give it a name, like "Rob's Web Articles" and you can deduct business expenses (which I cannot name offhand, contact a qualified CPA) and whatever. This is by far the easiest way to go, especially if it's something you're just thinking about or want to try. Once you've got it going and are sure you wish to continue, then you can look at creating a C-corp, S-corp, LLC or whatever to buy out the business. ($50 and an hour on the website for the secretary of state.)
Outside the US, I have no idea.
To pay the writers, you just call them "independant contractors" instead of "employees" -- that makes it their job to pay taxes, calculate witholdings, etc. (Also, it means you can pay them article-by-article, instead of by the hour.) Keep a spreadsheet or something that shows how much you paid each writer, so that in January you can send them a little sheet that says what articles they wrote, how much you paid for them, and how much you paid total for the year. Then just write them checks. Make sure you get a reciept for anything over $75 if you want to deduct it.
Again, that was all US law, and I can't speak to anyone else's.
Good luck,
Amanda
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