Most individuals would probably think that you need to be a huge company, such as Google or Yahoo, to entertain the idea of going public or do an IPO (Initial Public Offering). The truth is, any business, new or old, can become a public company since there are no minimum asset or revenue rules or regulations.

This is the big secret Wall Street experts reserved for themselves, until now that is. Just about one half of all publicly traded companies are reporting revenues around three million dollars and many of those are losing money; some are start-ups, but many are long-established businesses.

Foreign privately held or public companies can become a publicly traded business in the USA markets and they do not even have to become US corporations.

Being a public company can offer many benefits, to include: prestige, liquidity, and the possibility of using the stock as currency for growth and expansion.