Business Entity Formation: What Are Your Options?

When you start a business, one of the most important decisions is what legal structure to choose for the company. The route you take will have an impact on the following:      How much tax you pay      The amount of paperwork the business needs to do      Your personal liability      Your ability to raise funds Here’s an overview of the most common types of business entities and how they differ from one Read More

Five Ways to Boost The Value of Your Business If You’re Planning to Sell (Or Even If You’re Not)

When you sell your business, you probably know that you need to get a certain price in order to realize your exit goals and finance future ones. But when the time comes to place the business on the market, many business owners discover that its value is less than they had hoped for. To avoid this type of disappointment, follow these five steps to increase the value of your business to today’s buyers before you list Read More

Real Estate Investors: Four Questions to Consider Before Making an Investment

If you are thinking about investing in the California real estate market, there are a number of factors which need to be considered. Below are four of the most important. Do you want to be an active or passive investor? When you purchase real estate property and manage it yourself, you’re playing an active role, and one that involves significant time and effort. Talk to other landlord-investors to get an idea of Read More

Start Strong: Five Legal Questions to Consider Before Launching Your Business

Starting a company can be an exciting experience. But before you get too far down the road, there are a number of legal questions and strategic decisions that should be considered. In this blog entry we highlight five such questions: Who owns the company and how is ownership determined? If you are not the sole owner, who are the other owners and what is their involvement? Do they have a high degree of business Read More

California Real Estate Investors: Four Tips to Secure Financing

An improving economy and low prices have inspired investors to dive back into the real estate market here in California. But financing is no longer quick and easy: there is a tighter credit market that can make it difficult to secure financing for investment property. As a prospective investor, securing financing is essential for your operation. Here are four tips which may increase your chance of Read More

Three Reasons Your Product Needs to be Protected by a Patent

Legally defined, a patent is a ‘negative right’. When the U.S. government grants a patent, it endows the holder with the exclusive right to prevent others from reproducing, using, or selling their invention. It’s a type of protection that allows inventors to place their product or idea in the market with a certain degree of assurance that someone else won’t try to steal it or pass it off as their own. There are Read More

Five Important Elements of an Employee Handbook

An employee handbook is a critical document. It not only advises employees of the company’s rules, policies, and expectations, but also protects the business against the risk of employee lawsuits and other, similar, complaints and claims. Just as companies change, so do federal, state, and local laws, so all employee handbooks should be regularly reviewed and revised to ensure that they are in keeping with the Read More

Stay Out of the Courtroom: Five Ways to Minimize the Risk of Employee Lawsuits

Every time a business owner hires or fires an employee, they face the possibility of a lawsuit. The newly hired employee may one day decide that the company owes them additional pay and benefits, or that discrimination played a role in a disciplinary proceeding. The employee who was let go may initiate a wrongful termination lawsuit. While there are no absolute guarantees that a business owner won’t spend time and Read More

Get Your NDA’s Right: Four Critical Elements of a Confidentiality Agreement

In today’s business climate, confidentiality agreements (otherwise known as nondisclosure agreements or NDA’s) are essential to remaining competitive. They are contracts whereby the signing parties agree to not reveal confidential, secret, or proprietary information. Should one of the parties to the agreement misappropriate the information defined as confidential, the owner of the information usually can request a Read More

Set Yourself Up for Success: Three Key Benefits of Organizing Your Business as a Corporation

There are a variety of legal structures available when you’re forming a business, but a corporation is one of the best for many businesses. A corporation gives your business flexibility while limiting your liability and providing protection for your personal assets. In this blog entry, we’re going to evaluate several key benefits of organizing your business as a corporation. Protection for personal assets. A Read More