Whether it’s your very first or your fifth company, if you’re looking to start a new business venture, you have two options: 1) build your own from scratch or 2) buy an existing one. And while many entrepreneurs dream of building their own company from the ground up, the reality is, launching a brand-new business can be incredibly difficult. Building a business from scratch can involve years of working long hours Read More

As more and more businesses take advantage of the benefits of using independent contractors (ICs) in lieu of full-time employees, the line between worker classification can get easily blurred. While understanding the difference between the two can be quite complex, getting it right can be one of the most important business decisions you’ll ever make. This is true not only in terms of productivity and your bottom Read More

The statistics on transferring ownership interests of family-run businesses suggest that it’s quite difficult for a company to survive the second generation. In almost every case, the lack of a strong business succession plan is the culprit.  Business succession planning is the internal and external procedures for passing on one’s business to the next owners. For family-run businesses, this often involves the Read More

Whether it’s with an employee, client, vendor, or a business partner, going to court to resolve a dispute is something you want to avoid at all costs, since even if you wind up winning your case, getting caught in the court process is time consuming, expensive, and almost never good for your company’s reputation. To this end, the next time you find yourself in a dispute, you might consider attempting to resolve the Read More

Just about every contract involving one party providing services, selling goods or products, or acting on behalf of another party contains some version of an indemnification clause. To indemnify someone or some entity means you will cover their legal expenses if the underlying contract is breached in some way, or they are sued. Essentially, the indemnifying party acts on behalf of the indemnified party in certain Read More

Employers that match 401(k) contributions by employees often have an easier time hiring and retaining key talent. Entrepreneurs with controlling or significant ownership interests in more than one company or trade might have a difficult time keeping track of the 401(k) plan for each business. If, however, the associated companies pass one of four complex ownership tests, the owner(s) may offer all employees the same Read More

Taking your clients out to dinner or to a sporting event can be a great way to get to know the people with whom you are doing business and help you develop a closer relationship. Plus, business-related meals and entertainment can be a legitimate business expense (with some exceptions) that you can deduct from your company’s income taxes.  That said, the rules for deducting meal and entertainment expenses from your Read More

One of the most exciting parts of owning a business is that you get to pay yourself. No longer forced to rely on someone else’s leadership to keep your company running or their good graces to pay you what you want or need, you get to decide how much you earn, how much you work, and reap the rewards of your best efforts. And yet, many business owners don’t pay themselves, or rely on inconsistent income, to support Read More