If you operate an online business or you are thinking of starting one I recommend you pick up a copy of Cyberlaw: A Legal Arsenal For your Online Business. Written by Iowa intellectual property attorney Brett Trout the book is new and updated with lots more content than his previous version. This book still has
Be Careful to Avoid “Reverse Discrimination”
Michael Moore of the Pennsylvania Employment Law Blog has an excellent post on the possibility of reverse discrimination when employers make decisions under the auspices of voluntary affirmative action plans, diversity programs, or even "risk management". Michael says:
I am surprised by how many companies will select non-minority employees for layoff in a reduction in
Central Iowa Entrepreneur Opportunities
There are two great opportunities for Central Iowa entrepreneurs tomorrow:
- IowaBiz Building Business Breakfast Series – Sponsored by Professional Solutions Insurance Services. Drew McLellan headlines the initial breakfast presentation from the IowaBiz authors. Drew will talk about the three marketing mistakes most businesses make. The presentation is at the Professionals Solutions offices at 14001University
Small Business Trends: Blawg Review #126
I encourage you to check out Blawg Review #126 written by Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends. Anita is a lawyer by training but an entrepreneur at heart. Her award winning Web site was the "Best of the Web" according to Forbes Magazine for small business blogs.
The lineup of small business experts on Anita’s
Learn From the Hawkeyes About Hiring a Business Lawyer
I have written about how to hire a business lawyer at times in the past. My first rule is that the lawyer should be experienced and competent in business law rather than choosing a personal injury, family law, criminal law or other lawyer. My analogy used to be that you would not want a plastic
Think Twice Before Deducting From Employee’s Last Paycheck
Charlie Longbrief, attorney at law, had just turned off his computer late on a Friday afternoon when the phone rang. It was Pete Geek who owned a local computer consulting service.
"Charlie, I’ve got a problem," Pete said.
"Tell me about it," Charlie said.
"Well, I had to fire one of my sales people earlier
Is Licensing a Viable Option Rather Than Franchising?
Congratulations to What’s For Dinner – Des Moines and its owners, Dawn Angus and Kristen Severs for their feature article in the Des Moines Business Record. The success of their meal assembly business has brought multiple inquiries from would be entrepreneurs who are wondering whether they offer franchises opportunities for their business. The thought of expanding beyond
Patriot Act Struck Down in Part
Iowa patent and intellectual property attorney Brett Trout posted yesterday on the recent ruling from a federal judge that struck down a key part of the Patriot Act. Brett refers to an article from the Associated Press.
It is important to note the judge immediately stayed his ruling so the government could appeal. I will follow
Employees v. Independent Contractors Drawing Interest
Thanks to Nina Kaufman for quoting my post "Employees v. Independent Contractors" on the Entrepreneur.com Blog Network. Nina’s blog on the network is "Making It Legal: The small business mentor’s guide to entrepreneurship and law." Her advice on the employee v. independent contractor issue is excellent:
This is not an area to
Information for Franchisees
In the never ending search for objective franchise information I discovered Blue MauMau. The site is a franchisee community designed to share insight, comments and stories about buying and running a franchise.
A few of recent blog entries worth reading are: