Your trusted source for Iowa business and franchise law insights.
Your trusted source for Iowa business and franchise law insights.
Prospective franchisees should read a new book from The Franchise King, Joel Libava, called Become a Franchise Owner: The Startup-Guide to Lowering Risk, Making Money, and Owning What You Do.
I don’t make that recommendation lightly. But Joel and I share a common passion. We are both passionate about making sure that franchisees…
Over the last 5 years that I have been writing this blog, there haven’t been many Iowa business lawyers who write a blog on a regular basis. But when I was looking at Mike Colwell’s Startup Models site, I noticed a new blog from business lawyer Chris Sackett of Brown Winick called BizB4Law.
Chris wrote…
As I said in my previous post on LLCs, the limited liability company (LLC) has become the entity of choice for the majority of new business owners. In Iowa, there are approximately twice as many filings for LLCs each year than there are for corporations. But I still have a special place in my heart for the good…
Over the last several years, the limited liability company (LLC) has become the entity of choice for the majority of new business owners. In Iowa, there are approximately twice as many filings for the LLC each year than there are for corporations. People tend to like the flexibility afforded by the LLC. With an LLC, you receive the limited liability protection…
A business owner needs to raise money. He comes up with an idea to "sell" a portion of his equtiy in the business. A prospective investor listens to the business owner’s pitch and likes the idea. He decides to invest nearly $20,000 in the business in exchange for ownership. The problem? Nothing is in writing, yet the…
Lately we’ve heard from a number of business owners that are interested in franchising their businesses. It’s always exciting to talk with entrepreneurs who are enthusiastic about their business models. Franchising is an attractive option for many.
But there are lots of things to consider before you move down the path of franchising your business. First, you’ll…
One of the things I love the most is providing proactive educational workshops to companies and other organizations. Due to the ever-growing interest in the topic, I am pleased to announce that I am now offering a new legal training workshop for businesses, large and small, regarding social media. A custom workshop will be designed for your business to cover the following topics:
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Steve Sink has a post on IowaBiz entitled Using an appraiser to value the business. It’s a worthwhile read.
Steve brings up a good point that many buy/sell agreements are silent on the qualifications of appraisers. He writes that the qualifications of appraisal firms should be specified based on their size, the scope of their…
I advise business owners to seek the advice of an accountant when they are forming a corporation – particuarly if they have multiple businesses. A recent post from accountant Joe Kristan on IowaBiz shows why as a Michigan couple ended up with a $16 million problem in Tax Court.
As the saying goes, "An ounce…
With emerging companies I am often asked about equity and stock options for employees. That process is often complicated and costly. Usually the reason I hear favoring the equity / options approach is that employers want their employees to "feel like they are a part of something." An admirable goal ineed but are equity /options necessary to…