A common thing I see from franchisees is that they include only the name of the franchisor in contracts as opposed to including the corporate or limited liability company name of THEIR franchisee business. Most of the time the names are different. For example, if I own a "Subway" franchise but my corporate name is "Rush Nigut Enterprises, Inc.", I
Wanted: One Woman. One Franchise
Joel Libava a/k/a The Franchise King is running a great contest for prospective women franchise owners. It’s called the ONE WOMAN. ONE FRANCHISE Contest. Joel is looking for one woman who is ready to make the commitment to be a franchise owner. He’s going to help that woman choose, research and buy a franchise.
Joel
Getting Your Business Funded in these Economic Times
In the past many new business owners funded their ventures through home equity lines of credit. But with the decrease in home values over the past few years, it’s been tougher for the start-up business owner to rely on home equity for funding. So what’s a new business owner to do?
An article from the Wall
Contract Law: What about Choice of Law Provisions?
I often review contracts for clients that are doing business with companies from out-of-state. Inevitably these contracts will have a choice of law provision that says the laws of [insert state] apply. Clients usually take it for granted that a court will apply the laws of the state referenced in the contract.
But a recent
Franchisor Financial Problems Dragging You Down?
I was quoted in this article from The Street entitled, "When The Parent Company Drags You Down". The article discusses the financial woes of some franchises including Quiznos and the impact on franchisees.
If your a franchisee caught in a system experiencing financial problems, my first piece of advice is to carefully review the terms of your
S Corporations and Setting a Reasonable Salary
Joe Kristan of the Tax Update Blog has a very interesting post on So What is the Right S Corporation Salary? The blog post discusses a recent 8th Circuit case where a West Des Moines accountant had to pay FICA taxes on about $91,000 of his earnings from his professional S corporation –rather than $24,000–
To LLC or Not LLC? That is the Question
I recently had a meeting with a startup company that has tremendous potential for growth. If the idea for the business is to take off, it’s likely they will need some capital injection along the way, especially if the owners want the growth they hope for in a short amount of time.
One question we discussed
Iowa Creativity Summit March 1st at Drake University
Lawyers are not immediately recognized as the most creative souls on the planet but some of the best lawyers I know definitely have the the creative spark. I have seen many who were classic doodlers, photographers and painters. Some of them were also the most creative in the courtroom and ultimately very successful in winning cases. That’s why I am
Employers: Are you Protecting Your Intellectual Property Rights?
Jason Shinn of the Michigan Employment Law Advisor had a great post entitled "Is your company making this mistake when it comes to employees and intellectual property?" The post centers on a lawsuit filed by an employee of Marvel Entertainment who claimed he created the Ghost Rider character back in the 1970s. With the recent success
Importance of Social Media Policies and Training
In this video I discuss the importance of social media policies and training for employees on social media issues. While researching a presentation on social media legal issues I was surprised to learn that only 40% of businesses have a social media policy. Even less conduct employee training on social media issues. To serve this