Many advertisements from document filing companies on the Internet tout the benefits of forming a corporation. The first benefit typically mentioned is that a corporation provides"limited liability" or "asset protection". Many of these companies would have you believe that if you form your own company for $99.00 you can magically protect your assets from
Young Iowa Entrepreneurs Turn $40 into Success
I love stories like the one I saw in the Des Moines Register this morning.
Check out this story about two young Iowa entrepreneurs who turned $40 into business success.
ABA Franchise Forum Chair Speaks on the State of Franchise Law
I had the opportunity to attend the Forum on Franchising in Baltimore this past month. The Forum Chair, Joseph Fittante, was recently interviewed by BlueMauMau on the state of franchise law which I thought was important to share.
Fittante commented that he is seeing more high stakes litigation. In his experience the number of litigation cases are decreasing but
Trust but Get It In Writing
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
More on Franchising Your Business
The last post touched on Franchising Your Business. To continue learning more about factors to consider in franchising your business, I highly recommend this post on the New York Franchise Law Blog called Franchising Your Business: What You Can Learn from Existing Franchisors.
One of the most important points from the post is the
Franchising Your Business
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
Annual Franchise Developments 2011: Iowa’s KFC Decision Most Significant
This past week I attended the ABA Franchise Forum in Baltimore for the fifth year in a row. One of the traditions of the Forum is the annual presentation on Franchise and Distribution Law Developments. This year, Lee Plave and Stuart Hershman delivered an excellent presentation during which Iowa took center stage with the KFC decision discussed
U.S. Supreme Court Refuses to Hear KFC Appeal of Iowa Taxes
On December 30, 2010, the Iowa Supreme Court ruled that a foreign corporation could be taxed on revenues received from the state of Iowa even though the company had no physical presence within the state of Iowa but rather received royalty revenues resulting from intangible property (i.e. the use of trademarks and licenses to franchisees) within
Social Media Legal Policies & Training Workshops
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:
- Overview of Social Media,
Is Your Franchise Territory Really Exclusive?
Franchisees generally want an exclusive territory that is protected from encroachment by other franchisees or the franchisor’s company owned stores. Unfortunately franchisees are often under the mistaken belief they have an "exclusive territory" when they really don’t.
You must consider whether the franchisor has reserved rights that could cause encroachment or competition from the franchisor, other