Doug Mitchell interviews Steve Reese who is the owner of Fitness Together franchise in Clive, Iowa in his first podcast of the Iowa Small Business Zone.  Listen and you will find that Steve is an enthusiastic proponent of franchising.   I was also impressed with Steve’s impression of the potential benefits of blogging from someone who is new to the medium.  He views it as a way to improve communication with existing clients first and foremost. 

Steve’s key in choosing a franchise?  Make sure the franchise has a proven track record.

Doug is a natural in the interview process.  I look forward to more podcasts in the Iowa Small Business Zone.

For some reason I am not having any success at getting people to comment on a couple of issues:  here and here.

But I am receiving a number of requests recently for information on specific subjects.  It’s actually fun and gratifying to receive email from readers who say they have been following the blog and want to know what I think about . . .

Today, it’s this question.  Does Iowa allow single member LLCs?

Answer:  Yes. 

How’s that for direct and to the point.  See my post on LLC formation in Iowa for more information.

I also intend to get to a couple of other requests in the near future.

It’s tough to hire good employees these days.  I am not familar with the company but I loved this video from Success With People.  They have an intriguing low-cost mentoring program for hiring better people and engaging them in your business. 

The Pennsylvania Employment Law Blog also has a helpful post The Interviewing and Hiring Process.  The five keys every business owner should think about when it comes to interviewing and hiring according to Michael Moore:

  1. Uniformity of Process;
  2. Documentation;
  3. Prohibited Questions;
  4. Applicant Communication;
  5. Training.

The Ohio Practicial Business Law Counsel blog started up this past month and has some informative posts.  Of particular interest is a post on Dealing with a Customer’s Bankruptcy. 

It’s great to see business law blogs focused on clients.  Good luck to Teri Rasmussen in her new endeavor and thanks for the link to Rush on Business.

Recently I posted about how the identity of anonymous bloggers may be revealed in situations where the anonymous blogger has engaged in defamation. 

My friend, Michael Libbie, thinks its wrong to duck responsibility in publishing.  I could not agree more.  As I stated in my previous post: 

If you are a modern day Lone Ranger or Zorro, you should not have the expectation that your anonymity gives you the right to say anything you wish about other people and organizations. 

However, last night I came across a new political blog here in Metro Des Moines called intothevortex.net.  I thought the blog posts were well-written and insightful.  Not knowing the author I checked the About Section of the blog and found the following explanation:

We are a multitude speaking as one through a single pseudonym. We must because too often personalities interfere with the real issues and serious debate. We refer to The Federalist Papers in support of the value of anonymity. We care about our community, our schools, who leads us and how they spend our tax dollars. We believe in the future, good government and the Boston Red Sox.

While I hate the Red Sox (but ironically love the Celtics), it is true that the tradition of anonymous speech is older than the United States. Founders Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay wrote the Federalist Papers under the pseudonym "Publius," and "the Federal Farmer". The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized rights to speak anonymously derived from the First Amendment.  The Electronic Frontier Foundation quotes the decision in McIntyre v. Ohio Elections Commission which reads:

Protections for anonymous speech are vital to democratic discourse. Allowing dissenters to shield their identities frees them to express critical, minority views . . . Anonymity is a shield from the tyranny of the majority. . . . It thus exemplifies the purpose behind the Bill of Rights, and of the First Amendment in particular: to protect unpopular individuals from retaliation . . . at the hand of an intolerant society.

That is a very strong argument in favor of anonymity, particularly on the Internet.  But while I agree with the principles of our Founders, unfortunately anonymity is taken too far in many instances.  For example, The Des Moines Register blogs are rife with people who will say anything when they are not required to accept responsibility for their words. 

Does this mean I disagree with the right to maintain an anonymous blog?  Well, one of the reasons I started blogging was because of the Anonymous Lawyer Blog later revealed to have been written by Jeremy Blachman.  His blog helped me understand the power of blogs and the Internet for lawyers.  An anonymous blog – done responsibly.

In the end, whether anonymous or not, let’s all remember to blog responsibly.  Please. 

The Rush on Business show is going on the road this next week.  On Monday, November 5, I’ll be speaking in an Entrepreneur Workshop at Iowa State University.  The Human Computer Interaction (HCI) Graduate Program at ISU received funding to teach the Entrepreneurship Workshop, which is a one-credit, hands-on workshop for students interested in entrepreneurial activities with particular emphasis on commercializing a technology and/or starting a company. 

My talk will focus on Avoiding the Top Ten Legal Surprises that Wreak Havoc in New Tech Companies. 

FYI:  A National Science Foundation Report has just named Iowa State University as a technology licensing powerhouse.

The report noted that the Iowa State University Research Foundation executed 218 licenses in the year ending June 30, 2005. That was second in the country behind the University of California system.

"This is a tremendous accomplishment considering the University of California system has about $3 billion in research expenditures compared to ISU’s $210 million," the case study said.

The study also noted Iowa State’s total of 745 active licenses ranks sixth in the country. And the five start-up companies Iowa State launched in fiscal year 2005 ranked 22nd nationally.

 

 

I ran across this informative article on whether you should hire a franchise broker to purchase a franchise via the Indiana Civil & Business Lawyer Blog. 

The article discusses how the Internet has changed the way people find a franchise.  With all the information available on the Internet it has produced "information overload" for prospective franchisees.  The Internet has paved the way for trusted intermediaries to sort through the morass.

The controversy is whether franchise brokers are trusted intermediaries.  As mentioned in the article it is important to remember that the franchise broker is not necessarily independent.  The brokers are paid a fee typically only if the sale is successful and brokers themselves usually do not represent all franchise opportunities.  Varying fees among franchises may encourage a broker to steer a prospective franchisee to one opportunity over another.

Other the other hand, I have had the good fortune to work with franchise brokers like Joe Cooney who are professionals and attempt to give objective information to prospective franchisees.  Professional franchise brokers will encourage you to conduct appropriate due diligence.  Professional franchise brokers will put your interests above their own.  Their long-term livelihood depends on that.  Not the one time sale. 

But nonetheless do your homework just like you would for any professional whether it be a business lawyer, accountant, real estate agent, financial representative, business broker, etc. 

The Lance Armstrong Foundation has sued an Oklahoma pet collar manufacturer for trademark infringement over the use of its Barkstrong and Purrstrong animal collars.  The pet collars are sold by Animal Charity Collar Group, a Tulsa for-profit operation that sells its tic and flea collar for $6.99, while a "support collar" costs $4.99. The Oklahoma company allegedly began distributing the collars after a July 2005 marketing pitch to Armstrong foundation officials was rejected outright.

It will be interesting to see how this turns out but I can’t help but notice that just about every "dog" and his brother are wearing wristbands that mimick the Livestrong wrist bands.  Why get so hot over the collar?

Maybe Iowa intellectual property attorney Brett Trout could weigh in on this issue for us.

Charlie Longbrief picked up the phone on a Friday afternoon.  He was accustomed to these late Friday afternoon calls.   People with problems always seemed to call at this time because they need peace of mind over the weekend.  It was his friend Joe Smith who worked as sales manager for Shake, Rattle & Roll, Inc. a local baby toy manufacturer. 

"Charlie I need help.  I have just been fired from my job," said Joe.

"Tell me about it," replied Charlie.

"Well, I didn’t like working there anyway and I was looking for another job.  I think I found one with a competitor but unfortunately my employer caught wind of it and they fired me.  I have a non-compete but of course they can’t enforce that against me because I was fired, right?" asked Joe.

"Unfortunately Joe that is not always the case.  In Iowa, non-competes may be enforced even in situations where the employee has been fired.  It may be a factor to consider but the fact you were fired rather than quit does not necessarily invalidate the non-compete," Charlie said.

Joe shot back, "But I was told by my cousin Frank that works down at the loading dock that one of his friends said they couldn’t uphold a non-compete against me if I was fired."

"I know that is a common belief but I am sorry to inform you that is not always the case.  It always depends on the circumstances of the particular case.  Every case is different but just because you are fired does not mean they can’t enforce the non-compete," said Charlie with a little more emphasis this time.   

Charlie continued, "As you know I mostly represent businesses and I recently wrote an article on Protecting Your Iowa Business With a Non-Compete.  Why don’t you take a look at it.   It outlines some of the key issues in determining whether a non-compete is valid in Iowa.  From an employee perspective it is never a bad idea to look at the situation from the employer’s perspective and vise versa.  Read the article and then let’s talk."

"Thanks, Charlie.  Not what I wanted to hear but at least I have a better idea of where I stand.  I’ll give you a call back Monday," said Joe.