Partnership agreements (also known as Buy-Sell Agreements) are like prenuptial agreements for people that are in business together. The formation of any business with multiple owners should include a buy-sell agreement. Why? Because reality dictates that it is not a matter of IF your partnership will end, but rather WHEN your partnership
Business Law
Asset Protection Does Not Need to Be Sophisticated
You’ve worked hard to build a successful business and have built up some significant personal assets. You were smart enough to sell stocks before the recent stock market downturn so you have a fair amount of cash built up. You own a few pieces of real estate. One night your 18 year old son is…
Raising Venture Capital: Presentation at BIZ
There has been considerable interest in raising venture capital among several entrepreneurs in the Des Moines area recently. For those looking to raise capital you won’t want to miss an upcoming event sponsored by BIZ.
Matt Kinley, senior vice president of Pappajohn Capital Resources and Equity Dynamics, will be the BIZ guest and speaker at…
The Franchise King: How to Research a Franchise
One of my favorite franchise related bloggers is Joel Libava who is affectionately known as The Franchise King. He has more franchise related blogs than possibly anyone on earth. He also has written an informative book on the steps needed to effectively research franchise opportunities.
Libava is quoted in a recent Entrepreneur article on How…
More on Twitter and the Workplace
Read my post on IowaBiz for More on Twitter in the Workplace. Twitter is a micro-blogging application that is quickly becoming the new "thing" for business networking and marketing. Chances are you may already have an employee in your business on Twitter. Don’t get left in the dark.
Don’t believe it’s a big deal?
2009 Iowa LLC Law Changes: Real Estate Transfers
My partner Pat Burk weighs in with a blog post on the new Iowa LLC law and real estate transfers. It’s a great blog post because LLCs have long been the entity of choice for real estate ownership. The post includes a discussion on statements of authority and title examination.
Pat distinguishes nicely my…
Is Buying a Fitness Franchise a Solid Investment?
The Des Moines Register has an interesting article on the fitness business market in Des Moines. Included in the article is a discussion on the growing number of 24/7 franchises in Des Moines. So, it begs the question, "Is buying a fitness franchise a solid investment in this market?"
I have represented a number of franchisees in the fitness industry.
State of Iowa to Step Up Contractor Misclassification Efforts
The State of Iowa recently announced that it intends to step up efforts to enforce independent contractor misclassification. It is anticipated these enforcement efforts could bring in millions to the state coffers.
For more information on this topic please see my recent post on IowaBiz and another post from August of 2007 warning about independent…
Research Franchise Opportunities Carefully
With the recent economic downturn, layoffs have begun to occur. A potential option for many former corporate employees is franchise ownership. While franchising does offer many advantages it is critical to approach a franchise opportunity just as you should any other business opportunity – with caution.
It is a misnomer that franchises are more likely…
2009 Iowa LLC Law Changes: A Key Management Provision
This blog post is the fourth in a series of blog posts highlighting changes in the 2009 Iowa Limited Liability Company Act. The new law applies to all LLCs filed in Iowa after January 1, 2009. The new LLC law will apply to older LLCs beginning on January 1, 2011 unless otherwise agreed by the…