Your trusted source for Iowa business and franchise law insights.
Your trusted source for Iowa business and franchise law insights.
I read an interesting article from Entrepreneur Magazine entitled Back to Civilian Life, Veterans Try Franchises. The article discusses how a former fighter pilot purchased a franchise after retiring from the U.S. Air Force.
A couple of months ago I spoke at the Iowa Veterans Career Retreat. Many of those in attendance were looking…
Over the years I’ve noticed that very few businesses actually plan for selling or passing on their business to employees or family. It’s one of the most important things any business owner can do.
I’ve teamed up with business coach Monte Wyatt to provide a free seminar to business owners on business succession planning. The…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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–…
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…
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…
In this video I discuss a red flag I’ve seen come up in franchise agreement negotiation. Sometimes a franchisor will tell a prospective franchisee that they can’t (or won’t) change the franchise agreement. That’s just fine but my problem comes when they say, "Don’t worry though, we won’t hold you to that provision." That is…