I am pleased to announce that I now have a Rush on Business You Tube Channel where I’ll post short videos on various aspects of business and franchise law. I have a few videos posted so far and I’ll add content weekly.

New videos include:

Should You Include Your Spouse When Forming a Small Business LLC?

The Iowa Startup Fair takes place on January 31, 2012 from 3 to 6 PM in various locations around downtown Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Cedar Falls and Pella. More than 80 companies will be exhibiting throughout the state.

There are more than 50 businesses exhibiting at the Des Moines locations. Those locations are the StartupCity Des Moines offices

Do you know the difference between sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies? Do you know whether to set up an S corporation or is a C corporation better for you? Are limited liability companies really all that and a bag of chips?

Be sure to join me for an information-packed webinar through MyEntre.Net on

A new organization called Above the Line America is hosting a Business Growth Summit in Ankeny, Iowa on January 31, 2012 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The Summit is located at the FFA Enrichment Center, 1055 SW Prairie Trail Parkway in Ankeny.

The day should be a great one. Business owners and professionals will get an opportunity to

The first ever Iowa Startup Fair is taking place on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 from 3 to 6 pm. During the fair, new businesses will set up informational tables to showcase thier projects for an audience of business, investment, civic and other community members.

In Des Moines, the Startup Fair locations will be at the

Iowa entrepreneurs have an opportunity to connect with potential investors at the i2Iowa Investors and Innovators Forum on April 12, 2012 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium. Business owners and entrepreneurs can pitch their businesses to investors from four tracks which include:

  1. Life and Bio Sciences
  2. Information Technology
  3. Advanced Manufacturing
  4. General Business

Companies can apply online through

I saw an interesting post from franchise attorney Michael Webster on the BlueMauMau site on Negotiating Your Franchisee Rights. Some of his helpful nuggets:

  1. Review the FDD to see if they are using franchise brokers – you may be able to knock something off the franchise fee by asking for the broker’s rebate.
  2. Budget for professional advice. Hire

I was researching some issues for an LLC operating agreement and ran across an excellent post from the Wisconsin Business Law Blog on the fact that capital calls are often overlooked by LLC investors. Attorney Todd Goodwin provided the following example,

[i]f a "capital call" provision exists and is exercised by the majority members or

Franchise Times recently published its Top 200 systems issue in a story by Jonathan Maze. The big takeaway for me is that franchising is on an upswing after experiencing no growth during much of the recent recession. But franchising has returned as a bright spot in the economy according to the article.

Restaurants appear to be the big

Prospective franchisees should read a new book from The Franchise King, Joel Libava, called Become a Franchise Owner: The Startup-Guide to Lowering Risk, Making Money, and Owning What You Do.

I don’t make that recommendation lightly. But Joel and I share a common passion. We are both passionate about making sure that franchisees