7 Tips for Improving the Effectiveness of Your Annual Shareholder Meeting
Corporate officers and directors sometimes view the annual shareholder meeting as the bane of their existence. Indeed, because so many annual meetings are so poorly planned, they can be costly not only in terms of the resources expended, but in the amount of productive time lost. It, of course, need not be that way. With…
Don’t Allow Personal Relationships to Cloud Business Decisions
Friendship is priceless and makes life worth living, but business is business and should remain so, even in cases in which business dealings involve friends. Handshake agreements can be broken further down the line. When embarking on a business venture with partners, you need a contract, even if your business partners are your friends. Several…
Guarding Yourself against Employees’ Illegal Activity
No matter how well you screen your employees before hiring, it is impossible to predict with total accuracy or to control completely what their actions will be. Since many “middleman” positions have been eliminated in business, and employees have less supervision and more free reign in their actions. It is a sad fact of life…
Things to Know Before Selling Your Business
If you are selling your business, it is important to think like a buyer. If you were a buyer, would you be looking at revenue numbers, or profit? Would you buy a business that offered “potential,” or would you be looking for a business which was established and realizing that potential already? It is important…
Can the Government Lawfully Seize Business Property?
Being an owner of a successful business involves dealing with many obstacles along the way. Market conditions, employee loyalty or dishonesty, competition from similar businesses, taxes, operating expenses, and many other issues that arise can derail the advancement of a thriving business. As if these day-to-day burdens and challenges of running an enterprise are not…
Who Is Responsible for Protecting Shareholders’ Rights?
If you own stock in a corporation, it is important that you are educated about your rights as a shareholder. Even if you have ownership rights through an investment of capital in a corporation that is not publicly traded, questions can still arise about shareholder rights. One of the most significant of these questions is:…
Understanding the Differences: Employees and Independent Contractors
If you own a business, or are involved with personnel or human resource management, it is critical that you understand the difference between an independent contractor and an employee. For both tax and liability reasons, you must properly designate an individual as an employee or an independent contractor. Intentionally misclassifying an individual as an independent…
Eliminating Uncertainty During the Business Buying Process
If success is the ultimate goal when buying a business, then it must be understood that preparation and due diligence is critical to the outcome. Hastily-made agreements and decisions often doom businesses when a new owner takes control. Careful investigation of a business’ assets, liabilities, and history must be performed in order to maximize the…
How to Apply for – and Maintain – Your Business’ LLC Status
If you are in the process of incorporating a new limited liability corporation (“LLC”) or changing the designation of an existing business to an LLC, there are some legal issues you need to be aware of. Although there are many advantages in operating as an LLC, including the ability to avoid personal liability, being freed…