Business Owners

People often ask me how they go after someone who owes them money.  There seems to be a misconception that if you sue someone who owes you money, the lawsuit can be wrapped up within the span of an hourlong TV show and you magically get all your money and your attorney's fees back in a giant check delivered to your house with flowers and ballo...

[Read the rest of this article...]

I recently met with a client who had formed a Wyoming LLC because it appeared that he would save a few bucks on fees.   He lives and works in Nevada and has no other connection to Wyoming other than the LLC he formed.  I asked him if he was aware of and complying with the law (NRS 86.543) that requires him to register in Nevada as a forei...

[Read the rest of this article...]

Recently, I made a pretty compelling argument for maintaining a corporate book, if I do say so myself.  Now that you're convinced, what types of records should be included?  Generally speaking, you should include records of corporate meetings of members or shareholders, action taken without holding a meeting first, and approvals of common...

[Read the rest of this article...]

When you form an LLC or a corporation with a commercial formation company, you'll usually receive as part of the package a fancy-looking fake leather binder, sometimes with a heavy metal document sealer thingy.  Often, this binder sits on your shelf, gathering dust, doing you and your company absolutely no good.  There are many reasons to...

[Read the rest of this article...]

I'm super serious this time. Lately I've heard from a number of business owners whose partners have stopped contributing to the business, financially or otherwise, and the business owner calling me simply wants out.  Of course, it's rarely simple. A few callers are lucky in that the company has not yet transacted any business and therefore n...

[Read the rest of this article...]

The IRS website, expansive and intimidating as it is, has a handy page for small business owners where tax advice and forms are organized according to industry. Who knew? Agriculture Tax Center Links to agriculture-related topics such as tax tips, financial resources, trends and statistics, forms, and more.  Audit Techniques Guides (ATGs...

[Read the rest of this article...]

One of my clients has been struggling to pay his $13,000/month lease.  During a phone call about a year ago, his landlord told him, simply, "pay what you can."  At that time my client began paying about $6,000 a month while begging the landlord to move him to a smaller space within the same complex.  Though the landlord never moved h...

[Read the rest of this article...]

A potential client called me.  We'll call her Helen.  Over the last ten years, Helen's partner "Jane" had perfected this FABULOUS idea that would make them both rich.  Six months ago, Helen quit her lucrative job and had since worked full-time assembling Jane's scraps of papers and mental notes into a formal proposal they could shop ...

[Read the rest of this article...]