Management

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...

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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...

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When I hung out my shingle, I did it with little guidance.  I'd taken a Law Practice Management class in school from a guy who hadn't been a solo or small firm practitioner for decades and read two books.  I made more than a few mistakes and would love to save you the error part of the "trial and error."   I did this presentation fo...

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If you have a toothache, you're probably not going to go see your dermatologist.  If you have back pain, a dentist probably isn't the person to see.  It's the same thing with professionals involved in your business. I recently met with a business owner who poised to take drastic and destructive steps - dissolving his protective enti...

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When you form an LLC in Nevada, you're asked whether the entity will be Member-Managed or Manager-Managed.  The owners of the LLC are called "members."  As owners, members have broad discretion to run the company any way they see fit, restricted only by terms outlined in an operating agreement.  For Member-Managed LLCs with no opera...

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  Whenever I sign a new monthly retainer client, I conduct what I call a "legal checkup" on the business.  I review the company's formation documents, licensing, employee or contractor agreements, lease agreements, service agreements, customer contracts, etc. to find improvements I can make to better protect the company and its owne...

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Are you working for or with a company that has promised you ownership or profit sharing?  Do you have this promise in writing?   I recently met with an intelligent go-getter who was a bit naive about business.  Two years ago he began doing business development for a local company.  The owners of the company had promised to rewa...

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Who is going to break a tie when you and your business partner don't agree on something?  Sure, in the beginning business partners never argue, they never disagree and they certainly wouldn't let the business suffer because of a little spat...  It's when the business starts making (or losing) money that business partners often find themse...

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