In previous blog posts we talked about some aspects of business succession planning, most recently how to proceed when a single owner of a company has a disability. In this post, we will focus on how a business owner can prepare for future risks by...
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#mattthelawyer, Intellectual Property / 04.09.2019
What You Need to Know about the Trademark Application Process
Many small and creative businesses are interested in trademarking their business name or logo. While it may seem like a daunting task and does take some time (approximately six months without any bumps in the road), registering a trademark is something that can be done...
#mattthelawyer, Intellectual Property / 02.09.2019
How Not to Violate Copyright Laws on your Website
Talk to any marketing professional and they will tell you that your business needs a website (advice that I concur with). But what is the primary risk of a website? False advertising? Nope. Misspellings and other typos? Unfortunate, but not a major risk. Poor domain name selection? Not even...
#mattthelawyer, Business Development, Small Business Advice / 28.08.2019
Business Succession Planning: Disability Plans
In this post about business succession planning, we are going to talk about matters to consider in the event of a disability to the business owner. I typically approach the topic of disability by asking whether the owner is going to be disabled for two months...
#mattthelawyer, Business Development, Small Business Advice / 26.08.2019
Business Succession Planning: Frequently Asked Questions
Any discussion of business succession planning has to start with the overall structure of the plan. First things first, you need to remember that this document is flexible and can be changed at any time. A business succession plan is not a document that is...
#mattthelawyer, Business Development, Small Business Advice / 23.08.2019
Business Succession Planning: An Overview
This is the first in a series of posts that will be discussing business succession planning. Something that small business owners should be considering is what happens in the unlikely scenario of a long-term disability or death of the business owner? Business succession planning is...
#mattthelawyer, Business Development, Small Business Advice / 19.08.2019
How to Build a Management Team
On a daily basis, any small business owner has to think about finances, legality, relationships, insurance, customers, vendors, suppliers. It is almost impossible for one person to be able to manage all of those aspects all of the time. But a business doesn’t have to...
#mattthelawyer, Business Development, Small Business Advice / 14.08.2019
Who Should Be on Your Management Team
Often when I’m advising small business owners I tell them that they need to assemble a Management Team. After telling me they can’t afford a management team, many of my clients ask: What does a management team look like? Who would be involved in that...
#mattthelawyer, Contracts / 12.08.2019
Write a “Plain English” Contract
As a small business lawyer, I am often asked, “Do you write plain English contracts?” If I am feeling particularly snarky and I know the person well enough to be snarky, I might shoot back with “well, I don’t write contracts in Spanish, Latin, or...