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The Business Advisor Business Articles

All articles are written by Mary Hanson, MBA, Attorney at Law. Information provided may or may not apply to particular facts or to the law of a jurisdiction other than California. The articles are not intended as legal advice and should not be used as such.

      Structuring a business:

• Starting a New Business.

• The Pros and Cons of Incorporation.

• Steps in Incorporation: What needs to be done to properly set up a corporation.

• Partnership: Points and Considerations.

• Partnership: The Pros and Cons.

• Partnership: Reasons to Avoid Using Partnerships.

• The Limited Liability Company.

• Why Creating a Limited Liability Company Takes Time and Effort.

• Structuring a Limited Liability Company.

• Why the Limited Liability Company is Used for Real Estate and the Corporation is Used for Business.

• Limited Liability Companies and S Corporations.

• Investing in Someone Else’s Business: The12 Basic Rules.

• Co-Ownership: Reasons to not go into business with others.

• The Challenges of Co-Ownership.

• Addressing Business Risk.

• Insurance and Liability.

      Corporate matters:

• Checklists for your Corporation.

• Co-Ownership: Reasons to not go into business with others.

• Corporate Minutes: Rules to help you keep your own minutes.

• Corporate Records: Keeping Up Your Annual Meeting Minutes.

• The Pros and Cons of Incorporation.

• S Corporations: What you need to know about electing S corporation status.

• Personal Liability: Piercing the corporate veil.

• Your Corporation and Corporate Stock.

• The Minority Shareholder: What a shareholder can do.

• Stock for Employees: Not as attractive as it may seem.

• Entities: Who has authority to sign?

• Corporate Names, Trade Names, Trademarks, and Fictitious Names.

• Dissolutions of Entities.

    Contracts:

• Drafting Contracts: The pros and cons of doing it yourself.

• Contract Checklist: Make sure these issues are covered.

• Business Leases: What the business owner needs to know.

• Nondisclosure Agreements: Protect your business information.

• Noncompetition Agreements and Proprietary Information.

• Noncompetition Agreements: When are they enforceable?

• Shareholder Agreements: What shareholders should have in writing.

• Entities: Who has authority to sign?

• Corporate Names, Trade Names, Trademarks, and Fictitious Names.

      Changes of ownership:

• Buying a Business: Buyer beware!

• Checklist for Buying a Business.

• Checklist for Selling a Business.

• Selling a Business: Be prepared.

• Selling a Business: The sale of assets.

• Checklist for Selling a Business.

• Preparation for Buying or Selling a Business.

• Buying Out Your Co-Owner.

• Getting Bought Out.

     Business planning:

• Business Planning in Difficult Times: Brainstorming your business.

• The Importance of Financial Management in Difficult Times.

• Making Decisions in Tough Times.

• Dos and Don'ts for Tough Times.

• Ten Basic Rules of Economics.

• 13 Reasons Not to Have your Own Business.

• The Challenges of Co-Ownership.

• Addressing Business Risk.

• Insurance and Liability.

• Why you learn more from failure than from success.

• Closing a Business.

• Exit Strategies for Business Owners.

• Your Ultimate Exit: Will Your Business Survive Your Death?

• The Importance of Added Value.

• Going Beyond Being a Mom and Pop Business.

• Protecting Intangible Business Assets: Protect your name, customer information and other intangibles.

• Why the Limited Liability Company is Used for Real Estate and the Corporation is Used for Business.