by eclewis | May 31, 2011 | Business News, IP Law, Misc. Legal Tidbits, Online/Social Media Law
There are multiple events coming up this month that me, your Denver business lawyer, will be at that may be of interest to you:
June 4, I will be at the UnJob Fair at Colorado Free University. I will be presenting on legal issues for small business owners as part of this information-packed day.
June 7, I will be presenting my first Brown Bag for the Denver Small Business Development Center on online liability issues for small businesses.
June 11, I will be presenting on online liability issues when blogging for B4W4.
June 15, I will be presenting employment law issues at Front Range Community College.
June 17, I will be the featured speaker at the Social Media Meetup.
For more information about any of the above, or if you need help with your small business, please email me, your Denver business attorney, at elizabeth.lewis at eclewis.com!
by eclewis | May 16, 2011 | Business News, Online/Social Media Law
In an interesting case, a small business owner has been found guilty of sending threatening communications, mail fraud, and wire fraud. Digital Life is reporting that Vitaly Borker pleaded guilty to harassing customers in email, including threatening to come to their houses to assault them if they complained about his business. In an interesting side note, Digital Life also says that when customers complained on other sites, it drove Borker’s website higher in the Google rankings. However, that is probably little consolation now that he is facing six years in prison.
The lesson from this case – be careful what you say in emails to your customers! If you have questions about making sure you are legally okay online, contact your Denver business attorney today at 720-258-6647!
by eclewis | May 5, 2011 | Business News
In an interesting story from the Denver Post, a Colorado medical marijuana company has made the headlines not for selling marijuana, but for selling interest in the company on Craiglist. Colorado Wellness Providers, LLC has been sent a cease and desist order for selling “unregistered securities”. The company was attempting to raise $50,000.00 in funds to finish a project and offered “excellent returns on a short term investment” in the Craiglist ad. While the type of company that was involved (an MMJ business) helped get the story into the news, it is a lesson for all small business owners to consult an attorney prior to trying to sell their business to ensure that they don’t end up in the cross hairs of the Colorado Securities Commission. For more information on selling your Colorado business, call your Colorado business attorney today at 720-258-6647!
by eclewis | Apr 25, 2011 | Business News
This week Colorado celebrates Money Smart Week. The goal of the week is to help adults, business owners, and even children learn how to be better about their money. As many of my readers know, I am going to be presenting to Mommy Meeting tonight on the five biggest mistakes women in business make. Coincidentally, one of the biggest mistakes I see women (and for that matter men) make is not planning financially for starting a business, running their business, and then for after they no longer have their business.
So how do you plan financially? When you start a business, make sure you have money to pay for the start-up costs and run the business for several months without a profit (best would be for one year with no profit). When you are running your business, save extra funds when you have a good month for unexpected costs or down months. To help plan for your future, start saving for retirement even if it is only $100.00 a month. And prior to saving that money, speak with your accountant and financial planner to make sure that you take advantage of the special retirement accounts for business owners.
For more information about events going on this week to help you learn about money, visit http://www.moneysmartcolorado.com. If you need help with your business, call me, your Denver Small business attorney, at 720-258-6647!
by eclewis | Apr 18, 2011 | Business News
But wait, it is April 18th, not April 15th? So what is up with that? Well, Tax Day typically falls on April 15th unless there is a federal holiday or the 15th is on the weekend. This year, Washington DC celebrated Emancipation Day on April 15th. Because of this holiday, Tax Day was moved from April 15th to April 18th.
So while that does give procrastinators an extra three days to get taxes done, it doesn’t really effect most people. However, if you are one of the procrastinators who is heading to the post office today, don’t forget to send your taxes certified mail, return receipt requested. THE IRS DOES LOSE THINGS! And your certified receipt is proof of mailing.
If you have any questions, please call me, your Denver Small Business Attorney, or your CPA!
by eclewis | Apr 11, 2011 | Business News, Online/Social Media Law
In recent news, Arkansas is yet another state that has passed the so-called “Amazon Tax”. In addition, Connecticut and Hawaii are both looking at similar laws. As many of my readers know, this tax makes companies that use affiliate marketers liable for collecting sales tax in the state. As it stands now, most online retailers who do not have a place of business in the state (other than affiliate marketers) do not collect sales tax. Last year, a similar bill killed the affiliate marketing business in Colorado.
What is now also being reported is that one of the bigger sponsors for the so-called Amazon Tax is another large company – Walmart. As Walmart has retail stores in almost every state, it collects sales tax from those who purchase online. This puts it, and stores such as Target, K-Mart, and Best Buy, at a disadvantage over Amazon and Overstock.com as the latter do not collect sales tax.
Although Amazon, Overstock, and other online-only companies have attempted to stop such measures, it appears that the number of states looking to tax online is growing and growing. Eventually, it appears that even online companies will have to collect taxes.
As always, if you are a small business with questions about whether you are doing business correctly, you can reach me at 720-258-6647 or elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
