by eclewis | Nov 5, 2012 | Business News
What Dunkin’ Donuts Can Teach Us About Business-Friendly Cities
Recently at Starbucks, I mentioned that I had a “Lucky Dozen” alert on my iPhone showing I had earned a free drink or food item. The barista looked at me and said that what sounded really good was Dunken Donuts. While my three pump, non-fat, Chai was being prepared (free of charge due to their rewards program), we talked about the upcoming Dunken Donuts return to Colorado. For those not in Colorado, we are a Dunken Donuts desert. While we had these mythical places in my youth, they have long since disappeared along out mountainous background to places like Florida, DC, and New York.
It is rumored (well mostly confirmed) that several will be opening up next year bringing back the donuts we remember from our youth. However, much like Ikea, Steak and Shake, and Krispy Kreme, rather than opening in Denver proper, it is reported that these donut havens will be opening in South Metro Denver in the lands of Lone Tree and Centennial. So why when Denver is the capital of the state, did Dunkin Donuts and others choose to open down south? Business friendly policies.
While Denver is known for many things – we have Mile High Stadium, downtown, and Coors Field – unfortunately, it isn’t known for being particularly business friendly. So what makes a city business friendly? Here are my top two things:
1. Business Friendly Tax and Licensing Policies. Tax and licensing policies can make all the difference between a city being easy to work with and not being easy to work with. In business friendly cities, tax and licensing policies make sense. To open a business, the business owner doesn’t need to worry about filing tons of forms or worry about complying with taxes, rules and regulations to open a standard business (one look on Denver’s business page and you can find that businesses from a-z are regulated). Business owners need to worry about running their business.
2. Business Friendly Transportation. If you want to locate your business downtown, you have to worry about parking for employees. There are more options for public transportation, but there are only about 83,000 rides taken on pubic transportation each year in the Denver Metro Area – showing that most people still drive. If you are located in South Denver, parking comes with the buildings in most cases. There are no additional fees and less gridlock.
Whenever I work with clients, one of the first questions I ask is where the business is going to be located. When you are thinking of where to locate your business, consider the following:
1. Do you employees or clients need access to easy parking?
2. How many taxes will you need to pay?
3. What are the licensing fees?
4. What are the regulations for your business type?
5. Are your employees going to live in the same city where you are located?
6. Are there tax breaks for the city you are looking at?
7. Does the city tend to have business friendly policies?
8. Are other businesses moving into the city or away from it?
9. Are there other cities nearby that have better policies?
Where your business is located can have a huge impact on the bottom line of the business (and sanity of the owner).
by eclewis | Oct 17, 2012 | Business News
Employment Numbers Down in Colorado
According to the Denver Business Journal, small business hiring in Colorado was only up 0.15 percent in August. This is lower than the national average of 0.16 percent, however only slightly slower. In addition, the number of online ads for jobs also fell in August to only 4,700 jobs being posted.
So what accounts for the fall in the number of new hires and jobs being posted? The number one cause seems to be uncertainty in the economic climate. US economic growth is still lower than it has been in years and companies are leery of hiring when they don’t know whether they can support the position for the long term. The few areas that seem to not be suffering are technology and other professional level positions.
Which leads to the second reason for lower growth: companies are having a hard time finding employees that can do the jobs they needs. Companies are looking to hire those with backgrounds in STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and math). As the number of people with this backgrounds increases in other countries, companies are going to these countries for a steady educated workforce.
And finally, even those companies that can hire are waiting to see what regulations are going to be at the beginning of the year. Recent reports show that many companies are hesitant to hire when it will bring them to the point that they need to comply with federal regulations like the Affordable Health Care Act.
So what do you do if you are a company that needs, or even wants, to hire someone? An HR consultant can help you draft the job description and create employment packages to retain the best people. In addition, speaking to your small business attorney and your CPA can make sure that you aren’t incurring legal or tax obligations that you can’t handle.
If you are looking to hire and want to make sure you are doing everything right, please schedule an appointment today!
by eclewis | Oct 10, 2012 | Business News
As mentioned on Facebook, I recently attended a seminar on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and how it affects businesses. While the seminar offered information on businesses of all sizes, this post will deal primarily with small businesses.
PPACA was signed into law in March 23, 2010. It has multiple provisions that are phased in beginning in immediately until 2020. Immediately after passage, multiple groups began attempts to fight the legislation, including through the court system. At this time, the results of some of these attempts have made it through levels of the court system, including the National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, which was heard by the United States Supreme Court and decided in June of 2012.
PPACA breaks companies up into three main categories. The first is self-employed individuals – those who are self-employed and have no employees. The second is small businesses – businesses with less than 50 full time employees. The third is large businesses – businesses with 50 or more full time employees.
Self-employed individuals have two options for health insurance under the law. Regarding insurance, self-employed individuals can buy either small business plans or individual plans depending on what is offered in the state. Self-employed individuals can also choose to be uninsured and pay a tax for failure to purchase insurance.
Small businesses are not required to provide health insurance for their employees. In some instances, small businesses can get tax credits if they choose to purchase insurance for their employees. Starting in 2014, small businesses can also purchase plans for their businesses through insurance exchanges, with the idea that the plans will be similar in costs to group plans offered by large employers. (Of course, this is in theory as exchanges are not currently up and running.) However, if a small business crosses from being a small business to a large business (hiring that 51st person), then new regulations come into play, including requiring the business to offer health insurance or pay large fines.
So, where does this leave the small business? Small businesses that didn’t have any insurance advisor now need someone in their rolodex (or the more 21st century version address book online). Prior to bringing on any new employees, and especially one that will increase the number employed by a business to 51 (which may include owners in some instances), small business owners must talk to their insurance agent and CPA to determine if PPACA makes hiring someone else a small financial burden or a huge one.
If you have questions about PPACA or need a referral to an insurance agent that works with small businesses, contact me, Elizabeth Lewis, your small business lawyer, today at 720-258-6647 or by email at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Aug 14, 2012 | Business News, Misc. Legal Tidbits
Four Steps to Help You Get a Loan
thedenverchannel.com recently reported that only 5% of lenders have eased their standards to loan to small businesses. This confirms what many small businesses already know – it is tough to get funding. So what is a small business to do when it needs money?
If your business needs a loan to survive, there are several things that you should do as a small business owner first. While these strategies cannot guarantee a loan, they can help you have the best chance to secure funding when you need it.
1. Get your personal credit in order. If you are borrowing money from a financial institution, the institution is going to want to see your personal credit unless your business has substantial assets and financial backing. In most cases, you will need to personally guarantee the loan. If your credit score is low, you have had recent bankruptcies, or you are requesting a large loan amount and have no collateral, you may need to look at other funding sources.
2. Have a good business plan. Banks want to know you have thought about your business. The lending officer will want to see the business plan and know that the financial targets are achievable. As part of the business plan, be able to clearly define where the funds will be used. If you can’t explain your business and its goals (and why you have), a bank can’t determine what type of risk you are.
3. Have good tax and legal records. Make sure you have copies of your Articles filed with the Secretary of State and any periodic reports (and make sure your periodic report has been filed!). Have current bylaws or an operating agreement. Have proper paperwork between the owners of the business. Have intellectual property agreements when needed. Have copies of the business’s tax returns for at least the previous three years (and maybe up to five). If the business is closely held (especially with fewer than four owners), have copies of the owners’ personal tax returns. Make sure all local, state, and federal taxes are current – including employment taxes and unemployment insurance. Finally, do a checks to see if there are any liens or UCC filings.
4. Lastly, schedule a small business checkup with your attorney and your CPA. I can go through all your paperwork and see what is missing from a legal perspective, make sure everything is up to date, and then be a reference for the bank to call with any questions. A CPA would be able to do the same thing from a financial perspective.
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to call me, your small business attorney serving the Denver Metro Area, the Front Range, and beyond at 720-258-6647.
by eclewis | Jul 31, 2012 | Business News
Aurora Implements New Tax on Soft Drinks and Candy
Effective June 1, 2012, the City of Aurora instituted a new tax on soft drinks and candy. The tax is 3.75% on all soft drinks (any drinks that contain natural or artificial sweeteners that are less than 50% juice) and candy (preparation of sugar, honey or other sweetener with items such as chocolate, fruit, and nuts that forms bars, drops, or pieces)
Businesses have a one month grace period to change their systems and start collecting the taxes. The first monthly tax return that needs to include software and candy taxes should be filed August 20, 2012 and the first quarterly tax return should be filed by October 20, 2012
Prepared food remains taxable in most cases. So if you have a restaurant, coffee shop, or bar that serves food, you still need to collect taxes on everything you sell.
If you have any questions, please contact me, your Denver Small Business Lawyer, at 720-258-6647, by email at Elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com , or your CPA today!
by eclewis | Jul 26, 2012 | Business News
New Startup Packages Available
In addition to the basic startup package offered to small businesses, the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C. is pleased to announce that it has business-specific startup packages for those starting a business in the following fields:
- Basic Startup Package
- Website Developers Package
- Programmers Package
- Wedding Planners Package
- Event Planners Package
- Plumbers Package
- Electricians Package
- Contractors Package
- Social Media Consultant Package
- Ghostwriters Package
- Sales Consultant Package
- IT Consultant Package
- Photographer Package
- E-commerce Site Package
The basic setup package starts at $500.00 with specialized packages ranging from $750.00-$2000.00, if you are looking to start a business in any of these areas, the startup packages have the business documents, contracts, and information that you need to do it – plus one on one consulting with your Denver small business lawyer! You can find out more by calling 720-258-6647 or contact us through the website to get more information.
