by eclewis | Jul 14, 2012 | Business News
Disaster Planning: Protecting Your Business, Your Family, and Your Future
Like many others, I sat and watched as the inferno enveloped homes and dreams as it waged its way over the west side of Colorado Springs. I had watched Hurricane Katrina several years ago demolish New Orleans. However, as I had stayed with my father frequently when he had worked in Colorado Springs when I was (much) younger and as I have friends there, this disaster struck closer to home.
My heart goes out to those that lost their homes and businesses in the Waldo Canyon fire, the High Park fire, and the other fires that have waged across Colorado the past few months. It made me rethink my personal and business disaster recovery plans. To make sure you are prepared for disaster, please make sure you have done the following:
- Know where you personal and business legal documents are. You need to have easily accessible copies of your company documents (such as setup documents, leases, contracts, bank information, credit card information, and insurance paperwork). You need easily accessible copies of your personal documents (such as marriage certificates, social security numbers, passports, driver’s licenses, bank information, property records, credit card information, birth certificates, and insurance information). If possible, you should make sure there is an easily accessible *secure* electronic copy available in case you cannot grab these documents during a disaster.
- Check your insurance policies and make sure you are properly covered. Do you have business interruption insurance? Do you have adequate property insurance? Do you have inventory lists of your business and home? Make sure you have the right amounts of insurance and the right insurance for your situation before you need it!
- Do you have backups of your information? If you do not have offsite backups of your electronic documents, you need it. Research offsite providers and find out the best option for you. Dropbox, Google, and Amazon all offer offsite backups. If you want a physical offsite backup, there are both banks and private companies that offer offsite storage. A note of caution if you do physical offsite backups – you may want to also have a backup in another state! Hurricane Katrina destroyed a whole city so if you kept a backup in a safety deposit box at your local bank, there is a good chance that the local bank would have been destroyed too!
- Have a personal disaster plan. You need a disaster plan for both your family and your business! Personally, you need to know where you will meet loved ones in case of a disaster. As a child, you probably practiced how to get up to your family’s meet up place in case of a house fire. Have you come up with one as an adult? You need a place in case of a close disaster (i.e. we meet across the street if there is a fire in our house), a local place (i.e. we meet at the Starbucks at Main Street if there is a problem in our neighborhood), and a semi-local place (i.e. we meet at the King Soopers parking lot at CITY if there is a problem in our whole area). You need to keep gas in your car, have food and water, and look at the Red Cross Preparation Guide for Families. Do not assume that water, food, or phones will be available in your area if there is a disaster.
- Have a business disaster plan. On the business side, you need to have your employees and customer information to reach out to in case of a disaster. You need to have a website you can update. You need insurance information at your fingertips. You need to know what you will do if you are closed for a day, a week, a month. If you sell food items and the power is off for 10 hours, should you start giving away food because it is going to go bad? If you provide services and end up in the hospital for a week, do you have a colleague that can provide services to your clients? Do you have business interruption insurance that will pay you if you are closed for a month? Look at the Red Cross Preparation Guide for Businesses for more information.
You can never completely prepare for a disaster. If you could, it would not be called a disaster. However, you can make plans so that if one happens, you will be protected as much as possible.
If you have any questions, please call or email me.
by eclewis | Jul 9, 2012 | Business News, IP Law, Online/Social Media Law
Identifying Internet Scams
Today was a great day – rain was falling in our state which had been dry for weeks. It was the beginning of a great week. We had just celebrated the Fourth of July and I had been on a slight vacation – partially by chance and partially due to health. I was glad to be back to a full work week.
However, my first week back to work was quickly brought down by a phone call. This person alerted me that someone was using my information to sell items through kijiji.com. This person is stating that she is an attorney located in Denver Colorado and must sell items through kijiji (the Canadian version of our Craiglist’s) such as instruments and machinery. The person is saying that the buyer should go through a site called sell2pal and submit all the money in advance and then the items will be shipped to them.
I have never sold on the kijiji website. I have also never sold to anyone in Canada. Needless to say, this made me realize how easy it is to become a victim of identify theft. So, in addition to saying if you are buying large items though kijiji I recommend you don’t if it is through someone saying they are an attorney in Denver named Elizabeth Lewis, I recommend in any case you do the following:
- Never send money up front – especially large sums of money.
- Make sure you know who you are dealing with. If you are going to be making a large purchase, the person should have a name, number, address, and other information that is verifiable.
- If you are making a large purchase and must put money down, have an agreement to go through any escrow agent to hold the funds before delivery of the item.
- Lastly, if a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is.
And, finally, if you get contacted by someone saying they are lizzyhome at gmail.com, run the other way. I’ve never gone by Lizzy and am not selling items in Canada. Use some common sense. Do some research. Call the supposed person you are buying from. And, no, I am not selling anything at this time – especially not to anyone in Canada!
by eclewis | May 6, 2012 | Business News
When deciding whether to be an LLC taxed as a partnership/disregarded entity, an LLC taxed as a s-corporation or a corporation taxed as a s-corporation, many times people think about the liability protection, the formalities required such as yearly meetings, and the rights given to members verses shareholders. In addition, for tax purposes, people weigh the advantages of being taxed as a partnership/disregarded entity verses being able to take dividends as an s-corporation.
However, one area that many times does not come up in discussion is the costs of being an s-corporation in regards to filings. As an LLC taxed as a partnership/disregarded entity (if you do not have employees), then the taxes are usually fairly simple with the member/s of the LLC paying estimated tax payments quarterly (although this can vary).
Once a decision has been made to elect s-corporation status (whether for an LLC or to set up a corporation to be treated as such), tax filings get more complicated. As an s-corporation, all members/shareholders of the company that perform work are now considered employees. Therefore, the IRS will require that the company file Form 941s quarterly and withhold employment taxes either quarterly, or worse, monthly or weekly. The IRS will also expect estimated tax payments from owners who also are taking dividends in addition to wages. In Colorado, you will probably be required to set up a wage withholding account to withhold Colorado taxes. You will also have to pay unemployment insurance on wages paid to owners and file information about this quarterly. You may also have to pay occupational privilege taxes quarterly rather than yearly.
While it may not seem a lot, many times single owner companies find that the costs (whether in time spent by the owner or actual cost incurred from a payroll company) of operating as a s-corporation outweigh (either monetarily or frustration-wise) the savings the owner is seeing on his/her taxes from the s-corporation.
Prior to deciding whether you want to become a s-corporation, schedule an appointment with your CPA or me, your Denver small business lawyer, today at 720-258-6647.
by eclewis | Mar 29, 2012 | Business News
Five Things to Discuss With Your Attorney Before Renting Business Space
If you are thinking about renting space, here are five things you want to discuss with your business attorney:
- If you are thinking about renting space, discuss when your attorney should get involved. If you do not have an attorney and you are considering space, now is time to get one. Your attorney will let you know when it is appropriate for him or her to get involved. For instance, I usually want to know that my clients are looking for space but get involved more towards the end once they have found a space they are interested in. Typically, especially if they are working with a tenant representative, my clients find the space, and do preliminary talks with landlords. I get involved when the negotiating the lease is taking place and review the lease once it is written. Find out when your attorney wants to get involved – and are you comfortable with the level of involvement.
- If you are thinking about renting space, ask if your attorney knows any good tenant representatives. This is one of the reasons that I prefer my clients speak to me when they are first looking for space. Many times, they do not know the market prices, where to look, or even how to find what is available. Having worked with tenant representatives, I can make sure they are hooked up with someone that can find them the perfect space for a good price.
- If you have found the perfect space, have your lease reviewed. Even if you think you have found the perfect space, there may be clauses in your lease that make that perfect space a lemon. Does the landlord want you to replace the furnace if it goes out and it is 100 years old? Does the lease call for you making $100,000.00 in tenant improvements but you only have the rights to the space for 3 years? An attorney can help see if there are areas that need to be changed.
- If you are moving into a bigger space because you are hiring employees, ask if you need employment documents. Many times the reason someone is looking for a new place is because the business is expanding. If this is the case for you, you may need agreements for anyone that you are looking to hire. Ask your attorney if this applies to you.
- If you think you are paying too much for your space, ask your attorney if she thinks you can negotiate a lower amount. If you are in a lease currently and think you are paying too much, speak with you attorney to see if there is a way to negotiate the price of your lease. There *may* be ways to lower your monthly rent (although there may not).
As always, if you have any questions about renting space, please contact me, your Denver business attorney at 720-258-6647.
by eclewis | Mar 22, 2012 | Business News
Five Reasons To Have Your Lease Reviewed By A Lawyer
When you first start looking at a commercial lease, you may think it is not that much different that a lease that you signed when renting your first apartment when you were younger. However, a commercial lease usually varies greatly in that much more of the financial burden during the term of the lease is on the commercial tenant than a residential tenant. Here are five reasons you want to have your lease reviewed by a qualified business attorney:
- A business lawyer will review your lease to make sure the terms are in your favor. When you sign a standard lease for an apartment, the term is typically only a year and most repairs are done by the landlord. However, a commercial lease is completely different. In many cases, the lease term is at least five years and will typically include, if you are smart, the right to renew the term for up to 20 or more years. Without review, landlords will typically try to have the tenant pay for all repairs – in some cases even things that last longer than the life of the lease including roofs, sewer lines, and foundations. Even if you are using a tenant representative, a business attorney will review all the terms and offer legal advice about what changes should be made to ensure your interests are protected.
- A small business attorney will let you know which terms you really should negotiate and which terms are less necessary to negotiate. As a small business attorney, I have reviewed numerous leases. Having reviewed leases for a living, I can let you know what areas of the lease are a must for negotiating and which areas you can live with.
- Having a small business lawyer makes you seem more professional. Just like many areas in life, when you are a business owner, many things come down to perception. It makes landlords take you more seriously because if you are willing to invest the time and money to hire an attorney to help you with your lease, you are more likely to take your business seriously.
- A small business attorney will make sure the terms are correct. In addition to making sure the terms are in your favor, a small business attorney will help make sure that everything is correct. Although it may seem like a small thing, making sure the dates are correct and the lease terms are written correctly.
- A business attorney can help you with additional documents and permits needed. In addition to signing a lease, many times businesses need additional documents to open a business including licenses, permits, and forms. An attorney can help you navigate all the documents and permits that you will need to operate in the space you find.
As always, if you have any questions about renting space, please contact me, your Denver business attorney at 720-258-6647.
by eclewis | Mar 15, 2012 | Business News
Many times, as a business attorney I get asked if I know much about leasing space. While like many business lawyers, I can review a lease, like most other business lawyers, I don’t really keep track of the current market prices for each neighborhood in the Denver metro area. However, as a good business attorney, I know who does. Here are some things to consider if you are deciding whether to use a tenant representative or not.
- Do you have time to research the best place for your business? Good tenant representatives will be able to advise you on areas of town where your business can succeed. Because they keep track of real estate for a living, they will know where restaurants are successful, where retail shops flourish, and where shops consistently die.
- Do you know the current rental prices? Good tenant representatives know the current market prices for square footage on spaces throughout the area. They will be able to tell you if a space is going for too high or too low. While you can always research this on your own, it may take more time than you have to do so.
- Can you negotiate with landlords? Some people are born negotiators; some are not. If you are not, then having someone negotiate for you can save you money and headache. Tenant representatives are use to negotiating for space and know what can and cannot be changed easily.
- Are you seeking a very specific type of space? If you are seeking office sharing arrangements, space in a specific type of environment (i.e. renting a booth at a salon), a tenant representative may not be best. However, if you are seeking retail space, restaurant space, or office space, a tenant representative may be able to help.
- Do you want to save time when your attorney reviews your lease? In some cases, having a tenant representative can save time when your attorney reviews your lease. Although a tenant representative cannot provide legal advice, a tenant representative, may be able to spot problems during the initial negotiations.
As always, if you have any questions about renting space, please contact me, your Denver business attorney at 720-258-6647.
