by eclewis | Nov 9, 2009 | Business News, Misc. Legal Tidbits, Random Thoughts
As individuals and families get ready for the holidays and parties that come with this time of year, it is important for business owners to do their own preparation. For most small businesses, December 31 isn’t just the time to pop the cork on the champagne bottle, but also time to make sure that the year-end business tasks are finalized and start preparations to have a great 2010.
Maintaining and finalizing the year-end books and records can be a tedious task for small business owners, but it is also one of the most important. As soon as the Christmas wrapping paper is thrown away, tax season begins. For companies that have employees or independent contractors, it is important to talk to your tax preparer to ensure that W2s and 1099s are mailed to those individuals by the IRS deadline. By having all payroll records organized, you can make things easier for your accountant and your wallet. For companies with or without employees or independent contractors, having organized books and records (including receipts, mileage logs, and entertainment logs) ensures that your accountant can correctly prepare the business return and, many times, prevents having to file for an extension.
The end of the year is also a good time to have your company records reviewed by an attorney. For companies that are set up as sole proprietorships, a good business attorney can help you decide whether setting up a corporation or LLC can provide legal or tax benefits that you may be missing out on. A review of client contracts, lease agreements, and other legal documents can ensure that they comply with any changes in the law that may have come up in the last year (or longer if its been a while since you’ve had a good review).
Many business owners write a business plan when they start up and never review it again. For businesses that slow down during the holidays, it may be the perfect time to dust off that old business plan sitting on your shelf. Review it to determine whether you are where you want to be and, if you aren’t, what you need to do to get there. For most businesses, this has been a tough year; however, that doesn’t mean that you can’t look forward to building your business next year. Reflecting on what marketing has worked and what hasn’t can help you brew up new ideas to use next year. Whether it is a Facebook fan page for your business or sending holiday cards to clients, a renewed sense of purpose will give you something to work on while waiting for business to pick up. For business owners struggling, the Small Business Development Center and SCORE can both be great ways to get free help with business planning.
As always, this article is for informational purposes only and does not contain legal or tax advice. Please consult with your attorney or accountant for legal or tax advice to ensure that you end this year on the best possible note – and have a great 2010!
by eclewis | Feb 5, 2009 | Random Thoughts
Marketing Without Marketing
On a topic a little off the beaten path since this is a law blog, I wanted to mention the best marketing campaign I have seen in years. That’s right folks – Everyone gets a free breakfast. Well, almost everyone. I didn’t and neither did most of the people I know. But not because it wasn’t offered and not because we didn’t know about it. It was more because it didn’t work with my schedule. Denny’s had an incredible plan though – I think I heard and saw more on the news, on Facebook, and on the radio about Denny’s than I have since high school. Everywhere I went, someone was talking about the free breakfast. At a happy hour, someone commented about the line wrapped around the building. On Facebook, there was talk about how people had to be crazy to stand in line that long. On TV, the newscasters gave free publicity… well like breakfast.
As a small business owner, you have a lot to think about. Legal issues are the area that I can help you with. However, if you are a small business struggling in other areas, call me, your small business attorney Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email me at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com. Although I set up companies and do contracts, I have a network of people I can refer to you to help you get through whatever problem you are facing.
by eclewis | Jan 15, 2009 | Random Thoughts
Denver Small Business Networking Events This Week
Small Business owners – do you need to get your own clients? If so, check out these events in the Denver Metro Area this week! Should you hear of any upcoming events, please email me at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com or post them as comments!
Friday:
* Creative Connections @ 9am in South Denver
* Elle Group @ 9:30am
* Colorado Republican Business Assocation @12pm
* IDEA Cafe @ 2pm in Central Denver
* Ribbon Cutting @ 4pm
Saturday: No known events. Post any events that you have heard about!
Sunday: No known events. Post any events that you have heard about!
Monday:
* Networking Happy Hour @ 5:30pm in Central Denver**
Tuesday: Laptop Cafe @ 2pm
Wednesday: Social Networking @ 7pm***
Thursday: No known events. Post any events that you have heard about!
Please contact me at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com for more information about any of the events. I plan on attending the ones with the stars. If you are a small business owner needing legal help, as always, please contact your Denver Small Business Attorney Elizabeth Lewis (that’s me)!
by eclewis | Jan 10, 2009 | Random Thoughts
Denver City Club – Commentary
As promised in my post about the Denver City Club talk Wednesday, here is your small business attorney’s commentary from Elizabeth Lewis!
The past couple of days the newspapers in Denver have been abuzz that the Colorado budget will have to be shrunk. To think this is news is laughable – our country is in a recession and the state may have to cut its budget – imagine that! The question is not whether the state needs to shrink the budget, but where it should cut the budget.
If you do not want to hear my soapbox rant, I completely understand. However, as a small business attorney, I feel it is my duty to talk about what I think would help small businesses in Colorado. If small businesses start to fail, my business crashes and I do not want that. Therefore, I disagree with Gov. Ritter on several points.
Education. Gov. Ritter said we have to make higher education affordable for everyone – students should be able to attend colleges like CU and CSU without a lot of cost. I disagree. Whether you go to CU or Metro (as I did) for undergrad, it is not the cost of the education that matters, but what you do with it. In addition, if you think it needs to be affordable and pain free, then you have to learn some life lessons. Whether you go to CU or Metro, college students need to understand that they may not be able to live a carefree life. Working full-time to pay for your college education makes you thankful for it. Having it handed to you by the State of Colorado because you “deserve” a college education does not.
Safety Nets. State governments should not need safety nets as Gov. Ritter implied. State governments should have been preparing for an economic downturn. To believe that the economic boom was going to go on forever, and the ever-expanding coffer, is ridiculous. The state government should have been saving money to help pay for services in the future when less money was being brought in.
Now for the areas that I agree on:
Infrastructure. To compete in today’s economy, Americans must have internet. Whether you are a retail store, a service provider, or a stay-at-home parent, internet plays a central role in your life (or should). Without the infrastructure to provide the internet to people, our workers and students will be behind the curve. We must make sure internet is universal.
Environment. WARNING – In this area, my politics and business-sense get put on the back burner. I am the type of person that recycles everything possible and grows stuff in my window seal. I buy organic as much as possible and ride my bike to work from April to October. That said, I think protecting our environment is necessary. I typically frown on lots of government intervention, but think if we are going to have environmental regulations on US companies, we must either have the same standards for foreign companies or have tariffs to cover the harm that those companies are doing to the environment.
Those are my thoughts on the Denver City Club talk. Do you disagree or agree? Would love to hear what you think is the future of Colorado and Denver small businesses!
by eclewis | Jan 8, 2009 | Random Thoughts
Networking Events
Small Business owners – do you need to get your own clients? If so, check out these events in the Denver Metro Area this week! Should you hear of any upcoming events, please email me at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com or post them as comments!
Friday:
- Creative Connections @ 9am in South Denver
- Small Business Tele-Seminar @ 12 via telephone
- IDEA Cafe @ 2pm in Central Denver
- Social Networking @ 6pm
Saturday: No known events. Post any events that you have heard about!
Sunday: No known events. Post any events that you have heard about!
Monday:
- Networking @9:30 in South Metro
- Entrepreneur meeting @ 12 in Denver**
- Networking Happy Hour @ 5:30pm in Central Denver**
Tuesday: Business Networking @ 7am
Wednesday: Networking South Denver @ 4pm***
Thursday: No known events. Post any events that you have heard about!
Please contact me at Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com for more information about any of the events. I plan on attending the ones with the stars. If you are a small business owner needing legal help, as always, please contact your Denver Small Business Attorney Elizabeth Lewis (that’s me)!
by eclewis | Jan 6, 2009 | Random Thoughts
City Club of Denver
To begin with, the Denver City Club is 87 years old. It is a non-partisan and nonprofit public affairs forum. Speakers include everything from politicians (of both parties) to historians to businesspeople. It meets weekly at the Denver Brown Palace, the perfect location for this Club. While open to the public, members receive a discount on events. The local Denver cable station broadcast most of the events.
Now for the event, Governor Ritter spoke about the future of Colorado and the economy’s current state on it. He stated that Colorado will do cuts, but Colorado should try to make sure they do not take too heavily from the rainy day fund. In addition, he stated that we need to ensure that the counter-cyclical agencies budgets are not cut. This of course should not be a surprise to anyone.
After speaking of the Colorado government and the economy, Gov. Ritter spoke about the reinvestment package, previously known as the stimulus package that will be dealt with by President-elect Obama once he takes office. Specifically, he spoke about how the package is going to affect three areas of the plan for Colorado. First, it is going to involve creating more infrastructure for the country – be it schools, roads, or other necessary improvements. Second, it is going to involve creating a safety net for the states – such as the federal government paying more towards Medicare than it does currently. Lastly, it is going to involve creating more clean energy and green energy jobs.
Due to the time, I am going to wait until Friday to give my viewpoint on the speech. So stay tuned for a little bit of analysis from you Denver small business attorney on my blog!
