by eclewis | Aug 24, 2015 | Business News
Growth in Denver and What that Means for Small Business
For this post, we are going to talk about something that has been on a lot of people’s minds for at least the past few years. We are talking about growth in Denver, and what a key concern with this growth should be for small businesses.
The Metro Denver’s population growth rate has held steady at a high level of 1.5% annually between 2004 and 2014 according to the MetroDenver Economic Development Corporation. In January of this year, Forbes ranked Denver #6 among the top twenty fastest growing cities in the country. More recently, in June, Metro Denver ranked #1 in economic job growth among the top ten Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
With the growing population, as well as the booming economic environment, these people and businesses all have to go somewhere. As to be expected, the Denver area has been experiencing some growing pains, especially when it comes to both residential and commercial space availability and rates. Over the past year, rental rates for offices in Denver jumped up 7.5 percent, which amounts to the 6th biggest jump in the country. Residential rental rates increased 9% over the last year, the highest in the country, even higher than notoriously high rental markets like San Francisco. So what does all of this growth mean for a small business owner?
Whether you operate a small business as a landlord of commercial or residential space, or are a small business that is a tenant of commercial space, with this growth and rising rental rates, people have a lot more at stake when it comes to their leases. Your small business might not be able to stay afloat with a large unexpected rent increase on its commercial space or it might not be able to afford to move somewhere else. Similarly, if you are a landlord, your tenants might not be able to afford higher rates or might be looking over leases more critically, since they are paying more. Either way, with more money at stake, people are more likely to get into a dispute leading to a legal battle over a lease now more than before.
After all, rates are high, so tenants are more likely to want to fight to stay where they are now or might try and get away with more at their rented space due to the high price they are paying. All of this means that there is no better time to look over your leases, whether you are a lessor or lessee, than right now. This goes for leases that are currently in effect, and ones that might be coming up. You should be sure that you know exactly what terms are in those leases, exactly when they will end, and all the other details and problems that could arise. Even if you have looked at your leases, give them another look, and have an experienced attorney look them over too. This is not an area you want to have any surprises in, as they can be quite costly. Investing some time and money now with your leases can save a lot of money and headache down the road. Additionally, you should consider preparing now for upcoming lease negotiations that will likely happen in this tight market, and knowing what the existing lease contains is the first step in that process.
If you need legal help in writing or reviewing your leases as a landlord of rental properties or as a tenant of commercial space, then don’t hesitate to reach out and contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Small Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
Contact Us Today
Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C.
Your Denver Business Attorney
LICENSED IN COLORADO AND NORTH CAROLINA
Mailing Address:
501 S. Cherry Street, Suite 1100
Denver, CO 80246
720-258-6647
Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com
by eclewis | Jul 22, 2015 | Business News
Marketing Your Business or Yourself, the Elevator Pitch
Perhaps you’ve heard about this idea before or even told yourself that you would come up with one but haven’t yet. It’s the so-called “Elevator Pitch.” It is all about being able to pitch your business, idea, or yourself to someone in the minute or so that it takes to ride in an elevator with someone. It sounds easy right? It can be harder than you think, but it is time to finally put one together so you are armed with it when the need arises.
The general idea is that you describe yourself or your business in a dynamic way that is succinct but sticks with the listener. Just like with a well-timed pause, less can be more when it comes to making a pitch to someone. When crafting an elevator pitch, you should be thinking about what would be important to the listener. What keeps them up at night? What problems do you solve for people? These are the questions that can prompt you to create a good elevator pitch. However, you want to make sure you include some passion too, to keep it interesting.
So a good elevator pitch would generally cover the following areas:
- What you do and how you do it differently than others
- Explain what problem it is that you solve
- Describe the value that you add
- Close with a call to action (hire me, invest in my business, etc.)
The first part is to try and come up with a catchy way to explain what you do and how it is different from others. However, you should not dwell on the competitors if there are any, remember, this pitch is about you and why you do things differently. This is distinct from just what makes you better than the competition. You can then expand on this by describing a common problem that people face and how you or your business solves it in a way that makes economic sense. Incorporated within the entire pitch is the idea of value. Whether that means that you do what you do more efficiently and affordably than others or if you are adding some new value that others don’t, you just need to make that value clear to your listener.
Once you put together a great elevator pitch, it’s a good idea to think about what you will say next. If you get their attention with your pitch and respond with “tell me more,” you should be prepared for that too. Come up with the “what’s next” part of your pitch. This can include what the next direct steps are in order for them to do what your call to action consisted of (hire you, invest in you, etc.). Another approach is to offer some examples or hypotheticals of how what you do has or can succeed.
All of these concepts can apply whether you already own a business and are trying to get new clients, customers, or investors, if you are seeking out investors or partners to start a new business, or if you are just trying to get hired individually. After all, this type of pitch is a great way to network for a new internship or job too.
If you need legal advice on making a change to your business, or are ready to start a new business of your own, then don’t hesitate to reach out and contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
Contact Us Today
Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C.
Your Denver Business Attorney
LICENSED IN COLORADO AND NORTH CAROLINA
Mailing Address:
501 S. Cherry Street, Suite 1100
Denver, CO 80246
720-258-6647
Elizabeth.Lewis@eclewis.com
by eclewis | Jul 15, 2015 | Business News
Business Innovation is About More than Looking Forward
When most people think about innovation, they picture headline-grabbing technologies: AI breakthroughs, cutting-edge gadgets, or the newest software platforms. While those advances can be game changers, true innovation is broader. Often, it means looking backward to proven methods and tools, then reimagining how they can solve today’s problems. Older technologies and processes come with a track record of reliability, user familiarity, and lower costs—assets that can be repurposed in surprisingly modern ways.
New Value from “Old” Tools
Consider Google’s phone service launched as Project Fi (now Google Fi Wireless). The idea was simple but powerful: let your smartphone make calls, send texts, and use data over Wi-Fi when available; if not, switch to traditional cellular networks (originally Sprint and T-Mobile). This approach didn’t require inventing a brand-new network. It recombined existing infrastructure—ubiquitous Wi-Fi and established carriers—to improve coverage, speed, and cost. Indoor cell reception can be spotty; Wi-Fi is often stronger. Cell data can be expensive; Wi-Fi is frequently free or included. The innovation wasn’t a futuristic antenna; it was a clever orchestration of what already existed.
Project Fi also reframed pricing: pay a modest base fee for talk and text, then only for the data you actually use, with credits for unused amounts. For years, “innovation” in mobile meant ever-faster networks and ever-bigger unlimited plans. Fi challenged that assumption, encouraging people to lean on a mature, reliable technology—Wi-Fi—to stretch budgets and improve performance.
Why “Retro-Fit” Innovation Works
Looking to the past to build the future works for several reasons:
- Reliability & Trust
Legacy tools have already passed real-world tests. Your customers, staff, and partners know how they behave. That makes adoption quicker and support easier.
- Cost Efficiency
Mature technologies are often cheaper to deploy and maintain. Repurposing them can deliver outsized ROI, especially for small and midsized businesses.
- Speed to Market
You can innovate faster by recombining known components than by inventing from scratch. This “Lego block” mindset reduces development risk.
- Resilience
Diversifying your tech stack with proven tools can improve redundancy and uptime. If one channel fails, the “old” one may keep you running.
Examples Beyond Telecom
- Retail & Restaurants:
QR codes—introduced years ago—surged again as a hygienic menu and payment tool. Combined with modern POS systems, they reduce costs and wait times.
- Email & SMS:
Despite countless “email is dead” headlines, email newsletters and SMS alerts routinely outperform many social channels for direct engagement. Pairing them with updated segmentation and automation revives a classic channel with modern precision.
- Manufacturing:
“Right-sized” automation using durable, older machines retrofitted with sensors can yield real-time insights without a full facility overhaul. Add low-cost IoT gateways instead of replacing entire lines.
- Content & Community:
Long-form blogs and forums—hardly new—are enjoying renewed relevance as brands seek owned channels that aren’t dependent on changing social algorithms.
- Payments:
ACH and bank transfers—older rails—are being re-imagined with modern interfaces to lower fees versus credit cards, improving cash flow for subscription businesses.
- Sustainability:
Refurbishing and re-deploying equipment reduces waste and capital expense. “Remanufacture + software” often beats “discard + buy new.”
A Practical Framework: Innovate by Recombining
You don’t need moonshot R&D to innovate. Use this step-by-step approach:
- Inventory Existing Assets
Catalog the tools, licenses, processes, and vendor contracts you already have. Include “retired” tools that could be revived.
- Map Pain Points
Where do customers wait, complain, or drop off? Where are your costs spiking (fees, uptime, staffing, vendors)?
- Recombine
Ask: What if we used channel X to support process Y? Could Wi-Fi backstop cellular? Could SMS augment app notifications? Could ACH complement card payments?
- Pilot Quickly
Run a narrow test with clear success metrics (conversion rate, cost per order, time to fulfillment). Keep documentation light but precise.
- Secure & Comply
Older systems can raise security or compliance questions. Patch, segment networks, and update policies. Make sure your innovations fit industry regulations.
- Scale with Guardrails
If the pilot works, expand deliberately. Train staff, update SOPs, and formalize vendor SLAs so “old-meets-new” runs smoothly at production levels.
Legal Considerations When You Reuse or Retrofit
Reimagining older tech is smart—but do it with legal foresight:
- Entity & Contracts
If you launch a new product line or service channel, review your operating agreement, bylaws, and customer/vendor contracts to ensure they cover the new model (billing terms, data handling, warranties, SLAs).
- Licenses & Permits
A “simple” channel change can trigger different licensing or permit requirements (e.g., food delivery, remote medical services, or new payment flows).
- Intellectual Property
Combining old tools in a novel way can create protectable IP (copyright, trade secret, sometimes patents). Likewise, confirm you’re not infringing on others’ rights when repurposing software, content, or designs.
- Privacy & Data Security
If you extend legacy systems to handle customer data, ensure your privacy policy, data retention schedule, and security measures meet current standards (encryption, access controls, vendor due diligence).
- Employment & Policies
New workflows (like remote field service with Wi-Fi-first apps) may require updated employee handbooks, device policies, and reimbursement practices.
Pro tip: a brief legal health check before rollout is far cheaper than unwinding a scaled mistake.
Culture: Celebrate Pragmatism, Not Just Novelty
Teams often equate innovation with “brand-new.” Reset that narrative. Celebrate outcomes—better service, lower costs, faster delivery—regardless of whether they came from a fancy new platform or a clever reuse of something you already own. Make “What can we reuse or recombine?” a standard agenda item in product and operations meetings.
Start Small: A 30-Day Innovation Sprint
- Pick one customer friction point.
- Identify two mature tools you already have that could help.
- Stand up a pilot with a single team or location.
- Measure two metrics (e.g., response time and cost per transaction).
- Document what worked, then either expand or sunset quickly.
In many cases, the fastest wins come from smart, humble changes, not massive overhauls.
Innovation isn’t only about chasing the newest technology. It’s about solving problems creatively, often by rethinking the value of tools that have been with us all along. If one of the most innovative companies in the world could lean on Wi-Fi—and pricing simplicity—to rethink mobile service, your business can absolutely find its own “old-meets-new” breakthroughs.
If you need legal advice on making a change to your business, or are ready to start a new venture of your own, don’t hesitate to reach out to the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or Contact Us.
by eclewis | Jul 3, 2015 | Business News
CO Ranked #4 State for Business by CNBC
This year’s rankings by CNBC for best states for business are in, and Colorado has taken the #4 spot. This comes as a significant, but not surprising, improvement from last year, where we discussed CO’s position at #8 in the CNBC rankings. Take a look at a complete breakdown of the rankings by state and categories here.
The rankings are conducted by scoring each state on 10 key categories including the following (in order starting with the most valuable to the overall score): Workforce, Cost of Doing Business, Infrastructure, Economy, Quality of Life, Technology & Innovation, Education, Business Friendliness, Cost of Living, and Access to Capital. Colorado managed to snag top ten rankings in four categories including: Economy (3rd), Quality of Life (9th), Tech & Innovation (5th), and Access to Capital (8th). Colorado was noted for it’s strong economy with a low unemployment rate of 4.3% and its innovation.
I was surprised to see that the Centennial State only got 9th in the quality of life category, especially since it tied with Iowa for this position. There is so much great outdoor recreation to explore here in Colorado, but you can scrutinize the methodology and rankings yourself with the methodological breakdown available here.
Overall, this news comes as yet another of the growing number of reasons and reports demonstrating that Colorado is a great place to live and a great place to do business. Now could be a great time for you to get started and put your entrepreneurial spirit to work.
If you a ready to start doing business in Colorado, then don’t hesitate to contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Small Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
by eclewis | Jun 24, 2015 | IP Law
CO Anti-Patent Troll Law
Colorado recently passed a law aimed at reducing the amount of so-called “patent trolling.” Generally, “patent troll” is used as a derogatory term to describe non-practicing entities, which are entities that own a patent on something but do not use it themselves (they may license it to others or do nothing at all with it other than enforce their patent rights against others). Such entities may “troll” other companies that are allegedly using that patent without permission by sending them threatening letters that if they do not pay up a licensing fee for the patent, that they will take them to court over it.
There have been various cases where businesses have shut down or struggled after receiving these letters or paying the licensing fees. This has become an issue of particular concern in the tech industry where very broad patents have been issued, that arguably never should have been or at least been more narrow. You can check out these two This American Life podcasts on the subject if you want to learn more: When Patents Attack! Part 1; Part 2. However, more specifically, this law was motivated by cases where businesses have received threatening letters without much information as to who they were coming from or what the basis was for the alleged infringement.
HB-1063 aims to combat this by allowing Colorado’s Attorney General to go after people who send threatening letters in bad faith to companies asking for money over alleged uses of their patents by the company. The act would apply to instances such as where the sender of the letter falsely claims that litigation has been filed against the recipient or related persons, where there is no reasonable basis in fact or law for the allegations (such as if the sender does not own the patent in question or have any authority to license or sell it). The act can also come into play when the sender does not provide enough information to the recipient. Required information would generally include:
- Identity of the person sending the letter
- The number issued by the USPTO of the patent in question
- Factual allegations regarding the specific areas that the recipient’s activities (products/services/technology) infringed the patent in question
Note that this law should not prevent anyone who legitimately has the rights to the patent and/or its licensing, unless you fail to send adequate information to alleged violators or send such letters without a reasonable basis. This means that so-called patent trolling will not cease to exist, but it should make allegations of patent infringement more substantive, clear, and transparent. This should also reduce abusive and more questionable instances of patent trolling.
It will be interesting to see if this law has the desired effect of both reducing the instances of “patent trolling” in Colorado and encouraging technology and knowledge-based companies to begin and grow in Colorado. From a legal perspective, it will also be interesting to see if this law will have any problems with preemption by federal law, basically meaning that this state law could be held invalid by the federal courts because it is incongruent with federal law (this legal concept is based on the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause).
If you have questions about intellectual property issues, please contact the Law Office of E.C. Lewis, P.C., home of your Denver Business Attorney, Elizabeth Lewis, at 720-258-6647 or email her at elizabeth.lewis@eclewis.com.
