Business Essentials

The New Small: Innovations in Small Business Technology

I love it when people are able to demystify really technical stuff. Phil Simon does a great job of that in his recently-released book, The New Small: How a New Breed of Small Businesses Is Harnessing the Power of Emerging Technology. The New Small profiles a number of companies who have creatively and intelligently used [...]

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The Art and Science of a Smart Business Proposal

If it were so easy to develop an ideal business proposal, every one could do it. Every time. It takes a delicate balance of salesmanship, listening to your customer, and knowing how much of your “secret sauce” to divulge. In this segment of MSNBC’s Your Business, I talk about how NOT to give away the [...]

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Making Alliances through Social Networking Sites

Here’s one of my pet peeves about sites like Facebook: people who hardly know me who want to join my network and, by inference, gain my endorsement. I can’t tell you the number of people whom I may have met in passing at a networking event, or who called me from a six-degrees referral to [...]

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Watch Your Language: Legal Terminology for Business Entities

Workshak’s post on limited liability partnerships (which pulls from Taxgirl’s post on ProBlogger) is right about one thing:  that limited liability partnerships (LLPs) are pass-through entities. What the post doesn’t address is that the LLP statutes in many states make the form less-than-ideal for many multiple-owner businesses.  For example, in some states, LLPs can be [...]

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Law Questions about Small Business Insurance

Many entrepreneurs have law questions about small business insurance.  Small business insurance provides a vital layer of liability protection against claims foreseen and unforeseen … regardless of whether you were at fault or not. From my Ask Entrepreneur column, here are law questions about small business insurance that other entrepreneurs have had—and maybe you do, [...]

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Limiting risk exposure for dangerous business activities

Q.:  My friend and I are trying to start a construction cleanup business. We’re wondering: Do we have to get small business insurance if we are the only ones working? Are there any other legal factors we should consider? A.:  Yes, yes, a thousand times YES!  Any business that deals in high-risk and related activities, [...]

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Avoiding liability for at home business injuries to children

Q.: I’m starting up a children’s art class business in my home and would like to know how to protect myself from being sued in case of injuries to children. I can’t afford to pay for insurance at this time and although I don’t have anything dangerous in my studio, I would rather be safe [...]

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Small business insurance for virtual offices

Q.: What type of small business insurance is needed for a virtual office situation that spans more than one state?  My small business is an S-Corp with employees in Florida. A.: Regardless of your form of business entity, having small business insurance provides another important level of protection. There are various kinds of small business [...]

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Unemployment coverage for the small business owner

Q.: I recently got laid off from my full-time job. My small business only makes enough to cover my business expenses. Can I still collect unemployment from my full-time job even if I have a sole proprietorship? A.: Generally, you cannot get unemployment coverage if you are a small business owner.  The purpose behind unemployment [...]

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Do sole owners/employees have to provide Workers compensation coverage?

Q.: Am I required to have workers compensation coverage if I am the sole employee/owner? A.: Generally, if you are self-employed, you are exempt from the requirement to have Workers’ Compensation coverage to cover yourself.  However, the minute you add an employee, get that in place – pronto! Some states do allow you to “opt in” [...]

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