August 30th, 2010
Okay, new business owners, we need to talk.
I talk with new or recently new business owners everyday regarding their new company, their new product, their new service, etc. These people recognize a potential issue, have a specific question or face a real issue that needs attention now. The last possibility is the most common and always the most expensive to fix. However, there is one issue that business people need to be aware of upfront: protect your name before you start conducting business. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business consulting, Copyright, Document preparation, Lawsuits, Trademark | No Comments »
August 26th, 2010
I saw this link http://bit.ly/dnGAi1 regarding what Conan O’Brien is allowed to say at the Emmy’s on Sunday and it made me think about how many times I have to help resolve a contract dispute because the parties never actually read the contract. Oh sure, if you talk to someone about how to handle their contracts they adamantly swear that they read them. Fact is, most people scan a contract before signing and very few people actually take the time to understand it. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business consulting, Document preparation, Lawsuits | 1 Comment »
August 20th, 2010
Employee vs. Independent Contractor – Seven Tips for Business Owners
As a small business owner you may hire people as independent contractors or as employees. There are rules that will help you determine how to classify the people you hire. This will affect how much you pay in taxes, whether you need to withhold from your workers paychecks and what tax documents you need to file. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in IRS, employers | No Comments »
August 6th, 2010
Wow, did you know that you could stimulate your state’s economy by giving an industry a reason for selecting your state? Florida knows. http://www.filminflorida.com/ifi/incentives.asp (Check the effective date) It’s an amazing benefit to the entire community as it creates jobs and increases spending. Some may call it an incentive. Florida suffered a $113 Billion shortfall in 2009. I find it impressive that, from a very conservative state, they found a way to slash the budget and encourage growth. Nice work. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Entertainment, Incentives | No Comments »
July 26th, 2010
http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=172970,00.html
IRS Summertime Tax Tip 2010-05
Are you opening a new business this summer? The IRS has many resources available for individuals that are opening a new business. Here are six tax tips the IRS wants new business owners to know. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Uncategorized | No Comments »
July 14th, 2010
LeBron James announced his decision to leave Cleveland and play for Miami. He agreed to a lower salary than he commands in the league for an opportunity to “win now and in the future.” Obviously, LeBron felt that the chance to play with Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and others gave him the greatest chance to win and it was worth it to accept less money. Many fans, and not just Cleveland fans, have criticized LeBron for an apparent lack of loyalty or appreciation to the city of Cleveland and the Cavalier’s organization. I don’t think that anyone can doubt that the city embraced him has an incredible talent, and a giving person. His contributions to the city have also been well documented. I have heard many commentators state that this perceived lack loyal to the Cavaliers is without merit due to the impact he has had on the organization. I can’t speak to that. I’m not a professional sports analyst. I can say that I think there is some merit to that opinion. However, I’m curious about the idea of loyalty being a two-way street between the employer and the employee. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business consulting, employers | No Comments »
July 7th, 2010
http://thresq.hollywoodreporter.com/2010/07/millionaire-verdict-disney-loses-big.html
In sum, Disney was engaged in self-dealing practices with affiliates and sweetheart deals with power partners to keep the costs artificial down. Celador would have been entitled to receive more money had these costs not be kept in check and below market. The case interesting for many reasons, but one of the most interesting was the microscope that was directed on TV accounting. I can’t think of another instance where production costs and fees were so closely examined. Remember, entertainment accounting may not equal traditional accounting.
Posted in Entertainment, Lawsuits | No Comments »
June 29th, 2010
http://filmclosings.com/2010/06/czech-republic-now-has-20-film-incentive/
The entire country is giving a 20% production incentive for films that spend at least $720k in country. This is in direct response to the increasing costs of filming in a country that has continuously improved its level of services and talent. Why wouldn’t every government want to provide tangible incentives to capture some of the billions spent in film production?
Posted in Entertainment, Incentives | No Comments »
June 28th, 2010
As I’ve mentioned earlier, we’ve been involved in several home improvement projects. Well, we think that they are improvements. Let’s be safe and call them home renovation projects. We wrapped up the lion’s share of the basement remodel this weekend. Finished the drywall, applied the texture, painted, installed the bead board, trim and baseboards, hung a new door, ran some new lights, replaced some new outlets, etc. Exhausting. During the finish work, my two-year-old boy decided to help by sitting with me as I installed some trim. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in Business consulting | No Comments »
June 7th, 2010
Last week, my wife and I decided that we wanted to update a couple of specific items in two of our bathrooms. The master bathroom needed a new shower enclosure and the half bath needed a new sink and a coat of paint. Neither of these projects should have taxed our collective home improvement knowledge, and should have never taken more than a weekend, combined. Two weeks later, we finished these projects last night. So what was the problem? We didn’t plan everything out in detail. Read the rest of this entry »
Tags: Trusted Advisors
Posted in Business consulting | No Comments »
