All businesses start with a great idea, but a business needs the right funding to truly launch a business venture. However, obtaining the right kind of funding is an obstacle in itself for many small business owners. Some of the more popular funding options for entrepreneurs include:

1. Self-Financing
2. Friends and Family
3. Credit Cards
4. Bank Loans
5. Business/trade credit
6. Venture capitalists and angel investors

Another alternative form of funding is the Small Business Administration (SBA) loan program. The SBA offers several types of loans including the SBA 7(a) Loan, the SBA 504 Loan, and the MicroLoan Program.

SBA 7(a) Loan. The 7(a) loan is the SBA’s most common loan program. This loan is for both start-ups and existing businesses who use the money to finance purchase of real estate, equipment, furniture, inventory, cover accounts payable, and other short-term working capital needs. The loan amount can be up to $2 million. The length of the loan is up to 25 years maximum for real estate or seven years maximum for working capital.

SBA 504 Loan. The 504 term loan finances long-term fixed assets and is a zero subsidy program. Additionally, this loan typically is applied toward investments in real estate assets and machinery. The loan amount can be up to $1 million for general purposes or up to $1.3 million for public policy goals. The length of the loan is 10 to 20 years.

MicroLoan Program. This loan is specifically for start-ups that couldn’t obtain other means of funding due to poor credit and lack of assets. The MicroLoan typically goes to small businesses with five employees or fewer. The loan amount can be up to $35,000 and the length of the loan is a maximum of six years.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have business related questions, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service, Trademarks,Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills, Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

The U.S. Small Business Administration has implemented the 8(a) Business Development Program, which provides business assistance to small disadvantaged firms/businesses that are 1) At least 51% owned and controlled by individuals belonging to a social minority group and 2) businesses that can prove economic disadvantage in their ability to compete in their industry.

The goal of the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program is to help socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs gain access to the economic mainstream of American society. Some of the benefits of the program involve receiving sole-source contracts of up to $4 million for goods and services and $6.5 million for manufacturing. The Program provides managerial, technical and contractual assistance to ready you and your business for success in the private industry.

Please note that the SBA also provides special certifications for Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Businesses as well as Women-Owned Businesses, which includes the benefit of obtaining federal contracts for eligible women-owned small business.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and interested in obtaining  a Minority-Owned Business Certification, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service, Trademarks,Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills, Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

How much business do you lose as a result of poor sales and customer service skills? If all your management, employees, and sales force work on some simple techniques, the returns in sales and customer satisfaction will amaze you!

FOCUSING ON THE CLIENT: A successful business must take the wants and needs of its clients into consideration. If you are able to listen and tailor the way you present your services or products to match each client’s individual needs or wants, it will result in a much more powerful and successful sales strategy than simply delivering a general, all-purpose pitch about a particular service or product that you are offering. Your message should highlight exactly how that particular service or product fits and suits this unique client. Personalize and focus on them.

1. Remember to accentuate the benefits, emphasize the points where you have a competitive advantage and the benefits the services or your products offer the customer.

2. At the same time, remember the more you know about your products or services and what they will do for the customer, the more likely you can prove to them its a valuable item for them.

DEALING WITH OBJECTIONS: Good customer services and sales skills require that you anticipate and deal with any reason the client may choose to challenge or not buy the particular service or product. Try to anticipate what the objections might be and have a response for those objections ready; you will be surprised at the results.

Also, a “no” today may very well mean a “yes” tomorrow. Often, when presented with new concepts and options, the customer will not be ready to make the decision at that time. You go over the products or services, the benefits, what the services and products can do for the customer, and you will be surprised as to how you may very well receive a telephone call in the near future to take advantage of your previous offer.

If you are focusing on the customer, you know your products or services, deal with the decision maker and deal with any possible objections, you stand a great chance of being successful in your efforts.

If your client believe that you are working with their best interest at heart as well as your own, they are more likely to be honest about what they view as their alternatives, and more able to listen to what you have to say. This will, overall, make for a more positive business relationship environment and assist you in developing good business working relationships.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have business related questions, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service, Trademarks,Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills, Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

Know what you are purchasing

When you initially buy a lien, you are not buying an actual piece of land. Instead, your investment is on the debt or delinquent taxes of the property, who has fallen behind on payments. The buyer is given first position on the title of the property over others after he/she has paid the outstanding taxes. However, every State is different. Make sure you know the interest rate and return per year. Sale dates vary from State to State as well. Each state usually has one or two predetermined months any given year. The timing is important when calculating potential returns on your lien.

Calculating Rate-of-Return on the Lien Certificate

When you try to buy a certificate, it is sold at face value plus interest and administrative charges. The lien interest rate is either bid down or the entire purchase price is bid up to a premium bid. The property owner must repay the lien amount to the certificate holder plus an interest rate between 16% and 18%. The property owner also has a set redemption period to pay the lien. If the lien is not paid by the set deadline, the certificate holder can foreclose and obtain the property deed.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have questions about buying tax liens, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service, Trademarks,Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills, Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

Seeking an investor to fund your new business can be stressful. Here are a few tips as to what investors look for when evaluating whether to invest in a new company to better prepare you to pitch an idea to investors:

 

1. Financial performance. It is crucial that you are able to prove to potential investors that your company has excellent financial performance. Be prepared to answer questions about the financial stability of your company and ideas relating to potential areas of growth. Debt repayment plans should also be properly presented. Expect investors to evaluate the company’s revenue streams acquisition cost and turnover rates.
2. Experience. Investors don’t want to invest in your mistakes, instead they seek experienced entrepreneurs and management teams with a track record of performance in the industry. Most investors will research your credentials and areas of expertise and your passion and commitment should clearly be evident to inspire confidence in investors.
3. Uniqueness. Your company needs to be unique and you must prove to your investors that your market potential is big enough to make investing worthwhile. Investors look for features that distinguish your company from competitors such as intellectual property rights and distribution relationships.
4. Large market size. The larger and more stable your customer base is, the stronger competitive advantage you will have when pitching to investors. A larger and more stable customer base will serve as proof that your company has a great impact to its target market.

 

Investors look for a company that can grow quickly and manage its growth. Investors must see that the company can generate significant profits beyond the initial product idea with adequate financial projections and a plan to include multiple sources of revenue.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have business related questions, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service, Trademarks, Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills, Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, TAX SEASON! That time of the year when thoughts of new cars and tropical vacations dance through your head. The ways to spend your refund are endless and irresponsible, but you desire a reward. With your W2s and receipts you race to your tax advisor, to hear how much Uncle Sam owes you. Suddenly shock sets in as your tax advisor informs you that your tax return was already filed and your refund collected. You stand irate and demand an explanation.

Your tax advisor adjusts his bifocals to explain that tax-related identity theft occurs when someone steals your Social Security number (“SSN”), files a tax return and fraudulently collects your refund. The theft of your SSN may go unnoticed until you attempt to file your tax return, a collection action is commenced against you for a year you did not file a tax return, you receive a letter from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) informing you of suspicious return using your SSN or the letter indicates you received wages from an employer you never worked for. But by then the thief has absconded with your refund and is enjoying your tropical vacation, leaving you wondering what to do.

What you need to do next

If your SSN is stolen and identity jeopardized, you should file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”), and contact your financial institutions to close any accounts compromised by identity thieves. Additionally, immediately respond to any IRS notices, complete IRS Form 14039, Identity Theft Affidavit, and if your electronic tax return is rejected due to duplicate filing under your SSN, file your return by paper and submit it to the IRS. Also, continue to pay your taxes, because while having your identity stolen may be stressful, the consequence of the IRS are taxing!

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have questions about identity theft, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service, Trademarks, Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills, Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

Microloans are loans that are usually under $50,000. Microloans can usually be obtained with more ease and in less time than a traditional loan. The U.S. Small Business Administration has a microloan program that lists eligibility requirements as well as the repayment terms, interests rates, and fees. The SBA provides that:

“Use of Microloans Proceeds Microloans can be used for:
Working Capital
Inventory or Supplies
Furniture or Fixtures
Machinery or Equipment

Proceeds from an SBA microloan cannot be used to pay existing debts or to purchase real estate.”

The microloan program operates with intermediary lenders being provided the money for microloans by the SBA, The intermediary lender decides the lending and credit requirements.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have questions about microloans, call (800) 734-9900 orclubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service, Trademarks, Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills, Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company