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Posts categoriezed as Entrepreneur

IdentityTheft.Gov Upgraded To Better Assist Identity Theft Victims

IdentityTheft.Gov Upgraded To Better Assist Identity Theft Victims published on

The Federal Trade Commission’s www.IdentityTheft.gov website has been updated making it easier for consumers to start the process of regaining their identity. The website has many tools that allow identity theft victims to alert law enforcement, the credit bureaus, and the IRS, as well as other necessary parties. The website will also allow victims to file a complaint with the FTC on the same site.

Identity theft2

The website, using the information entered, will create a recovery plan based on the information that the consumer provides. This website, which can also be viewed on mobile devices, should be a great help to many victims of identity theft with the ever increasing use of mobile devices as well as other devices to make purchases as well as store and provide our information for various services and products.

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

Investors Willing To Take Risks Along With Uber

Investors Willing To Take Risks Along With Uber published on

Despite ongoing  litigation involving labor disputes between its drivers, it seems wealthy investors are still willing to invest boatloads of money to be a part of Uber. A special fund known as New Riders L.P. -a lesser-known contribution to the billions of dollars in capital that Uber has been raising-allows investors to bet on Uber’s success. However, investors appear to be doing this blindly.

The financial disclosures on revenue and projections are being provided to investors but the offering document for the New Riders fund does not provide any financial details about Uber itself. Additionally, equity in Uber is obtained indirectly through the fund offering little in ways of protection. Despite this, the latest round offered commitments of upwards of $500 million which values Uber at $62.5 billion. The fund’s investors seek to profit the moment Uber decides to go public at a presumable higher valuation. Such risky investments seem to be the pattern of investors with deep pockets as other investors have sought preferred stock in companies such as Facebook before they went public. The possibilities surrounding Uber allow it to solicit large quantities of capital without having to disclose too much financial information.

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

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Congress Offers A New Path For Angel Investors

Congress Offers A New Path For Angel Investors published on

Congress has recently made changes benefiting angel investors, likely to improve the returns on their investment portfolios through tax relief. The Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act (PATH) addresses the taxability of investments made in Corporations offering Qualified Small Business Stock (QSBS).

Angel

The Internal Revenue Code defines the requirements for making investment in your business as offering QSBS to angel investors for capital investment. The most important aspect of PATH to an angel investor is excluding the investment from the Alternative Minimum Tax thereby removing the investment from being taxes at the federal level. Gaining a QSBS status for your offering will make investing in your business very attractive to angel investors and allow you to raise money for your business.

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

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Worker’s Compensation Fraud Concerns Small Business Owners

Worker’s Compensation Fraud Concerns Small Business Owners published on

A recent study found that one in five small business owners, defined by this sample as having under 100 employees, is concerned about compensation fraud and is unprepared to identify it or properly deal with the consequences. The same study found that approximately 13% of small business owners are concerned that one of their employees would commit fraud by faking an injury or illness.

filling up a work injury claim form

A senior executive of a fraud investigations company noted that he sees more and more businesses installing surveillance cameras. Common flags for potential worker’s compensation fraud include employees with histories of filing claims, untimely claims, incidents occurring around the same time as a change in employment status, and lack of witnesses. The most common indicator, according to the executive, was an untimely report, such as when an injury occurred during the weekend and was reported early in the workweek to claim worker’s compensation.

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

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Safe Harbor For Seeking Accredited Investors

Safe Harbor For Seeking Accredited Investors published on

If you are seeking to raise money for your business through private offering, the US Securities and Exchange Commission  (SEC) recently changed the rules regarding broad solicitation and general advertising under Rule 506 (c). Your company may take reasonable steps to ensure that all purchases are being made by accredited investors to satisfy the SEC rules when such accredited investors have approached the company following the general solicitation. The SEC provides non-exclusive means of achieving a safe harbor under the rule for verifying the income of the accredited investor, which include reviewing Internal Revenue Service forms that report income for the two most recent years.

When this is not available, review of the Internal Revenue Service forms that report income for the two years preceding the recently completed year and obtaining written representations from the purchaser that (i) an Internal Revenue Service form that reports the purchaser’s income for the recently completed year is not available, (ii) specify the amount of income the purchaser received for the recently completed year and that such amount reached the level needed to qualify as an accredited investor, and (iii) the purchaser has a reasonable expectation of reaching the requisite income level for the current year satisfies the SEC rule.

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

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Ad The Price Of Deception

Ad The Price Of Deception published on

Are you a victim? Have you ever been sitting in front of the television or computer, or reading a magazine, and see that one life-altering product scientifically proven to make you healthy, athletic, sexy, or rich and powerful? At the moment you must obtain this transformative product, and once it is in your midst, you realized you were deceived because the product doesn’t provide the results as guaranteed. If you are reminiscing about such a time, then you or a loved one may have been a victim of false advertising. In advertising, there’s a big difference between pushing the truth and making false claims, and for businesses that cross the line it can cost millions.

Tommie

Recently Tommie Copper, Inc., and its founder agreed to pay $1.35 million to settle the Federal Trade Commission charges; which claim that Tommie Copper’s advertisement of the company’s copper-infused compression clothing was deceptively misleading. Tommie Copper, Inc.’s, brochures, social media, and print media for the product claimed that the product would relieve severe and chronic pain and inflammation caused by arthritis and other diseases. Celebrity and consumer testimonials claimed that, “Tommie Copper garments alleviated pain caused by multiple sclerosis, arthritis, and fibromyalgia and could provide pain relief comparable to, or better than drugs or surgery.”

Regrettably, Tommie Copper, Inc. was unable to substantiate or provide any scientific data or expert testimony to corroborate said benefits of its copper-infused compression garments as specified in Tommie Copper, Inc.’s, brochures, social media, print media, and testimonials. Now Tommie Copper, Inc. and its founder understand the cost of deception in any advertisement when such product claims are unverifiable. So, business owners, beware when drafting advertisements for your products, and remember deceit is a treacherous and costly path.

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

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Girl Scouts: Are They Too Direct?

Girl Scouts: Are They Too Direct? published on

From the moment the phrase “Girl Scouts” is uttered, minds drifts to one thing: COOKIES! Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and Samoas — they are all so delicious, but sadly, their sale is sporadic and disappearance rapid. Once Girl Scout cookie season is over, it is impossible to find any of those delicious morsels distributed online or in your local grocery store, leaving consumers of these delectable delights contemplating the reason. Well, the answer is simple: aside from the Girl Scouts being absolutely adorable and it being unthinkable to say no to their little faces, the Girl Scouts use one of the oldest business strategies: direct sales. In a direct sales model, the business sells its products directly to the end consumer, rather than selling products in large volumes to distributors and stores. While the direct sale approach may be challenging, it offers control, flexibility, and immediate customer evaluation.

girl-Scout-Cookies

Direct sales provide business owners with the opportunity to manage their own personal relationships with their customers, which helps business owners understand and adapt to the needs of their customers. Also the feedback gained from direct sales interactions may be useful in evaluating the effectiveness of the business’s marketing campaigns, which will ultimately allow the business owner to tailor the development of products or services to consumer interests. Furthermore, a business that uses a direct sales model is less reliant on retailers, which may provide a stronger position in a negotiation with a retailer and allow the company to potentially secure a larger share of the profit from its products. So this year, when getting your cookie fix from the Girl Scouts, please take notes, because their business strategy is sure to leave you wanting more, while fostering a sweet sense of loyalty to their business brand.

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

Investments In Taxi Medallions May Be Waning

Investments In Taxi Medallions May Be Waning published on

The use of ride-sharing businesses may have taxicab companies questioning their investments for taxi medallions. In big cities, a taxi medallion is required for city-issued and regulated taxi services. At its all-time high in 2013, the cost for a taxi medallion was priced as high as $1.2 million but has since seen a sharp decline. Although a high initial expense, business owners often purchased taxi medallions with hopes of providing the license to their children or family members as an inheritance asset. However, many taxi medallion owners are now concerned that there is no market to sell the medallions, given the ride-share competition. One taxi driver notes that he inherited his medallion from his father 28 years ago and used the same to purchase two homes and send his two children to college. However, he, like many medallion owners, is unsure if he will be able to liquidate the value of the medallion to a seller with today’s market.

Taxi Medallion

There is growing concern that the ride-share economy puts medallion owners at an unfair disadvantage, subjecting medallion owners to stricter vehicle inspections, licensure requirements, and fare limitations. Many individual medallion owners and institutional investors alike now seek an active regulatory overhaul, together with prompting app-based innovations for taxis, to assist the medallion business to remain competitive with the burgeoning ride share industry.

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

Uber Settles On User Privacy

Uber Settles On User Privacy published on

An on going investigation of the popular car-sharing company, Uber, that has been led by a state attorney general’s office since November 2014 has come to a recent settlement. The investigation centered around the company’s collection, maintenance, and disclosure of customer’s personal information. A data breach of the company’s system had also been reported, in which a third party accessed Uber drivers’ personal information and drivers’ license numbers.

uber

The investigation began after several complaints were filed in which customers were being inappropriately tracked through Uber’s geolocation system, “God View”. This aerial view allows Uber to track real-time movement of cars vis-a-vis customer demand, thereby allowing the company to send alerts rerouting drivers if need be.

Given customer concerns of their privacy, the settlement requires the company to now utilize several data security practices and to encrypt their data, including customer geo-locations, so that riders are protected from unintentional tracking on their persons. Uber will also require a multi-factor authentication that Uber drivers would need to input before accesing customers’ personal information, as well as annual employee training.

The company will also be required to pay a $20,000 penalty for failure to timely notify the affected drivers of the security breach.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have user privacy 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

Protect Your Brand With A Non-Disparagement And A Morals Clause

Protect Your Brand With A Non-Disparagement And A Morals Clause published on

Building a brand name for your business takes hard work. Protecting that brand takes work too. And actions by parties within and without may tarnish your brand name.

A non-disparagement clause protects the brand by actions of those from within: exiting business partners are held to not make comments that would impact the brand. A former business partner will often seek to distinguish himself from the business often at the brand’s expense. ContractDisparaging comments that damage the business may have remedy with a non-disparagement clause.

A morals clause protects the brand from the actions of third parties with which the business is in contract. The business will often enter into contracts such as leasing retail space. Actions by the landlord that would impact the business by association create an escape from the contract allowing the brand to distance itself from the harmful actions.

Both types of clause are helpful to protect your investment, the business’s brand name.

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

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