Legal Services – Page 8 – AmeriLawyer – Incorporate, Trademark & Asset Protection

Employee v. Independent Contractor: What’s The Difference and Why Does It Matter?

September 2, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

They are certain factors that go into determining whether one is an independent contractor or employee, and it all depends on the level of control and independence within the employment relationship. You are not an independent contractor if you perform services that can be controlled by an employer. Some questions to consider in determining whether one is an independent contractor are as follows: 1) Does the company control or have the right to control what and how the worker does their job? 2) Are the business aspects of the worker’s job controlled by the company? 3) Are there written contracts or employee type benefits? 4) Is this job the worker’s sole source of income and will the work relationship continue?

Why is employment status important for you as an employer? A worker’s employment status affects an employer’s tax liability. When a worker is an employee, employers must pay state and federal unemployment tax, social security tax and workers compensation/disability premiums. However, when a worker is an independent contractor, the hiring party is not required to make any of these payments. Should employers incorrectly define a worker as an independent contractor, they may find themselves liable for past taxes including income taxes, FICA, federal unemployment taxes, workers compensation insurance, interest and penalties.

Don’t forget to consider these important factors next time you are hiring.

Yield Significant Tax Benefits & Separate Your Business Liabilities Through A Qualified Subchapter S Subsidiary Election

August 27, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

Prudent business owners who own multiple businesses generally form a separate corporation for each separate business in order to isolate the liabilities of one business from the other. If you currently own a Subchapter S Corporation (“S Corporation”) and are thinking about starting another business as a “division” of your S Corporation, then the Qualified Subchapter S Subsidiary (“QSSS”) may be a useful vehicle to establish a parent-subsidiary structure through filling IRS Form 8869. Each QSSS is treated as a separate legal entity, maintaining its state law liability protection.

For federal income tax purposes, however, each QSSS is not treated as a separate entity such that its income and expenses roll-up into, and are reported as part of, the parent’s S Corporation tax return. Additional Advantages which QSSS may provide are significant tax benefits. In the instance where some entities in the parent-subsidiary structure generate taxable income while other entities generate taxable losses, the QSSS may allow the income and loses to offset one another.

To understand how an S corporation election can save you money, speak to a one of our attorneys by calling 800-743-9900 or visit our website today!

Protecting Your Business’s Intellectual Property

August 24, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

For many small business owners, the topic of intellectual property makes them run in the other direction because of the fallacy that it is not worth their time or effort to secure intellectual property rights. However, many emerging businesses soon discover that a competitor is using their ideas such as packaging, logos, names and other protectable items costing them lost revenue due to consumer confusion.

Unlike patents, which must go through a rigorous application process with the United States Patent and Trademark Office, trademarks can be obtained with relative ease. Your company’s name, logos, slogans and any other identifiable marks consumer relate to recognize your company and its products or services must be registered trademarks to be protected from your competitors. Your company’s reputation is at stake – you must be armed with registered trademarks to protect your company

Do not delay; call us today or visit our website to get the process started!

(800) 603 – 3900

www.AmeriLawyer.com/trademark

Employer Liability For Harassment At Work

August 20, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

Harassment is a form of employment discrimination that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967, and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. A determination of whether harassment is severe or pervasive enough to be illegal is made on a case-by-case basis by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

The employer is automatically liable for harassment by a supervisor that results in a negative employment action such as termination, failure to promote or hire, and loss of wages. If the supervisor’s harassment results in a hostile work environment, the employer can avoid liability only if it can prove that it reasonably tried to prevent and promptly correct the harassing behavior, and the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer.

To learn more about Sexual Discrimination & Harassment Company Policy, click Here or call us at (800) 603 – 3900 to speak to one of our attorneys.

Unique Ways To Get Everyone On Board With A Marketing Strategy

August 13, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

An excellent way to boost sales for your company and outshine your competitors is through a marketing strategy. Getting the necessary people to support the strategy so that it is properly implemented can be difficult.

These tips are aimed at helping to convince others that the marketing strategy would work.

Make the Marketing Strategy a Game. Create teams, and when creating these teams try to put people together who don’t normally work with each other. From there the teams would use some variation of the following steps to create strategies:
Step 1: Decide on a single product to market.
Step 2: Research and document general audiences, buyer personas, pain points, motivators, etc.
Step 3: Define goals of the content – leads, sales, exposure, list building, etc.
Step 4: Detail the buying process (how/when does the target buy) and engagement cycles (top, middle, or bottom of funnel).
Step 5: Define the content niche.
Step 6: Develop a content mission statement.
Step 7: Create a comprehensive content marketing plan based on channel, persona, pain points, goal, content type, structure, tone, channel integration, and desired interaction.
Step 8: Build a content calendar to include at least 12 pieces of content. For each one, identify topic, type, persona, pain point, goal, call to action, next/previous steps, and anything else you deem appropriate.
Step 9: Develop a strategy to market each piece of content. Options could include social media, link building, video, offline, etc.
Step 10: Define key performance indicators and how goals will be measured.

The teams would then make a presentation to answer the steps listed above.

Visit our website today for more business tips from our attorneys!

Are You Properly Protecting Your Services Or Products

August 10, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

If you have a product, service, website, or mobile app which you are marketing, protecting your rights to your mark is essential. You have to be able to take advantage of as much protection as you may have.

The federal government has strict regulations regarding whether or not your slogan, logo, or name can become a registered mark. In its simplest format, the difference depends on whether or not is merely “informational” or “generic” or “laudatory” and thus not capable distinguishing this particular product or service from that of someone else. For example, “think green and made in the usa” at some point were considered not to be registrable as being merely informational. The federal government alleged the slogan was not used to identify the product’s origin. In other words, it was not successful or used to identify the source of the product.

Often, as part of that same requirement, the slogan is not actually part of the packaging of the product and only appears in advertising for the product. That is another mistake because it is difficult to establish that the slogan is used as a source identifier.

The federal government requires the slogan, words or logo itself to be inherently distinctive and identify with the product or service so that the general public, upon hearing or seeing the slogan, word or logo relates it to the particular service or product. Some popular examples of this type of slogan is “Just Do It.” for Nike.

Protecting your slogans, words or logo which you use in your business to provide your services or sell your products is often a very difficult proposition and has challenging issues to deal with. You are best served in taking the necessary and proper steps by engaging our law firm to assist you and guide you as you navigate all these steps. Just keep in mind that from the marketing as well as the legal standpoint, the more the slogan, words or logo are used in connection with a product or service, the more weight such use may carry over time in terms of the trademark registration process. Be consistent in your use; make sure the logo mirrors itself everywhere you use it. Keep detailed records and notes as well as copies of all uses in case you ever need to prove your use.

Do not delay; call us today or visit our website to get the process started!

(800) 603 – 3900

www.AmeriLawyer.com/trademark

Save Money On Taxes With S Corporation Status

August 6, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

An S Corporation receives the benefit of being treated like a partnership

An S and C corporation are essentially the same type of entity except for how they are taxed. C corporations will pay income taxes on their own return. In most small C corporations the owners are paid out through salaries and fringe benefits, leaving no corporate profit and therefore no corporate taxes. However, if the C corporation pays dividends, then it will be taxed as part of corporate profit. This is referred to as double taxation.

On the other hand, an S corporation does not pay taxes itself. Any profits are paid on the individual level. This is referred to as pass-through taxation. However, the S corporation has additional restrictions on who can be a shareholders, the amount of shareholders, and the classes of stock.

Making the S corporation election

To save on taxes, C corporations and single member LLC’s are encouraged to make the S corporation election. Multi-member LLC’s and partnerships will receive pass-through tax treatment by default. The election should be made at the time of business formation. Waiting to make an election can cause non-recognition of the S corporation status which will have negative consequences for the business’s tax liability. Most importantly, the election is more then just completing a form. The proper language has to be included in the Articles as well.

To understand how an S corporation election can save you money, speak to a one of our attorneys by calling 800-743-9900 or visit our website today!

New York LLC And Publication Requirement

August 5, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a Law Firm that opened for business 40 years ago and its record of outstanding excellence representing more than 260 000 clients has taken us to where we are today. Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. has established a reputation for honesty and distinction in the industry; especially, amongst our repeat clients over the past 40 years. Our professionalism is observed in the level of care and commitment we demonstrate on each and every service we perform . We believe in giving our clients an excellent service because we believe you should get what you pay for!

In New York, every new Limited Liability Company must announce its formation by placing notices in two publications for six weeks, at a cost of up to two thousand dollars. For the price of $779.95, Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. P.C. will form your LLC and complete your publication requirements plus more!

INCLUDES State Filing Fees. “YES! Includes State Filing Fee”, and
INCLUDES Company Seal and Book, and
INCLUDES Certificate of Organization, and
INCLUDES Company Minutes, and
INCLUDES LLC Regulations, and
INCLUDES LLC Ownership Register, and
INCLUDES Banking Resolution, and
INCLUDES Membership Certificate, and
INCLUDES Initial Office Address for LLC, and
INCLUDES Publication Each Week in 2 Newspapers for 6 Successive Weeks,
INCLUDES Filing of Change of Office Address with New York Secretary of State, and
INCLUDES Filing of Publication Affidavit with New York Secretary of State,
INCLUDES Preliminary Name Search, and
INCLUDES 110% Lowest Price Guarantee, and Yes, even Includes Attorney’s Fee (No Hidden Attorney Fees).

Call or email us: (800) 603-3900, info@Amerilawyer.com

Visit our Website today!

www.AmeriLawyer.com

You want your business to grow and understand the benefits of having qualified, experienced counsel behind you but one thing continues to cross your mind: What will it cost? At AmeriLawyer.com, we are committed to making sure you always receive the best price and value on every purchase you make. Our 110% Lowest Price Guarantee is a testament to that commitment.

If you should find a lower price on an item we offer from a legitimate competitor, whether online or otherwise, even if that item is already on sale, we will not only meet 100% of the lower price, we will beat the price by an additional 10% of the difference to thank you for bringing it to our attention.

To find more information about New York Publication Saver LLC:

www.Amerilawyer.com

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.
Phone: (800) 603-3900
Email: info@Amerilawyer.com

Using Social Media As A Business Tool

July 31, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

As technology progresses and more people use social media as a tool for marketing, several businesses are adapting to this innovation by using social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as a tool to increase brand recognition for their business. There are many effective strategies small business owners can undertake to effectively use social media and improve brand recognition for their business.

For your business, consistency on all social media platforms is highly recommended. Using your company logo as the picture for your account and maintaining uniformity on all platforms will provide followers or users with one consistent image as it relates to your business. Additionally, in order to gain followers, it is important to identify your business’s target audience and post interesting and unique photos, articles and/or videos that your target audience can identify with. Using social media to promote special offers or giveaways will also engage users and encourage them to share some of your postings. It is important to keep your target audience engaged with your business’s postings.

Another effective strategy business owners can use is to interact with profiles of those who influence the business’s target audience. Using social media to interact and connect with users who have a large following may help in gaining exposure through the use of sharing posts or could even lead to someone with a vast following posting something about your business and/or product.

What To Do While Waiting For Lending To Improve

July 27, 2015 Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.

Small businesses feel the squeeze as banks are tightening their belts

As the economy improves, bankers are seeing a surge in credit applications. However, banks are not positioned to approve loans as quickly as they did in the past because of substantial regulatory hurdles in determining creditworthiness. Following the too-big-to-fail fiasco, much of the credit capacity has concentrated in a handful of large banks, and these banks are taking a more conservative approach. On the other hand, regional and commercial banks that are willing to lend to small businesses are left with little credit to give.

Small business strategies to offset the big-bank credit crunch

The most common alternative to bank lending is high-net-worth individuals. Lending from these individuals can be done through convertible debt or terms of credit. Convertible debt is a blend between debt and equity. It is secured through a convertible note and carries a per annum interest rate until some point in the future when it converts into equity. The conversion usually occurs during the next round of financing and is given warranty coverage or discounted based on the company’s valuation. Terms of credit are only usually given to companies with a solid track record. They come in the form of a senior secured loan with a high liquidation preference, meaning they must be repaid before all other debt or equity holders.

To better understand how convertible debt or terms of credit can help your business, speak to one of our attorneys by calling 800-743-9900 or visit our website today!

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