Business Law
Nothing will ruin an entrepreneur's day faster than a lawsuit (or an arrest!) Here's some insight into the legal and regulatory issues that many business owners might expect to face. Hopefully, it'll keep the cops and the tort lawyers from gunning for you. [Big Disclaimer!] We're not lawyers. We're offering our opinions about general topics. Our first and best legal advice for a company wrestling with a specific legal issue is always the same: Hire a lawyer you can trust.
Features
How to hire someone
Hiring a new employee can be the most important single decision an entrepreneur makes. Here's a guide for the task.
How to Fire an Employee
Firing people. Once, back in the days of the Hawthorne Experiment, it was easy, and employees would thank business owners for having hired them in the first place. Then it became kind of awkward for employers, having new "human resources" rules to follow. But now Donald Trump has made it cool again -- you just sit the underperforming employee down, look them in the eye, and matter of factly tell them "You're fired."
Articles & Advice
Patents, trademarks and copyrights
Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights – What should you use?
Fair business practice and truth-in-advertising standards
What do you really need to know about fair business practices and truth-in-advertising law? Being shady – even looking shady – will harm you faster than almost anything else out of the gate.
Cutting merchants' debit card fees could cost others, analyst says.
Mike Strawhecker at the financial services consultancy The Straw Group posted a pointed criticism of proposed changes to credit card processing laws. An amendment to the proposed financial regulation overhaul would give the Federal Reserve the authority to regulate “interchange transaction fees," or the charges paid by retailers to debit-card processors. Strawhecker's take: Beware of unintended consequences.
Workplace safety rules for young businesses
What do I really need to know about workplace safety? First, know that if you get it wrong and people get hurt, you might just be out of business. Read on.
How to hire someone
Hiring a new employee can be the most important single decision an entrepreneur makes. Here's a guide for the task.
How to Fire an Employee
Firing people. Once, back in the days of the Hawthorne Experiment, it was easy, and employees would thank business owners for having hired them in the first place. Then it became kind of awkward for employers, having new "human resources" rules to follow. But now Donald Trump has made it cool again -- you just sit the underperforming employee down, look them in the eye, and matter of factly tell them "You're fired."
Ten Interview Questions that Sound Like They Should Be Okay to Ask (But Aren't).
Do you want to get sued just because you said, "you have a great accent, where are you from" to a potential employee? Or because you asked a candidate in a wheelchair how they lost the use of their legs? The law provides equal opportunity protection for everyone, and prohibits discrimination in the workplace for people who fall into specific protected classes. When you're hiring and interviewing, you need to phrase your questions carefully.
Tax credits
How do you qualify for business tax credits? You might want to consider taking up a side gig as a lumberjack. Read on.
Business tax basics
What do you really need to know about tax law? Keep solid records, separate your personal finances from your business finances, and if you take your business seriously, get an accountant.
Taxes for Entrepreneurs
Limiting Your Audit Risk
As quoted in the Los Angeles Times (March 15, 2010)
You can never eliminate that chance of being audited, because a perfect tax return will be suspicious, too (who files perfect taxes?) Company.com has ten ways to reduce your risk of an audit – we figure that most small businesses don’t have big accounts in the Caymans or Switzerland, and that if you’re reading this you haven’t run into significant tax problems in the past. Otherwise you'd know this stuff already.