PITFALL: Giving equity to employees prematurely
Many new business owners believe that giving a percentage of the business to employees will create a sense of ownership in this business and engender greater loyalty and work ethic. [...]
MYTH: DIY services are just as good as going to a lawyer and will save money
Reading any of the other MYTHS should dispel this notion, but if you have come to this MYTH first, to summarize: Litigation is a complex process that is rampant with [...]
PITFALL: No team of advisors
If you have read through points 1-10, you realize that you may know a lot about the product or service you sell, but there are many aspects to running a [...]
MYTH: A trust will protect my property from creditors
This is true in some very specific cases, but the type of trust that provides asset protection is typically a third party trust where the trustee, who has control over [...]
PITFALL: Failure to adhere to corporate formalities
One of the main reasons we form corporations or LLCs is to avoid personal asset exposure for business liabilities. This “corporate (or company) veil” of protection that an entity provides [...]
MYTH: LLCs are the best entity choice and the only one that gives liability protection
Many people think that the name “limited liability company” (LLC) denotes that this is the only business structure or entity type that provides liability protection. LLCs have only been in [...]
PITFALL: No contracts or insufficient contracts
This can be one of the costliest mistakes in operating a business. The list of potential problems is too long to share in this format, but agreements, even between trusted [...]
MYTH: A registered TM is absolute protection of a name or mark
Registering a trademark or tradename is an essential step in protecting valuable intellectual property and the associated goodwill of a business. However, an undiscovered senior user, someone who has used [...]
PITFALL: No exit strategy
Another basic question Scheufler Law asks entrepreneurs is “What is your exit strategy?” More often than not, the response is a blank stare. Entrepreneurs are frequently so excited about the [...]
MYTH: I own the domain so I have a right to the name
I hear this so often when discussing name protection with business clients. Registering a domain name, without more, only prevents others from registering that particular and exact domain. There are [...]