Ratte Law Office » Small Business

Great New Book to Market Your Small Business on the Internet

Chris_Ratte — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 18:53:28 +0000

My good friend and business associate, Merrill Clark of Crestview Marketing, has just published a great new book to help small businesses market themselves on the Internet. How Your Small Local Business Can Get More Customers on the Internet is chock full of great information and advice about electronic marketing for small businesses.

I followed some of Merrill’s easy to follow suggestions for RatteLaw.com, and it dramatically increased traffic to my site. Soon, I hope to implement more of the suggestions to further improve your experience at RatteLaw.com.

Merrill’s book may be purchased using PayPal on his website or from Amazon.com at How Your Small Local Business Can Get More Customers On The Internet.

Tax Problems? IRS Dispute?

Chris_Ratte — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 21:17:07 +0000

Having tax problems or a dispute with the IRS? Then you should make the time to attend this upcoming presentation.

On Tuesday, February 2nd, Dr. Richard Spead of Spead Tax Group will be speaking about how to handle disputes with the IRS. In light of the IRS’s aggressive campaign against small business owners in the past year, this should be a timely and informative presentation.

The presentation is sponsored by BASE Resources. Prior speakers in the series have included yours truly and other experts in the business, financial and tax worlds.

Here’s the info:

Tax Issues & IRS Disputes

Guest speaker: Dr. Richard Spead of Spead Tax Group PLLC.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Great Bay Community College

Pease International Tradeport

320 Corporate Dr, Portsmouth, NH

Room 314. Enter at Business and Training entrance.

Cost $10. 8 am – 9 am. Registration at 7:45 am.

Session runs from 8am-9am. Registration at 7:45 am.

Coffee and muffins provided.

Please RSVP to Diane DeVries 603-534-2040 or diane@digrafika.com

Presented by BASE Resources – The premier source for business solutions

www.base-resources.com

NH Bizcast for Free Business Webinars

Chris_Ratte — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 16:17:28 +0000

The Business Resource Center of the New Hampshire Division of Economic Development has announced its 2010 Bizcast series. NH Bizcast is a free monthly webcast on a topic of interest to small business owners. The webcasts will be presented by local experts in the field, and will allow the participants to ask questions of the presenters.

Upcoming webcasts are listed below. NH Bizcast can be found at http://www.nheconomy.com/videos.aspx

Starting a Business in a Down Economy

January 20, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Deb Osgood, Knowledge Institute

New Mediums, New Messages – How Social Media is Transforming Communication.

February 17, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Allen Voivod, Epiphanies, Inc.

Best Business Practices for the Next Century.

March 17, 2010: Noon-1PM

Presented by Dr. Russ Ouellette, Sojourn Partners

Monthly Reading for December: Guerrilla Marketing 4th Ed.

Chris_Ratte — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 15:55:54 +0000

Marketing for Small Businesses

December is a great time to finalize your marketing plan for the coming new year. If you need to re-think your marketing strategy, then Jay Conrad Levinson may be able to help.

Guerrilla Marketing, 4th edition: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your SmallBusiness has been a favorite resource of countless small business owners for more than 25 years. The new edition has been updated to include Internet marketing, podcasts and other high-tech marketing tools.

NH Creates HealthFirst as an Affordable Wellness-Based Health Insurance Plan for Small Business

admin — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:36:06 +0000

HealthFirst Plans for small business began on October 1, 2009.

In these tough economic times, many small businesses are facing decisions about severely limiting health insurance coverage, or dropping coverage all together.

Recognizing that small businesses are the backbone of NH’s economy, and therefore a critical link in our health care system, NH enacted HealthFirst, an affordable, wellness-based health insurance plan for small employers.

“We set out to give small businesses and their workers a more affordable health care choice.” – Gov. John Lynch

HealthFirst is aimed to be comparable to the most popular, comprehensive health insurance plans for small businesses with an average 15 to 20 percent lower cost. The target rates are to be no more than 10% of the median income in the prior year, but will be rated based on risk like other health insurance rates.

In addition to providing a lower-cost alternative for small businesses of 50 or fewer employers, HealthFirst also focuses on keeping people healthy, which will help reduce the state’s overall health care costs. The plan calls for annual financial incentives for enrollees to quit smoking, maintain a healthy weight and participate in health management plans for chronic illnesses.

Starting Oct. 1, 2009, Anthem, Cigna, Harvard Pilgrim and MVP began offering NH HealthFirst Plans for small employers.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

NOTICE: The information and articles posted on this website are for informational purposes only and are not intended as legal advice. Contact me to discuss your particular situation or consult a licensed attorney in your state.

First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Extended

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 00:10:44 +0000

According to MarketWatch.com, the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit has been extended into 2010. The credit, which is currently scheduled to expire on November 30th, will reportedly be extended until the end of April 2010.

The first-time home buyer tax credit has been extended to spur real estate sales.

So, if you’ve been thinking of buying your first home, you can still take advantage of this popular tax credit.

For more information about how the tax credit works, see my previous post “Timing is Everything; First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Increased for 2009.”

The tax credit may also be expanded to more than just first-time home buyers. If the measure is approved by Congress, then repeat buyers will receive a $6,500 tax credit for purchasing a new home.

For more information, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

What's in a Name? What it Really Means to be an Independent Contractor.

admin — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 14:47:18 +0000

Many business owners insist on referring to their workers as “independent contractors” as if the name alone will somehow magically save them from having to pay employment taxes, workers compensation premiums and other costs associated with having employees. The true test, however, is in the actions and not in the words.

To determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor, the IRS has developed a three-part series of factors to be reveiwed.

Behavioral Control: Facts that show whether the business has a right to direct and control how the worker does the task for which the worker is hired, including such factors as when and where to do the work, what tools or equipment to use, and the amount of instruction given for individual tasks.
Financial Control: Facts that show whether the business has a right to control the business aspects of the worker’s job, including the extent to which the worker has unreimbursed business expenses and the extent of the worker’s investment in the facilities or equipment used by the worker in performing the services.
Type of Relationship: Facts that show the parties’ type of relationship include any written contracts describing the relationship the parties intended to create, whether the business provides the worker with employee-type benefits, and whether the relationship will continue indefinitely rather than for a specific project or period of time.

There are many other factors to be considered and each situation must be reviewed on an individual basis. A simple rule of thumb is this: look at what the worker is actually doing, and if they look and act like an employee then they probably are.

For a free half hour consultation regarding employment law issues, please contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

Need Venture Capital? Try Speed Dating.

admin — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 16:02:33 +0000

On Tuesday, October 28th, the NH High Technology Council and the NH Small Business Development Center will host the second annual “Speed Venture Summit” in Nashua, NH.

The Speed Venture Summit is a speed-dating-style event for fast-growth businesses and investors in New England. It is an opportunity for small businesses and entrepreneurs to showcase their business plans with speed pitches to numerous investors, all in one afternoon.

Approximately 50 companies will be selected to make pitches to some 25 different investment groups. Investors will include angels, venture capital firms and other private equity investors.

For more information about the Speed Venture Summit, visit www.speedventuresummit.org.

For a free half hour consultation about business planning and investment, please contact Attorney Chris Ratté.

THE POWER OF CHOICE: How to Choose the Proper Business Structure

admin — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:13:48 +0000

Choosing the right business entity structure may seem like any easy step in setting up a new business, but the wrong choice can be very costly. Each form of business structure has its own advantages and disadvantages, and each has its own rules and requirements. Choosing the right one is an important choice based upon the particular operation and goals of each individual business.

The five major business forms are sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, limited liability company, and corporation, which may then be classified as either a “C-Corp.” or an “S-Corp.”

Sole Proprietorship – This is the default business form of any single person doing business who has not taken steps to set up any formal business structure. A sole proprietor is personally responsible for all debts and liabilities of the business. Income is taxed directly to the individual owner on his or her personal income tax return. A sole proprietor may operate under a trade name other his or her own name, often called a “dba” which stands for “doing business as.”

General Partnership – This is the default business form of any business consisting of more than one person, which has not taken steps to set up any formal business structure. Each individual partner is personally responsible for the debts and liabilities of the partnership, even if it was incurred by a fellow partner without his or her consent. Income is taxed to the individual partners’ income tax return in proportion to their ownership interest in the partnership. General partnerships often operate under a Partnership Agreement, which sets forth the rights and responsibilities between the partners.

Limited Partnerships – Unlike general partnerships, limited partnerships are created by filing Articles of Formation with the local Secretary of State’s Office. Limited partnerships are operated by one or more general partners, with one or more limited partners who are essentially passive investors. The general partners are responsible for all of the debts and liabilities of the limited partnerships. In contrast, the limited partners are only responsible for business debts and liabilities up to the value of their interest in the limited partnership. As a tradeoff, limited partners have no say in how the business is run by the general partners. Limited Partnerships are governed a Limited Partnership Agreement. Like a general partnership, income is taxed to the individual partners in proportion to the ownership interest in the limited partnership.

Limited Liability Corporation – An LLC is the newest and most flexible form of the major business structures. LLC’s are created by filing Articles of Formation and are governed by an LLC Operating Agreement. The owners of an LLC are called members, and like the name implies, the members’ liability for business debts is limited to the value of their ownership interest in the LLC. The individual members are not personally liable for the acts of their fellow members like general partners would be. LLC’s may be operated by one or more managers, who may or may not be members of the LLC. LLC’s may be taxed as a “pass-through” entity, meaning income passes through the LLC to the individual owners like a partnership, or the LLC may be taxed on the entity level like a corporation. LLC’s must file business tax returns, annual reports and other requirements.

Corporation – A corporation is the oldest and most popular of the formal business structures. It is created by filing Articles of Incorporation with the Secretary of State and is governed by its By-Laws. Liability of the shareholders is limited to the value of the stock that they own in the corporation. Corporations may be privately held or publicly traded on national and international stock exchanges. Corporations may be classified for tax purposes as either a “C-Corp.” or an “S-Corp.” All corporations are automatically considered to be a C-Corp. unless they elect to be treated as an S-Corp. under Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code (hence the name). There are restrictions in the Code that sets forth which corporations qualify for S-Corp. treatment. A qualifying S-Corp. will be taxed as a “pass-through” entity like a partnership. A standard C-Corp. on the other hand will be taxed first on the corporate entity level, then again on the personal level for any distributions received by the individual shareholders. Corporations must file business tax returns, annual reports and other requirements.

For a free half hour consultation about which business structure may be right for you, contact Attorney Christopher E. Ratté.

FAILING TO PLAN IS A PLAN FOR FAILURE: How to build a better business from the ground up.

admin — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 20:37:17 +0000

Building a business is like building a house. You need to do it one step at a time. When you build a house, you don’t start with the roof, do you? You don’t even start with the foundation. You start with a plan. Where do you want to build? How big will the house be? Will you expand it after a few years? These are issues you have to think about BEFORE you start to build the house. Once you have the right plan, then you can build the proper foundation for your dream house.

If you want to build your dream business, then you need to start with a good plan too. While most people think a business plan is just something you show to potential investors or lending institutions, the real value to the business owner is in the process of creating the plan itself. Creating a business plan will force you to analyze every aspect of your proposed business before you jump to the really cool product or service that inspired you to start the business in the first place. After all, your house could have the greatest home theater ever created, but if you didn’t plan the electrical system correctly, then you’ll never enjoy the benefits of what you’ve built. The business plan will require you to research your product, the market, and your competitors to see what it takes to be successful. It will also require you to evaluate your own strengths and weaknesses; a critical analysis that most people avoid doing.

Every good business plan should include at a minimum the following:

Description of the company, including your mission statement, goals and objectives, and company philosophy;
Description of the products and services you will offer;
Marketing plan, including an analysis of your competition and how you will set yourself apart (this is probably the single most important part of the plan);
Operational plan of how you will actually run the business on a daily basis;
Management and organizational chart of who will run your business;
Personal financial statement of each owner to show to potential lenders;
Start-up budget with itemized expenses and capital requirements;
Financial plan with yearly projected profit and loss statements showing expected income, expenses and cash flow.

If this sounds like a big job, it is. Creating the first draft of your business plan should take several weeks of hard work. Once you’ve created your draft, take it to your professional advisers. Each plan contains numerous legal, financial and tax issues. An experienced business attorney and accountant will be able to spot potential problems for you so that you can revise the plan accordingly. All of this hard work will pay off in the end. As a wise man once said, “Failing to plan is a plan for failure.”

For a free half hour consultation to learn more about business planning, contact Attorney Chris Ratté.