Thanks New York Times for Pointing this out
"Step 1 in Starting a Business: Hire a Lawyer."
Entries by Imke Ratschko
Crash Course on Raising Money by Beth Polish
Beth Polish, accomplished businesswoman and frequent speaker and commentator on the subject of financing and raising money, offers a free 5-Day Crash E-Course on the subject of raising money through loans or equity investments. The course explores the mindset of the business and whether it is ready to seek out money; the mindset of a […]
Spotlight on Asset Based Finance Loans
Traditional bank loans are granted to a business based on its creditworthiness as reflected in its financial statements and certain financial ratios. What many small business owners don’t know is that, even if financial statements and ratios are nowhere near qualifying for a traditional loan, a business may be able to secure an asset based […]
Follow-up to Raising Startup Capital – New York Times Article on the Topic
My post yesterday, "Raising Startup Capital from Investors- Information Resources," mentioned that many small businesses are not in the market for traditional venture capital financing. Coincidentally, the New York Times today has a very interesting article which reports that many Internet start-ups are foregoing venture capital in their early stages and choose instead to grow […]
How to Choose a Lawyer
If you are looking for a lawyer, you should educate yourself about the process, how to look for a lawyer, what to look for in a lawyer, which questions to ask, and how to prepare for the first meeting. To that end, the New York, Monroe County Bar Association, has made available a public resource: […]
Raising Startup Capital From Investors – Information Resources
Starting a business requires money, often a lot of it. Unless you have the resources yourself or can convince Grandma to give you a generous gift, you will be looking for outside sources of capital. You have the option of borrowing money or selling part of your business to investors. If you decide to go […]
Small Business Guide to Risk Management
Via Small Business Trends, I learned about this helpful e-book "Small Business Guide to Risk Management – A complete guide for business decision-makers" published by the Association of Small Business Development Centers. From the introduction: "Risk management involves eliminating, mitigating or insuring the risks your business faces so you can more confidently pursue the rewards […]
When Businesses Divorce
Business owners at war can get divorced. If all therapy fails and the fighting business owners cannot agree on an amicable separation, they could file for divorce. In New York, shareholders who represent 50% of the votes of all outstanding shares of a corporation entitled to vote in an election of directors can petition a […]
Prosper.com – Borrow Money the Web 2.0 Way
Forget Citibank, Chase and Co., borrow money from people like you and me. Or lend money to people and earn a decent return. All this and more is promised by Prosper.com, the online market place for people to people lending. They claim they have 90,000 members and $18 million in loans to date. If you […]
The LLC Operating Agreement – Keep it Simple
Here is a little known secret about limited liability company (LLC) operating agreements: They are often more complex than necessary. Pick up any "standard" operating agreement from the internet or elsewhere and you will see a lot of provisions incomprehensible to a mere mortal. Most of these provisions deal with so called "special allocations" among […]