Have vendors or professional advisors ever asked you to provide them an equity share in your company in exchange for their services? If so, I've got a couple of things that you're going to want to think about before you say yes.
Are you a business owner wondering whether you need to register your business to do business in a different state other than where your entity was formed? I'm going to give you a few tips as to when you definitely should register your business to do business in another state and a couple of situations where it's not so clear and you might want to consult somebody.
If you run a business, particularly a service-oriented business, you probably have a service agreement between you and your customers or clients. But is that service agreement good enough? Often, people who need a service agreement, especially those who are just starting a business, will grab ...
Are you a business owner with a website for your business? Have you wondered whether the terms of use or the privacy policy on your website are sufficient? If so, you're not alone. I'm going to give you a few tips so you can figure out whether your terms of use and privacy policy are sufficient, or whether you might need some further assistance.
Hi, I'm Katherine Taylor, the lawyer for business owners. Are you a business owner with one or more partners? And have you ever been in a dispute with one or more of your business partners? If so, you know how emotionally exhausting and expensive it can be. So I'm going to give you a few tip...
Hi, I'm Katherine Taylor, the lawyer for business owners. If you are a business owner who formed an entity because you wanted to achieve that limited liability that entities are known for, do you wonder sometimes whether that really is the case? Is there truly complete, limited liability for the...
Have you ever heard somebody say that they own a "close” corporation and wondered whatthat means? A close corporation, sometimes referred to as a “closed” corporation, is a less formal way ofrunning their business; the shareholders have elected to have no board of directors. In a regular c...
Many times I'll get the question, "can I 1099 that person?" or "can I hire this person as a 1099 employee?" I usually say "1099 is not a verb, and there's no such thing as a ‘1099 employee'” because a 1099 is an IRS form that is provided to independent contractors. Implicit in these questions i...
We are now into 2021. And while 2020 has come to a close, there are things we can't just leave back in 2020 because there remain a lot of huge challenges ahead in 2021. But my message to you is -- you've got it. Why do I say that? In 2020, you likely went through a lot of changes, whether it'...
If you own an LLC, you might have asked yourself "do I need an operating agreement?" My answer to my clients is a very solid "probably." An operating agreement does the same thing for an LLC that bylaws do for a corporation: it discusses, documents, and memorializes the relationship among the...
Attorney and CPA, Katherine L. Taylor of Taylor Legal in Maryland asks, "If you are a small business owner thinking about selling your business, do you need a lawyer?"
Let's say you're a business owner who started a corporation 10 years ago, along with another owner, and you're getting ready to sell. Fortunately, you’ve found a buyer, and you realize that you never issued stock. Is that a fatal flaw? Probably not, but it's going to take some work for you to be able to actually sell that stock to another party. I can help you do that.
You've owned a small business for a while, probably. It's been either a great experience or a headache, but for whatever reason, you want to sell it or pass it along to another generation or another owner. You've never done this before and you're not sure what's involved, but I can help.
You've probably heard the phrase "pull yourself up by your bootstraps.” It's been around for more than 100 years, but it has also evolved into another term that a lot of startups (especially tech startups) use to describe the way that they get off the ground and grow. In the old days, pulling ...
So you've started a business, you've been running it for a while, and now you have investors. What do you do first? KATHERINE L. TAYLOR, ATTORNEY AND CPA
Katherine Taylor, the lawyer for business owners, explains how running a business is like running a race. You can contact her at her website, https://taylorlegal.com/
I was in a hurry today because I didn't allow enough time between preparing for my race in October and getting this post ready. But in that process, I realized that I was making progress to achieving my goals, even if it didn't seem like it at the time. I have a plan to run a half-marathon in October, and that plan requires running a certain number of times a week. I had to do it today...
In a prior post, I discussed when you need or do not need a lawyer to assist in the formation of an LLC. Now, I'm going to explain to you when you do and don't need a lawyer to assist with the formation of your corporation. You can form a corporation by filing certain documents with any state ...
This is the first in a series of "Do I Need a Lawyer?" posts. Many of the calls I get from people are just asking the question "do I really need to hire you?” and frankly, the answer is often no. Today, I'm going to explain to you when you may or may not need a lawyer if you're forming an LL...
Beginning May 29, the state of Maryland began allowing restaurants to reopen, provided that they only seat patrons outside at tables holding up to six people; all tables must be at least six feet away from each other. Customers must wear masks when not dining, and employees must...
Happy Halloween, Howard County!I just finished carving my pumpkin, and, in the spirit of the season, I thought I would share with you a little legal horror story, which I first heard in law school.The case in question is Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254 (NY App. Div. 1991). The facts of the c...
Exactly what is an S corporation and what types of businesses may be interested in being an S Corp? First, it is very important to understand that an S Corp is a FEDERAL TAX STATUS of a corporation and not a type of entity. What does this mean? This means that when you form a corpor...
Are you considering starting a small business in Maryland? If so, it is important that you select the right type of entity and comply with Maryland requirements. A Maryland business attorney and accountant can be helpful in guiding you through the necessary steps. As a broad overview, ...
In Maryland an employer can be liable for the negligence of an "agent, servant, or employee." The legal term for this is "respondeat superior." In Latin this literally means "let the master answer." First, while we often hear the word "negligence," what does it mean in this contex...
Running any type of business is challenging, but running a home-based business has its own set of challenges. If you are considering running a home based business you should thoroughly weigh the pros and cons for your type of business and your personal needs. You need a fit for bo...
