ArcaMax

A little-known (and little-publicized) provision in last year's American Rescue Plan Act is wreaking havoc in the community of people who sell goods and services on eBay, Amazon, Etsy, Shopify and other online retail platforms. There' been a lot of confusing talk in the media about this lately, so let's start with the basics and get the facts ...Read more

"I own a commercial nursery with about 30 seasonal employees. My kids also work for me. One morning, my daughter tacked a hand-made poster with a Bible verse on my door. It referred to flowers and nature. My door faces into the break room.

One of my supervisors tore down the poster and told me we were violating her rights to a religion-free ...Read more

"I'm a consultant who provides a rather unusual service for large corporate clients. I have been invited to be interviewed on a local television morning news program, but it's very hard for me to describe what I do without giving examples of projects I've done for specific companies. Can I get into legal trouble if I mention these companies by...Read more

As we reach the end of the second COVID year, it's hard to even think of another income tax deadline in three to four months.

But as Mark Twain once observed, the only two things you can count on in life are death and taxes.

The good news: If your small business was clobbered by the COVID pandemic and government shutdowns, you shouldn't have...Read more

"I was downsized from a large corporation about a year ago. Having given up finding a full time position with another corporation because of my age -- I am 52 years old -- I set up a little consulting firm a while back and have met with several corporations to discuss offering my services as an independent contractor.

It is very frustrating. ...Read more

"I have been running a fairly successful business for some time now, but I know I can do better. The problem is that I don't like to negotiate -- I end up giving up way too much because I find the process so unpleasant. Do you have any tips that will make me a more successful negotiator without becoming an S.O.B.?"

Negotiating is one of the ...Read more

Sadly, the securities laws don't make it easy for small startups to raise capital from lots of "little" investors. So, how do you structure a startup when:

--You've got lots of people involved, some putting in money, others putting in "sweat equity" and others providing both.

--You are looking to raise only a small amount of money (less than...Read more

"Some friends of mine and I are forming a limited liability company (LLC) to develop and market a mobile phone software application (app). There are 12 of us in total, and we live in three different states. Five of us will be developing the product in our spare time without putting in any money. Three of us just want to put in money without ...Read more

"I have a successful growing business, to the point where a number of investors are starting to knock on my door.

"My business is in a limited liability company with two classes of membership interest -- voting and nonvoting. I did this on the advice of my lawyer and my accountant, who both suggested it was useful to distinguish between the ...Read more

"I have a one-person management consulting practice. I'm doing extremely well since my expertise is in great demand. Maybe a little too well.

"I'm deluged with phone calls and e-mails -- 40 or more each day, every single one of which must be responded to.

"I want to give my clients the best and most responsive service I possibly can, but it'...Read more

"I'm a video photographer who, up until now, has specialized in shooting weddings, bar mitzvahs and other 'celebration' type events.

"A local high school recently contacted me about making a video of their school's drama production next year -- it's a big deal for them since the last two productions were shut down due to COVID-19. I frankly ...Read more

"Some friends and I are thinking about setting up a benefit corporation or 'B corp' for our business, which has a strong social mission. We realize these are very new and don't want to do anything that will cause trouble for us or our investors down the road. What should we be doing to make sure things go smoothly and we actually have the ...Read more