For the love of your business

Articles to LIFT Your Life and Business

How to Protect and Defend Your Brand

Earlier this year, Microsoft was on the wrong end of an English court ruling that found the software giant had infringed on the trademark of British broadcasting company BSkyB with its SkyDrive cloud storage service.  Instead of appealing the ruling, Microsoft decided to rebrand the service. Before your company has a misstep with intellectual property […]

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5 Steps to Protect Your Business From a Divorce

With the U.S. divorce rate at around 50% for first marriages and even higher for second marriages, a divorce’s impact on the fate of your business should be cause for concern.  The best thing that business owners can do is take preventive measures to ensure their companies will not suffer from a divorce – either […]

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Protecting Your Company From Patent Trolls

The term “patent troll” has entered the corporate vernacular thanks in large part to the ongoing “smartphone patent wars” as well as the increasing number of companies that have begun to take a stand in fighting the malicious behavior of entities that exist solely for filing frivolous patent litigation. According to a White House report […]

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Will Your Company’s Non-Compete Agreement Be Enforceable

Non-compete agreements have traditionally been a trusted business tool to help companies protect proprietary information that is central to their business.  However, the proliferation of these agreements in the past decade or so has caused them to lose their teeth in courts across the country.  Here are some tips on implementing non-compete agreements that will […]

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How to Protect Your Intellectual Property

Beyond the products or services you offer, your company has intellectual property that needs to be rigorously protected.  Too often, business owners and entrepreneurs neglect to put the proper safeguards in place, which can lead to big legal expenses down the road. Here are 6 costly IP mistakes you need to avoid to protect your […]

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Why Every Business Owner Needs an Estate Plan

Most business owners build a business with an endgame in mind: either cashing it out or passing it on.  Whatever your scenario is for what happens to your business when you retire or die, it is not likely to happen without a comprehensive plan that aligns your personal and business objectives. If you plan to […]

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If You Build It, You Best Protect It

Consider all the time you have spent or will spend building your business – and then consider how much energy you have spent on how to protect it or protect your family from it. Unfortunately, many small business owners don’t give much thought to asset protection until it’s too late – when a suit is […]

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How to Build a Business That Endures

If you have built a successful business and plan to leave it to your heirs or business partners, doing so is not a process that just happens naturally after you retire or die.  If you don’t have a buy-sell agreement, a business succession plan, a business transition plan or a business preservation plan in place, […]

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10 Legal Myths That Could Endanger Your Business

Inc. magazine recently wrote an article that made me realize many business people are flying blind about the legal parts of business.  These are all places you could get in trouble, if you aren’t awake, aware and doing business with your eyes wide open. Personal assets are protected by the right business entity.  Choosing a […]

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7 Myths About Choosing a Business Entity

New business owners must weigh the pros and cons of the choices they make when it comes to choosing the right business entity for a new enterprise; Entrepreneur recently posted 7 myths that could get in the way of selecting the best business entity: An LLC saves taxes.  The Limited Liability Company (LLC) is designed […]

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Litigation Over Noncompete Agreements Up 61%

According to the Wall Street Journal, litigation over noncompete agreements has risen 61%in the past decade – a number that may be low considering most cases are settled out of court and not reported. Long considered the standard for senior management employment contracts, noncompetes are becoming increasingly common at all levels of employment as a […]

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