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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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Last Chance to Take Advantage of Large Section 179 Deduction

Section 179 of the tax code is provides a great opportunity for small business owners to save on their taxes by allowing you to deduct in one year the cost of any new or used personal property that you purchase and use in your business more than 50% of the time. Some of the items […]

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5 Year-End Tax Planning Tips for Business Owners

December is the month that many business owners spend extra time winding down the year and planning for the new year.  Here are five year-end tax planning tips to prepare your business for 2014: Review subcontractor information. If you paid any subcontractor more than $600 during 2013, you are required to send each subcontractor a […]

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Government Announces One-Year Delay in Small Business Sign-Up Using HealthCare.gov

On Nov. 27, the federal government announced a one-year delay for small businesses to sign up for insurance plans using HealthCare.gov.  The enrollment deadline is now November 2014 for coverage that will take effect in January 2015. The government said the delay was necessary to allow individuals impacted by the well-known technical difficulties with the […]

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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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3 Steps to Maximize Profits When Selling Your Company

If you are planning to sell your company now or sometime in the future, a recent Forbes.com article advises that there are 3 strategies you should use to get as much cash out of your hard work in building the business as possible: Pre-sale planning.  Look for opportunities to increase the sale price of 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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