The fifth in our 10 episode podcast series of legal issues facing entrepreneurs is “How should I structure my partnership agreement?” Many new companies fail due to the fact that there never was a well written partnership agreement in place that spelled-out the duties and obligations of each partner and cover all issues the “could” arisen in the future. For example:

• Do all partners agree that company decisions are to be unanimous or by a majority vote? This is important and you’ll want to sit down with your partners and think this one through.
• How much equity (ownership) will each partner have in the company?
• Again, sit down with your partners and think about who’s going to be in charge of what? How much work will each partner have and hold them to that work as well. According to that work, make sure you do an “equity split.”
• How will company assets be split upon the event of a dissolution? Think about this. Think about the bigger picture.

Discus all of these issues with your partners making sure you have all of these written down in a partnership agreement. All of these issues and many more must be tackled and addressed in a comprehensive partnership agreement at the outset of forming your partnership.

Get your copy of the Go Legal Yourself eBook FREE when you get the app from your APP Store.

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com

Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself FREE when you get the APP from your APP Store.

To continue our series on the 10 legal issues facing entrepreneurs, today we’re talking about the 4th issue, “Am I probably protecting my personal assets?”

It’s always important for you to keep your business assets separate from your “personal” assets, which at least is the one way you can limit your liability. The best way to do this is to maintain a separate business bank account and which it ONLY receives income and pays for business related expenses.

Also, make sure when the people who owe you money pay you, it’s written to the business name and not your personal name.

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]

www.GoLegalYourself.com

Today I’m joined in the studio with Charles Guerin, CPA. We learned that with the new tax laws, it’s changed the framework towards how individuals now prepare their tax returns going forward into the new year for 2018. Some of these include:

• How we take our major deductions on our tax returns, including personal exemptions.
• The a drop in the marginal tax rates across the board.
• The child tax credit has increased.

Additionally, we talk about how corporations are now taxed at 21% - a flat marginal tax rate. This tax rate really only affects the humongous large corporations.

Here is Charlie’s #1 tip he asks his clients to prepare for and complete BEFORE coming to see him:

• Bookkeeping: Be prepared. The key is to take pride in your “books” as much as you do for your business. Please don’t keep “dirty books” (listen to Ep. 17 Kasey Ortiz: The Importance of Taxes and Clean Books).

Charlie’s Top 3 Tax Tips:

• Choose the right business structure for your business.
• Always keep your books in perfect order.
• Always speak to your CPA if you have a questions.

Charles Guerin, CPA
California CPA FirmDel Mar, CA
858-205-1079

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]

Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself.

www.GoLegalYourself.com

Generally as a employer, you should limit your liability before taking on any new employees.

The three “must haves” are:

• an employee handbook which is given out to all new employees. The handbook should address everything from the company’s sexual harassment policy to the office dress code. You’ll have them read the handbook and sign an acknowledgment form. This handbook should also cover all of the employee’s “rights.” Again, have them read it and acknowledge that they’ve received and read the handbook.
• to have each employee complete an application. Having this document is crucial for you to have as an employer!
• an employee agreement. This can be as simple as one page or as elaborate as it needs to be. But you should have one.

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]

Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself.

www.GoLegalYourself.com

Back in episode 3, I spoke about creating an entity and the pros and cons of each. I go into depth on this issue in my book Go Legal Yourself which you can find on Amazon here.

To answer this question, you can ask yourself these 3 questions:

• Are you interested in having your company go public in the near future, or do you want to remain a private company?
• Are you planning on taking-on investors or will you be privately funding the company?
• What type of growth are you predicting for your company?

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]

Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself.

www.GoLegalYourself.com

Is your business compliant? Is it following corporate law? Corporate compliance effects companies in all types of industries. It’s important to find out what types of records and other types of documents should be generated and maintained by your business.

Here are just a few of the factors you should consider: the type of legal entity you are; what state do you do business in?

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]

Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself.

www.GoLegalYourself.com

Today’s show is exciting - especially for me! Today I have Kasey Ortiz from JES Taxes in the studio and we’re talking about taxes and keeping clean books. Kasey is experienced and a wealth of knowledge on the topics  of taxes and the tactics of keeping clean books. We’re also talking about one of my favorite and sexy subjects, Money!

Kasey's Business Deductions PDF

We are a full service business center. Our office specializes in Military taxes, Small Business Development, Entity Compliance, Individual & Business Taxation & More!

JES Taxes delivers exceptional value and solutions that create a peace of mind. We look forward to serving you with the highest integrity and personal ethics to earn your professional trust.

Kasey Ortiz
JES Taxes
606 Cassidy
Ste. A
Oceanside, CA. 92054
www.JesTaxes.com
[email protected]  
760-547-1420

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]

Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself.

www.GoLegalYourself.com

From the day you start your business, you’re exposing yourself to risk. Insurance is your second level of defense after protecting your personal assets. There are several types of insurance. We’ll go over them but go back and listen to episode 13 for more details. Also, I recommend sitting down with an independent business broker who can best shop across all companies.

• Professional Liability Insurance
• Property Insurance
• If you have employees, you must have Workman’s Compensation Insurance
• Product Liability Insurance
• For delivery businesses, make sure you have adequate Vehicle Insurance that protects you
• Business Interruption Insurance
• Let’s not forget General Liability Insurance

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]

Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself.

www.GoLegalYourself.com

What should be in your contract? Is a contract and contract? Not really it. An “enforceable contract” needs to include:

• The name of the parties.
• The services being offered.
• The price of the contract.
• The Method of payment and when you’ll be paid.
• A “Refund Policy” if that makes sense.
• Protection for your “intellectual property.”
• How and those things that will terminate the contract.
• How and where the disputes will be settled.
• A “confidentiality clause” - which in most cases is a must.
• Who is responsible for the tax obligations.

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]
Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself.

www.GoLegalYourself.com

Get your copy of Go Legal Yourself.

Today MOO and I are talking about a very upsetting topic . . . making mistakes. These are the top three mistakes business owners make:

• Choosing the wrong business structure.
• Not protecting their goods and services.
• Not protecting their business relationships, team members, and vendors.

Kelly Bagla, Esq.
Go Legal Yourself
GoLegalYourself.com
[email protected]