I will be participating in the Seattle SBA's Jump Start Your Business Workshop from June 2 - June 6. The workshop consists of 4 full days of programs for startups and small businesses which cover many topics including marketing, public relations, business planning, accounting, tax, and, of course, business law essentials. In the business law essentials program, I'll cover business structures, trademarks, licensing, employees, and contracts, among other topics. View the full program agenda here.
One key area where many entrepreneurs lack skills is in finance and managerial accounting -- how to understand the numbers and use them to propel your business forward. Berry Zimmerman of BizEnrich is launching a workshop series entitled Profit Mastery in connection with Business Resource Services. This is a hands-on program that helps business owners look at the numbers side of the business from an operational perspective to understand what changes in each item means to the bottom line and how to manage the items collectively. The program is broken down into six 1.5 hour seminars to make the volume of materials managable and provide the opportunity to implement the learnings and return with questions. The next session begins on June 17 in Bellevue and the second set beginning on July 8 in Seattle.
When should you consider applying for a state trademark in Washington State? I find that, generally, it is not a valuable or necessary investment for a business. You want to be sure to register the tradenames or "dba"s (doing business as) for your business to obtain exclusive use of the tradename within the state. The trademark is a separate application that purports to protect your mark within the state. As the tradename provides exclusive use of the words, there may be some value to applying for a state trademark for your logo or imagery. That being said, if your business is participating in interstate commerce, you may have a mark that qualifies for federal registration. Federal registration offers significant benefits for your mark and is worthwhile if your brand meets the requirements. State registration in Washington can be beneficial in certain situations but is often not critical to protecting your mark.
I have had a few clients come to me with plans to use Guidant Financial to help them purchase a business using their self-directed IRA funds. First and foremost, I am reluctant to buy into this approach because it is an extremely risky move to use your retirement savings to purchase a business. That being said, I was unfamiliar with the company and was excited to find an article today in the Eastside Business Journal on Guidant Financial and have some additional insights as to how they approach this. Guidant Financial enables an individual to use their current self directed IRA savings to invest in their own company (i.e. alternative investments), rather than traditional market securities. In order to accomplish this, the entity must be a C-Corporation subject to certain taxes that other entity structures (LLC or S-Corp) may not incur but since there aren't any taxable distributions to the shareholders (as the returns must go back into the IRA), the structure may not be as onerous under this approach as it might otherwise be. Their approach is intended to enable individuals who might not otherwise be able to buy into their dream and their own abilities. There's something truly noble in that but I would only recommend it to those who are willing to lose it all. As we know, especially in this market, not all businesses are winners.
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