Selling a Business

What is the true income of an independent business? This is a question of interest to many parties--including prospective buyers, investors, and lenders--but nobody is more determined to know the answer than the Internal Revenue Service. What makes the "truth" about a company's income so elusive?...

Are your workers independent contractors or employees? This is a compelling question, especially where the Internal Revenue Service is concerned. Every worker claiming status as a non-employee means payroll taxes and social security contributions that won't fall into the IRS's pocket. Now many states are taking...

Answering services, message machines, voice mail, "on hold" music, speaker phones . . . where would a business be without them? Perhaps--in some situations--a lot better off! In the small to midsized business, where every call should count, owners and managers need to ensure that...

The reasons for selling a business can be divided into two main categories. The first is a sale that is planned almost from the beginning or by an owner who knows that selling is or should be a planned event.  The second is exactly the...

The “loose lips” tagline was a common World War II phrase and was on posters everywhere. The problem continues on the business battlefront today.  Leaks of confidential information coming from, apparently, some of the Directors of HP have been in the news everywhere. This is...

The 65-year old owner of a multi-location retail operation doing $30 million in annual sales decided to retire. He interviewed a highly recommended intermediary and was impressed. However, he had a nephew who had just received his MBA and who told his uncle that he...