Online Incorporation MaxBlog

by Dave Lavinsky
Growthink

Angel investors are individuals who invest in emerging business ventures.  Angels typically provide both capital and know-how to companies who are in either their start-up or expansion phases, whether corporations, LLCs, or still a sole proprietorship. To reflect the increased risk of investing in such firms, angels seek a higher rate of return versus traditional public stock investments.

Angel investors fulfill the financing need that exists between capital provided by friends and family and capital provided by venture capitalists. Individual angel investors often write checks from $25,000 to $100,000. Recently, angel investing has become more organized, and angel groups often invest from $250,000 to $500,000 at a time to deserving ventures.

Angel investors often have similar financing criteria as venture capitalists. They want to see proprietary intellectual property, a large market size, management team members with expertise and experience and a current valuation that allows for a good return on investment.

In identifying and attracting an angel investor, companies should seek angel groups that are located in their region. For instance, the Tech Coast Angels have funded over 85 Southern California-based companies since 1997. When seeking individual angel investors, it is critical to network in order to create a personal connection between yourself and the angel. Also, ideally the individual has experience within your specific field so he/she can provide industry contacts and operational expertise in addition to capital.

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Growthink Business Plans has developed over 200 business plans for clients have collectively raised over $750 million in financing, launched numerous new product and service lines and gained competitive advantage and market share. For more information go to http://www.growthink.com

By Michael Harrison

The highly successful Pineapple Dance Studios in London has been transformed from a privately owned dance studio to a Publicly Owned Corporation quoted on the London Stock Exchange.

The company chairman, entrepreneur Debbie Moore became the first female Chairman of a London quoted company in 1982. She attributes her success in business to the following;

* Work with what you know. In the tough world of business it’s easier to find success if you care about what you do.

* Don’t make money your sole motivation. Never turn your greatest interest into a business because you want to make millions. Status and money may follow, but they are only a by-product of your success.

* Learn about Finance. In the early days you may not be able to afford an accountant. Enrol in a small business course and get familiar with accounting. You will also need it when you can afford an accountant.

* Know when to spend and when to save. While you can save money on some things like office furniture there are others where you must always be professional. Stationary, promotional materials etc., are good examples.

* Organise your private life. You must be able to keep a balance and not be pulled in too many directions. Treat your private life with the same care and seriousness that you treat your business life.

* Engineer your own good fortune. Gary Player, the South African golfer once said, “the harder I practice, the luckier I seem to get because the more I seem to win”. So the harder you work the more successful you will be.

Clearly there is more to it than just these points but as the highly successful entrepreneur, Debbie Moore explained it’s good sense and worth keeping these 6 points at the front of your thinking as you seek success in your business.

Tip: Success lies in everyone in some form. Will you be guided by it or deny it?

Article by Michael Harrison, Author, Publisher and Business Consultant. Learn from an expert: Go to: http://www.be-your-own-business-expert.com/Entrepreneur.html

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by Albert Streab

All business continuity analysis should be risk based, and risk prioritized to deal with the important business incorporation risks first. This means that any risks to your business need to be identified, examined and dealt with.

There are 4 options for dealing with each risk:

1. Reduce the risk. Reducing the risk falls into 2 categories - reducing the likelihood of the problem occurring and reducing the impact of the problem if it does happen. A simple example is that by having a fire alarm you are reducing the likelihood of a fire spreading unseen and by installing a sprinkler system you are reducing the impact of fire.

Reducing the risk is often referred to as mitigation. For example, data backups are a form of mitigation. They reduce the impact if a problem occurs which affects the primary data source. Any mitigating actions require testing to provide assurance they work when required.

2. Transfer the risk. This is an interesting option which may be seen as a get-out, but which is a perfectly valid thing to do. By transferring a risk it becomes someone else’s problem and you therefore have the risk covered. We are not talking about blaming someone else, or even transferring the risk to someone else in the company.

For example, there could be a risk that office space will not be available in the case of a disaster in the main location. Therefore the risk can be transferred to a third party company which organizes office space for disaster recovery and keeps offices available for companies who need such a recovery service.

3. Accept the risk. By accepting the risk of a potential problem you are at least aware of its existence and can plan for it happening. If it is a risk that would have no impact for an acceptable period of time it should still be noted but you may decide to take no action until it occurs.

Almost by definition, accepting a risk is also reducing the impact of the risk as you are aware of the potential problem and can write it into your business continuity plan.

4. Ignore the risk. This option should never be selected. There is never a reason for ignoring a risk once it has been identified. A risk can be accepted (acknowledged) but must never be ignored.

Once the actions for each risk have been identified, then anything put in place to help cope with a risk needs testing. However, many companies either test nothing at all or try testing every facet of a business continuity plan. Both methods are doomed to failure. The answer is to adopt a risk based testing approach from two perspectives: the business continuity plan is fit for purpose and it will work when invoked.

A health check (testing the plan is fit for purpose) needs to be performed by someone other than the authors of the business continuity plan. Ideally it’s performed by an independent third party that specializes in testing business continuity plans, but it could be a disinterested party from another part of the company. Independence is essential here for an objective assessment.

Testing the plan will work when invoked, must be viewed in a business context and the elements of the plan prioritized so that the risks with the most business impact and likelihood are tested first. This approach and the techniques to perform business continuity testing in a cost effective manner are the subject of other articles.

Copyright Acutest UK 2005

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A Streab is an experienced practitioner of business continuity testing at Acutest, an independent consultancy specializing in business continuity assurance and software testing services. For more information on this topic visit http://www.acutest.co.uk or send an email to enquires@acutest.co.uk

Are you incorporating a new business?…Or looking for information on the various corporate structures available? Sometimes the jargon associated with different explanations found by general searches on the Internet can be difficult to understand.

Basically, the differences in various corporate structures lie in their tax treatment. An S corporation is a standard corporation that elects special tax status from the Internal Revenue Service through the filing of IRS form 2553.

Many of the benefits of an S corporation are the same as other corporate structures, such as:

- Limited liability of debts, obligations, and liabilities incurred by the business or stemming from legal action(s).

- Protection of shareholders’ personal assets

However, unlike a C corporation, an S corporation does not pay any income tax itself. Rather, it is more like a sole proprietorship, limited partnership, or LLC where an individual shareholder reports their share of the corporation’s income and loss on their personal tax return, also known as pass-through.

So why would you want to choose an S corporation over other options? Some points to consider:

- An S corporation is for those wanting limited liability and a formal corporate structure but with pass-through taxation of profits, thus avoiding double-taxation.

- By law, an S corporation is considered an individual entity, and separate from its owners/shareholders.

- Easier to raise capital since stock and other forms of financial securities can be issued.

Further explanation of an S corporation and the different factors to consider is described simply at the Knowledge Center at MaxFilings. And after researching with this useful resource and consulting with an attorney, MaxFilings’ online incorporation center can help you form whichever structure fits your needs.