Rose City Business

How are those New Years Resolutions coming? Oh, they’re not? Well, don’t feel bad, most people don’t make them anymore. As you well know, the best thing to do is to create goals with a plan and write them down.

We all have goals, but it’s easy to lose the fire and passion that is necessary to keep our enthusiasm about what it is that we hope to achieve. Life gets in the way, along with obstacles, roadblocks, challenges. The key is to create certainty, and belief  that you will get what you want.

Here are some things I’ve been listening to lately for inspiration, motivation and enthusiasm. Let me suggest you pick one and listen to it repeatedly for a number of weeks. If you can do this, you’ll be amazed at the difference it makes in your thinking. You’ve got to always be feeding your mind! (I’ve also given up listening to the news every day. That really helps)

“The Strangest Secret in the World” Earl Nightingale. The Strangest Secret was  the first spoken word message to win a Gold Record by selling over a million copies. It’s simple but powerful message is “you become what you think about”. You can go this link and listen to the recording or download it and save it to your computer.  Or go to this link to hear it along with video.

“As A Man Thinketh” James Allan. Many personal development authors and teachers credit this little book, written in 1902, for providing foundation to their principles. It’s truth is just as profound today as it was then. Clink on the link above for a free download or go to http://www.asamanthinketh.net/ for a free ebook of the text. The language is a little archaic, but it’s still good stuff.

“The Art of Exceptional Living” Jim Rohn. I’d been hearing a lot about Jim Rohn over the last year or so. I subscribed to his newsletter and really liked his message. Then wouldn’t you know, my brother lent me ”The Art of Exceptional Living” which is a great introduction to his work. Considered a legend by many, his teachings have been cited as influential by many in the personal development industry including including Anthony Robbins, Mark Victor Hansen, Brian Tracy and Jack Canfield. Sadly, Mr. Rohn passed away this last December 5th. Check out Jim on YouTube and if you like what you hear, you can get The Art of Exceptional Living bit by bit or all in one volume via download or CD.

“It’s Not Over Until You Win” Les Brown. I would have to say that of all the self development and motivational speakers I have heard, Les Brown is the best. He is a fantastic and inspiring public speaker, not to mention funny and very high energy. At www.LesBrown.com as well as at YouTube, you can check out video samples and for a measly $15 bucks you can download “It’s Not Over Unti I Win”   at this link.

There are many other inspirational speakers out there that I have listened to and would recommend: Tony Robbins, Wayne Dyer, Zig Ziglar,  to name a few. Check them out on YouTube to find who’s message resonates best for you. What we feed our minds is just as important as what we feed our bodies, maybe more! I hope some of these recommendations help you get excited and inspired about creating your goals.

Mediation is an informal setting in which a neutral third party (the mediator or the neutral) evaluates the claims of two (or more) parties to help those parties reach a resolution to their dispute. It is a type of alternative dispute resolution (an alternative, in effect, to trial) whose key benefit is that the parties themselves– not a third party such as a judge or jury – voluntarily and jointly determine the terms and conditions of any agreement reached.
Unlike a judge or jury panel, the mediator is impartial and is not an advocate for any party or side. When necessary or requested, the mediator can point out the strengths and weaknesses of each side without judgment. This evaluative process increases the likelihood of reaching a practical and, if necessary, long lasting resolution. By contrast, a judge or a jury will make their own determination regarding the parties and their case, and make a decision without the assistance of either party
Mediation can be used to resolve legal, commercial, workplace, community and family matters. Some common examples include:
• Landlord-tenant disputes, where the terms of the lease may be in dispute, or the parties are unable to negotiate new lease terms;
• Neighbor disputes, where adjacent neighbors are arguing over a noise or boundary issue;
• Business to business disputes ranging from money owed on goods or services purchased, interpretation of agreements on distribution or selection of product, disagreements regarding product delivered or received, and the like;
• Family disputes ranging from estate issues to living arrangements.
Parties can mediate a dispute either before it reaches the court system, or as a means of settling an existing lawsuit. The process can be as simple as one session of a few hours, or multiple days involving multiple parties.
In my next article I will focus on some of the other benefits of choosing mediation as a means of resolving a dispute.
About the author: Peter Stavropoulos is a business attorney whose practice emphasizes the representation of individuals and small to medium businesses, counseling clients on matters ranging from entity formation, employer/employee relations, contract draft and review, and civil litigation. He is also a mediator and is certified through the Los Angeles County Bar Association’s DRS (Dispute Resolution Services) program. To learn more, please visit www.petestavlaw.com or send an email to peter@petestavlaw.com.

There are three types of intellectual property: trademarks, patents, and copyrights. A patent is a property right granted to an inventor relating to an invention. A copyright protects works of authorship, such as writings, music, and works of art. A trademark protect words, names, symbols, colors and even sounds that distinguish your goods and services from those of others. Unlike patents, trademarks can be renewed forever as long as they are being used in commerce.

When deciding whether to register a trademark, you must first determine whether anyone is already claiming trademark rights in a particular mark. If you want to use “Bob’s Luggage,” be sure no one is using that mark (or a similar mark that could cause, in the trademark examining attorney’s eyes, a “likelihood of confusion” as to the owner of the mark).

If Bob’s Luggage is available, the registration process requires a description of the goods and/or service (hand-crafted luggage) and a representation of the mark. The representation can be without design (just the name “Bob’s Luggage”) or stylized (your logo, such as a person carrying a piece of luggage onto a plane). The standard character format (no design) provides broader protection but does not specifically protect the stylized design.

If your mark is successfully registered, you may then use the ® symbol following the mark. While federal regulations do not govern the use of the designations “TM” or “SM,” it is often common for marks to use these designations before the application is filed.

Registering a trademark heightens the protection it receives, deters others from using your trademark, and increases the remedies should someone infringe upon the trademark. The owner receives exclusive nationwide ownership of the mark, and registering the mark provides conclusive evidence regarding the validity of the mark and of the registrant’s exclusive right to use the mark.

About the author: Peter Stavropoulos is a business attorney whose practice emphasizes the representation of individuals and small to medium businesses, counseling clients on matters ranging from entity formation, employer/employee relations, contract draft and review, and civil litigation. To learn more, please visit www.petestavlaw.com or send an email to peter@petestavlaw.com.

Before figuring out what is best for you from a tax and accounting perspective, you should initially address entity type with your attorney. There are lots of options from sole-propietorships to limited liablity corporations, S- corporations and C-corporations. I suggest you fully investigate all of your options before you make your final choice.

LLC’s need very careful scrutiny, because in California there is a fee assessed on Gross revenue and not on net profit.   This fee is in addition to the minimum California corporate tax of $800.00 and is illustrated briefly as follows:

• Less than revenue of $250, 000  the fee is $0
• Between $250,000 and $499,000 the fee is $900
• Between $500,000 and $999,999 the fee is $2,500
• Over $1 million of gross revenue, the fee is $6,000

 I find that most small businesses are best served by electing an “S” corporation.

 There are many other aspects to suitability and choice of entity that I would recommend your discussing with a tax professional.

I just completed a great workshop for Pasadena’s Art of Small Business Survival, co-sponsored by the City of Pasadena Planning & Development Dept., the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce  and the Foothill Workforce Investment Board. It was a great introduction on how small businesses can use good content to drive customers to their website and keep them coming back and raise their search engine results at the a same time.

We also provided some great resources for attendees, including links to our Digital Marketing for Small Business Group on LinkedIn and our Digital Marketing  Toolbar, which includes lots of resources to learn about and get started with digital marketing for your small business or non-profit organization.

What if I told you that I could teach you a system that takes three minutes a night that would program your mind for more money, more success and more happiness? Would you take three minutes a night and do it?

You might be saying to yourself  ”Sure, I’ll take three minutes a night to make more money, have more success and happiness!”

Well, the reality is, you’re wrong,  you won’t.  And even though you say you want to be more successful, prosperous, happy, that fact is… you don’t. That’s our nature. Change can be the hardest thing in the world. Why?

Because of the most  powerful force in human behavior which is….. homeostasis. The innate drive to stay the same. Homeostasis is the enemy of change. To change you must acknowledge this fact. How can you fight something unless you know it exists?  We see homeostasis in our physical body; if we get to hot, we sweat to cool down. If we get too cold, we shiver to bring our temperature back to where we are comfortable.

Psychologically, we do that same thing. For most of us, if we are short of money, out of a job, car soon to be repossessed, we become very motivated. However, when things are going well, we have a tendency to relax, and consider this: if things are going too well, we may even sabotage our success. Why would  we do such a thing?

Because your subconscious mind knows only two things: knowns and unknowns. What is know is familiar and comfortable, for example, the amount you have in your bank account. What is unknown is fearful to the subconscious, for example, a lottery winner of mega millions who very quickly finds himself back to where he started, wondering “Where did it all go?”

What do we do about our innate drive to stay the same? We work to change incrementally a little every day by sending the subconsious mind different information to get a different result. See, the subconscious mind makes up 88% of your mind. This is automatic behavior. This is your so called life script. And every day you wake up you see it: the car you drive, the house you live in, your bank account etc. This is the information that you receive every day that reinforces your comfort level, that is, your “knowns.”

Our challenge is to introduce new information into our subconscious mind that creates new “knowns” that are in line with what we want in our lives. However, we must introduce this new information in a way that the subconscious mind can understand and take in deeply so that your “ceiling” of success begins to change. The most powerful and simplest way to do this that I have found is through the Mental Bank Program.

The Mental Bank program was invented by Dr. John Kappas, the founder of the Hypnosis Motivation Institute (HMI), the nations first accredited college of hypnotherapy and the place I received my training as a hypnotherapist.

I presented the Mental Bank  recently at HMI in Tarzana.  It’s a powerful and remarkable program.

The really good news is that you don’t have to go to Tarzana to learn the Mental Bank Program. You can go to www.MyMentalBank.com and watch George Kappas, director of HMI and son of Dr. John Kappas, present the Mental Bank Program via streaming video. If you are interested in moving yourself forward and beyond your current level of success, performance, wealth or happiness, then I highly recommend this two hour video.

Only a small percentage of people reading this will check out the video, which is why there are so few that are really enjoying the level of success that they would like. I challenge you to take the time to check it out. It’s interesting and informative and George Kappas does a great job making it fun to watch. I’d be interested in hearing what you think.

Employers take heed. I recommend that you maintain at least two separate files for each of your employees. The first will contain standard information including contact information and initial job application (if any). You should have a second file for all I-9 documents.

You may need an additional file. I recommend a separate file if you obtain any medical information about your employee. This is because medical status documents – similarly to I-9 documents - require a high degree of confidentiality relating to storage and arrangement.

About the author: Peter Stavropoulos is a business attorney whose practice emphasizes the representation of individuals and small to medium businesses, counseling clients on matters ranging from entity formation, employer/employee relations, contract draft and review, and civil litigation. To learn more, please visit www.petestavlaw.com or send an email to peter@petestavlaw.com.

Do you have anxiety about money or the lack thereof? If you don’t, you are in the minority. According to a recent survey conducted by the American Psychological Association, 80% of Americans find the current financial crisis is a significant source of stress. We know that stress and axiety can have adverse effects on health, as people under stress turn to unhealthy coping behaviors such as drinking, smoking,  and overeating. Fretting about finances can create sleep disturbances, digestive imbalances and exacerbate any health conditions you may already be dealing with. So how do we deal with that feeling of free floating anxiety  about not having enough money? Some suggestions:
Get hypnotized. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal reports that more folks are turning to hypnosis to  ease money worries. Hypnosis is a relaxed state of focused concentration in which new ideas or suggestions are given to the subject that can help a person take a more relaxed attitude towards money challenges. As a hypnotherapist, I highly recommend that you try this if you are feeling fearful or anxious about money.
Become intimate with your finances. It’s helpful to know exactly what is going on in your financial house. Do you have a budget? Do you know how/where your money is being spent? What do you need every month/week to meet your obligations? This sounds pretty basic, but if you can’t answer these questions, then you are not in control of your money.
Keep your perspective. I read an article not too long about  a wealthy man (thanks to my bro Ed for the link) who killed himself because he had lost a great deal of  money due to the economic downturn. He was still worth well over a  billion dollars when he died. Definite lack of perspective. Instead of scaring yourself with worst case scenarios, focus on your skills and rescources. What can you count on, inside of you?
Avoid the bad news. TV is the great hypnotizer. The purpose of newscasts is to sell advertising. They keep you watching by giving you the bad news. These are tough economic times, no doubt about it. However, it does not serve you to hear about all the terrible stories out there. Not a good way to keep a positive attitude.
Keep a positive attitude. It’s true that tough times don’t last but tough people do. You may not have control over financial or job markets, but you can control how you respond by getting in touch with your inner entrepreneur, realizing that your personal value as a person is not tied to your net worth, and looking for opportunities that are waiting to be found with the right mindset.
Stay focused on what you want. Are you doing everything you can to move yourself towards your goals? Remember, you are not defeated until you say you are. Believe in prosperity and abundance as your birthright.  Maintain an attitude of gratitude by focusing on where you do have abundance and prosperity in your life. If you believe in the Law of Attraction, and I do, then what you focus on will expand in your life.
Learn about how money works. Money is energy. Learn how to develop Money Consciousness. Read books or listen to audio programs regarding creating and attracting money and weatlth.  Some suggestions:

• “Busting Loose From the Money Game” Robert Scheinfeld
• “Conversations with God” Book 1. Neale Donald  Walsch.
• Anything by Suze Orman
• “Creating Money” Duane Packer and Sanaya Roman
• “Think and Grow Rich” Napolean Hill
• “Rich Dad, Poor Dad” Robert Kiyosaki

There’s a lot that can be said about the subject of making money, attracting wealth, etc. Many people have very disempowering associations with money. You can be concerned about money, but worry is unecessary as well as counterproductive. (Worry is the misuse of your imagination.) Just remember that you can change your beliefs about money, as well as any negative associations.

The Small Business Administration reports that 33% of all start-ups fail before two years. In comparison, a recent report by the U.S. Department of Commerce shows the failure rate of franchisees is only 4% to 5%. If you like those statistics and are considering a franchise, there are both upsides and downsides to owning a franchise.

The benefits of a franchise include getting a readymade business plan, guidance from the franchisor and other owners, plus – with many franchises - an established reputation. Additionally, most franchisors offer training.

However, be prepared to make significant investments (both time and money) to a franchise. According to the American Franchise Association (AFA), the average initial investment for a franchise is $400,000; the common range is $20,000 to $2 million, depending on the type of franchise. The AFA reports that it takes an average of three years to break even.

Additionally, the commitment to a franchise averages 8 to 10 years (some are as high as 20). Keep in mind, too, that buying in is usually easier than getting out; you will likely pay out of pocket to break a franchise contract. Sometimes, the franchisor will agree to buy back the franchise.

Conversely, when starting your own non-franchise business, you do not have the hurdles associated with the franchise. However, you may not have any name recognition, you may not know how to adequately train yourself and your staff, and you may not have other business owners in similar fields to guide your first steps.

If you don’t mind having procedures set up for you (since you will likely be limited in the style that you run your business), you have decent communication and basic accounting skills, and are a hard worker, a franchise may be right for you. Like any business, be sure to carefully read the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC) and pass everything through your trusted business advisors (CPA, attorney, financial planner). The UFOC will describe in detail your responsibilities as a franchise owner (from annual training to percentage of profits towards advertising, etc.) and give you a better picture of what your bottom line may be.

About the author: Peter Stavropoulos is a business attorney whose practice emphasizes the representation of individuals and small to medium businesses, counseling clients on matters ranging from entity formation, employer/employee relations, contract draft and review, and civil litigation. To learn more, please visit www.petestavlaw.com or send an email to peter@petestavlaw.com.

“Are you Catholic?” This may sound like an odd question for a job applicant, but not if you are applying for a position as a Catholic priest. While some job applications may not require such scrutiny, it is important to learn as much as you can - within the playing field of California law - in the short time you have with your job applicants.

After you have received job applications from potential employees, the next logical step is to interview those who appear to be good candidates on paper. A good interview not only allows the employer to learn about the applicant, but also to help the applicant learn about the job. So while it is very important to avoid certain questions (like “Are you Catholic” unless the exception above applies), it is equally important to ask the right questions.

The topics you may discuss include whether the employee will be traveling out of town and how often, where the employee will be working, what equipment you will provide the employee, whether there is a uniform or clothing requirements. Of course, outside of the usual salary and benefits discussions, different positions warrant different questions. For example, asking an applicant’s age is not normally permissible, but like many questions, there are always exceptions.

Be sure the applicant understands what is expected if hired. Leaving out crucial detail could later create distrust or anger in the employee, which can in turn affect job performance.

Of course, the interview process is also about learning about the applicant. The interview(s) you conduct should also be used to determine whether the candidate is truly qualified for the position (for example, does the candidate’s education and/or job experience qualify him for the basic job requirements, or is the candidate overly qualified).

Like many things in life, the better prepared you are, the better chance you will enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship with the candidate you do hire.

About the author: Peter Stavropoulos is a business attorney whose practice emphasizes the representation of individuals and small to medium businesses, counseling clients on matters ranging from entity formation, employer/employee relations, contract draft and review, and civil litigation. To learn more, please visit www.petestavlaw.com or send an email to peter@petestavlaw.com.