Bergmann Law LLC

Complex issues, simplified

Tag: small business

SOME THOUGHTS ON INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

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International Women’s Day (IWD) is a worldwide celebration of women’s social, economic, cultural, and political achievements. It also serves as a call to action to accelerate gender equality. The theme of IWD 2023 is #EmbraceEquity, emphasizing the importance of gender equity in all aspects of society. https://www.maersk.com/news/articles/2023/03/08/celebrating-international-womens-day

“The first National Woman’s Day was observed in the United States on February 28, 1909, which the Socialist Party of America dedicated in honor of the 1908 garment workers’ strike in New York where women protested against harsh working conditions.” UNESCO.

It took until 1975 for the United Nations to recognize and begin celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD). Since then, the UN has served as the major sponsor of the yearly event, encouraging more countries to recognize “acts of courage and resolve by ordinary women who have played an outstanding role in the history of their countries and communities.” https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/03/08/five-facts-you-need-to-know-about-international-womens-day

IWD is recognized as an official national holiday in Armenia, Belarus, Cambodia, Cuba, Georgia, Laos, Mongolia, Montenegro, Russia, Uganda, Ukraine and Vietnam. An interesting list of countries supporting women, for sure. In certain countries like Albania, Macedonia, Serbia and Uzbekistan, Women’s Day has been combined with Mother’s Day, a merger to highlight the importance of women as mothers. Id.

HOW TO CELEBRATE THE WOMEN IN YOUR CIRCLE

The International Women’s Day organization suggests:

  • Celebrate women’s achievements. How? Just tell the women in your life you are proud of their achievements! Equally important – tell others.
  • Educate, spread awareness, and fundraise for women’s equality. Find a cause you can support – then support it with your time, voice, or money.
  • Call for positive change advancing women. Women in business are uniquely situated to support and advance other women in business. Do it!
  • Lobby for accelerated gender parity. If politics are your thing – get involved, or just write to your local and national representatives seeking support on gender related issues.

HOW DOES BERGMANN LAW HONOR IWD?

I like to think we celebrate IWD every day here at Bergmann Law. With an all-female staff, and the profound support of each other, from different backgrounds, with different talents and goals, I am grateful and proud of the growth and culture we have created as a result. Women in business are clients we are particularly grateful and satisfied to assist and if you are a woman looking to get into business, or take yours to the next level, we are here to help. In the meantime, find the women in your life, support them in all their endeavors and be the optimist they need to thrive.

Did you know…you can (and should) call your lawyer before things go wrong 

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This is not only the best piece of advice routinely given to clients, it’s also the simplest: as soon as you think you might need a lawyer, make the call.

For instance, recently a landlord client called with a potential tenant problem. Two tenants, paramours sharing an apartment, broke up and one moved out. The remaining tenant could not afford the property on his own for long and called the landlord us to work out a solution before he was in trouble. In turn, the Landlord called us for assistance. Reasonably working out a negotiated lease termination allowed the tenants to end their lease without an eviction and credit impairment, while allowing the landlord to get new tenants in the property. The key is everyone did exactly what they should have, and the outcome benefited all. The tenant talked to his landlord before the rent was late or missing and the landlord called his lawyer for advice, rather than making a similar call a few weeks later when an eviction was necessary.

Everybody wins.

This principle applies to business disputes as well. Unfortunately, most of the business breakups we see are long, dramatic, and expensive. But every now and then a business comes to us early, recognizing things are not working. It’s much easier to dissolve the business and wind things up before there is financial hardship and hurt feelings. Early intervention saves everyone time, money and lowers the stress in what can be a very stressful event.

If you have a real estate or business issue, not yet a problem – just a concern, give us a call and we can talk it through with you.

 

Forming a new company? Read this first…

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It takes a unique person to strike out on their own and no small amount of risk to dive head first into a new endeavour. Helping new business owners is one of the best parts of what we do here at Bergmann Law because starting your business out on the right foot is so important.

Thanks to the internet, it has never been easier or faster to get your business up and running. The IRS and many state governments have online portals allowing you can register your new company with the state and federal governments and eliminating eliminates many of the old delays in formation like long processing times, postage fees, and delays as old copy files were shuffled from desk to desk.

Unfortunately, these new electronic filing systems make it easier than ever to make a mistake. A mistake that can be costly to unwind and cost you precious lost time.

Since the registrations have come online, an increasing number of clients reach out after attempting to set up their new business online and instead are left with a partially formed company. Clients who believe the new entity is registered, when it is not or worse, not reserving the intended name only to find out it is not available after paying a web developer for a website. Clients who were once hesitant to spend the money for help with initial set up always spend much more to undo, redo, or fix incorrectly filed paperwork.

For example, a client came to us with a registered EIN, the federal employer identification number, but no business formation documents. It turned out the name was not available in New Jersey meaning the business formation could not be completed. Instead we started over with a new name and EIN as well as work with the IRS to retire the unusable EIN.

Another client created an LLC in New Jersey, but did not register for an EIN and did not register with the state for tax purposes. To complete the process, phone calls to the state to confirm what part of the process was complete and what wasn’t had to be made and the filed forms had to be updated to include proper information that the client missed.

Save yourself both time and money. Give us a call to help you set up your business quickly and painlessly- just as it should be!