MBA Consulting, Inc. - Resource Center

Q.	I'm getting bombarded with e-mails about business opportunities on how I can make big money from my home. I have some serious reservations about whether these offers are true but I am tempted to give them a try. Do any of these schemes really work or are they all scams?
Q.	*I have the option of starting a company as an individual business or purchasing a franchise. What are the advantages and disadvantages of franchising versus creating my own company from scratch?*
Q.	*Do I have to register the name of my business? If so, how do I do it?*
Q.	I will be meeting with a financial institution to present my business plan for securing a loan. I have two financial projections; one requiring a higher loan, more client sales to break even, a greater first year loss and it does not show as large a profit during the first three years. The second projection has lower startup costs requiring a smaller loan. It would show a lower loss after the first year and a higher rate of return during the first three years. While the second plan looks more financially appealing on paper, it would not take full advantage of the potential market. Should I
Q.	*What kinds of business insurance should I be looking at to protect my business and me as a business owner?*
Q.	Another person and I are setting up a corporation. We’ve heard about buy-sell agreements and shareholder agreements, but aren’t exactly sure what they are. Where can we find more information on these agreements and are they something we can do ourselves?
Q.	I’m in an S corporation with two other people and we have decided to break up the team. I want to buy out the other two but one person is threatening to sell his shares to a third party. Can we pass a corporate resolution requiring that the current shareholders sell their shares to me? One of the shareholders has already agreed to vote in favor of the resolution, so the corporation will have a majority ruling.
Q.	*I'm being inundated with solicitations for ways to advertise and market my business. How much should I be spending on marketing?*
Q.	*How will I know if the newspaper advertising I am doing produces sales? Also, what should I expect as a reasonable return on my investment?*
Q.	*I’m about to hire a new employee and want to check their background. How do I go about doing it and what can I check legally?*
Q.	*I’m confused about providing holidays, vacations, sick days and other benefits for employees. What am I legally required to provide?*
Q.	*I’m self-employed and my 12 year old son helps me in the office doing filing and running errands. Is there any benefit for me to pay him as an employee?*
Q.	I hired an employee and as a condition of employment she signed a non-compete agreement stating she would not work for a competing business in my industry. After a couple of years she quit and went to work for one of my competitors. How can I enforce the non-compete agreement?
Q.	We sent a job candidate a letter offering employment and he accepted the position. Due to the way the letter was worded he thinks he has a job for at least five years, which was not our intent. He misrepresented his abilities and has been a problem from day one. How can we terminate him?
Q.	We recently discovered that one of the partners in our family-owned business (a general partnership) opened credit card accounts under the business name and ran up high balances for personal purchases. Who is responsible for those bills, our company or the partner who made the charges?