NY Small Business News

Why You Shouldn’t Incorporate your NY Business in Delaware or Nevada

by Fred Abramson on April 5, 2011 · 1 comment

incorporate business india 800X800 Why You Shouldnt Incorporate your NY Business in Delaware or Nevada

If you are starting a new business, everywhere you go you hear people tell you that you must incorporate in Delaware or Nevada. I have some news for you. They are probably wrong.

As a business law attorney, day in and day out, savvy, smart entrepreneurs like yourself actually speak into their shiny new iPhones 4  and proudly proclaim that they registered their business in Delaware. I’m thinking that the lawyer who defended Kato Kaelin’s housemate who now earns his living by hawking do it yourself legal services  just earned another fast buck.

You probably think because all of your favorite big companies are incorporated in Delaware, you should too. But these large corporations have specific reasons why they should incorporate in two states.  The primary reason why you should incorporate is because you can protect your personal assets. Incorporating in Delaware will not afford you any additional layer of protection. You may also incorrectly believe that you can save money in taxes.

Here are some more reasons why you shouldn’t incorporate in Delaware or Nevada:

  • It’s Less Expensive Fallacy. True, it is less expensive to initially incorporate in Delaware. Nevertheless you have to register to do business in New York.
  • Failure to Register Your Business in New York Could be Deadly. If you fail to register do business in New York and your business becomes subject to a lawsuit, your personal assets may become exposed.
  • You Still Have to Pay Taxes. Simply  because Delaware and Nevada do not have personal or corporate taxes doesn’t alleviate your duty to pay taxes in New York.
  • The Less Litigation Fallacy. Some attorneys would argue that since most Delaware corporations do not end up litigating disputes because their professional advisers examine volumes published opinions and construct deals to avoid lawsuits.  In New York the caselaw on corporations is voluminous.
  • The No Jury Fallacy. In Delaware, your case would be tried by a judge, not a jury. But the simple fact is that 99 percent of the cases settle before trial.  In my experience, it is very rare to hear of a runaway jury in New York County.
  • Privacy. In the past, many people decided to incorporate their business in Delaware because they do not require director or officer names to be listed in the incorporation documents. However, the IRS have become aware of this and the rules governing privacy or much more strict. Since you need to register your business in New York, you are going to have to disclose your CEO anyway.

The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson practices Business Law and Civil Litigation in New York. If you have any questions regarding Incorporation, feel free to contact me at 212-233-0666

 

Why You Shouldnt Incorporate your NY Business in Delaware or Nevada

NYEBN Startup Learning Series #2 – HARO Founder Peter Shankman

by Fred Abramson on January 3, 2011 · 0 comments

haro logo bk NYEBN Startup Learning Series #2 HARO Founder Peter Shankman

NYEBN Startup Series #2 features Peter Shankman, the founder of Help A Reporter Out (HARO). Here is your chance to interact with one of the world-class PR, marketing gurus. Food & drinks will be available.
This event will be co-hosted by Select Office Suites as part of theirwww.Network-Preneur.com Power Concepts Series. Ray Lindenberg, Director of Marketing & Branding of Select Office Suites will be making the opening remarks.
Pre-pay online for $15. You can also pay at the door for $25. Space limited. Order your tickets now. 10% of ticket sales will go to the charity, and it’s 100% refundable if you’re not satisfied with the event due to some reasons.

Schedule:
6:00 PM – 6:25 PM – Registration (Food & Drinks Ready)
6:25 PM – 6:30 PM – Opening Remarks by Ray Lindenberg
6:30 PM – 7:15 PM – Peter’s talk
7:15 PM – 7:45 PM – Q & A
7:45 PM – 8:30 PM – Networking
Check out Peter’s new book here – “Customer Service: New Rules for a Social Media World (Que Biz-Tech)”
How to use social and viral technologies to supercharge customer service – and avoid disasters along the way

~ The breakthrough guide to leveraging social and viral media – by Peter Shankman, the legendary founder of HARO, one of today’s hottest Internet growth companies
~ Actionable insights based on what’s really happening right now – not yesterday’s news or academic theory
~ How to build customer loyalty, trust, and credibility online – and rebuild it after a customer service catastrophe
[read more...]

Pre-order the book

Peter’s bio
PR Week Magazine has described Peter as “redefining the art of networking”, and Investor’s Business Daily has called him “crazy, but effective”. Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you merge the power of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) with pure creativity and a dose of adventure, and make it work to your advantage.
An entrepreneur, author, speaker, and worldwide connector, Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about Social Media, PR, marketing, advertising, creativity, and customer service.
Peter is perhaps best known for founding Help A Reporter Out, (HARO) which in under a year has become the de-facto standard for thousands of journalists looking for sources on deadline, offering them more than 125,000 sources around the world looking to be quoted in the media. HARO is currently the largest free source repository in the world, sending out over 1,200 queries from worldwide media each week. HARO’s tagline, “Everyone is an Expert at Something”, proves over and over again to be true, as thousands of new members join at helpareporter.com each week.
In addition to HARO, Peter is the founder and CEO of The Geek Factory, Inc., a boutique Marketing and PR Strategy firm located in New York City, with clients worldwide. His blog, which he launched as a website in 1995 at http://shankman.com…, both comments on and generates news and conversation.

NYEBN Startup Learning Series #2 HARO Founder Peter Shankman

With Job Prospects Dim, Colleges Grads become Entrepreneurs

by Fred Abramson on December 12, 2010 · 2 comments

scott gerber 101019 02 With Job Prospects Dim, Colleges Grads become Entrepreneurs

With the unemployment rate a hair under 10 percent, the job outlook for many college students is not bright. With the mountain of debt that awaits upon graduation, many are starting their own businesses.

The road to creating a successful business is not easy. The stats show that most businesses fail within the first five years.

In an effort to help young entrepreneurs, Scott Gerber has started the Young  Entrepreneur Counsel. Mr. Gerber and the Counsel were featured in the New York Times. The Counsel’s mission “is to teach young people how to build successful businesses and fight the devastating epidemics of youth underemployment and unemployment.”  After perusing the website, the group looks like a great resource.

The group has hooked up with a who’s who of all the big players of the Entrepreneurial media scene, including Mashable and Business Insider (my two favorite business blogs).

Mr. Gerber has also started the Gen-Y fund , which helps entrepreneurs obtain funding.

The Law Office of Frederic R.Abramson represents entrepreneurs in New York.

With Job Prospects Dim, Colleges Grads become Entrepreneurs

The Silicon Alley 100: New York’s Coolest Tech People In 2010

by Fred Abramson on October 27, 2010 · 0 comments

business insider The Silicon Alley 100: New Yorks Coolest Tech People In 2010

The always excellent blog Business Insider lists New York’s Coolest Tech People in 2010. The end of the list was a bit weak. What’s up with listing Glen Beck has a NY tech powerhouse?

What do you think of the list? I’m working on a top secret start-up right now. Perhaps I will be on it next year.

Why do Startups fail? 10 Startup Ideas That Stink

by Fred Abramson on October 11, 2010 · 1 comment

300px MHV DeLorean DMC12 01 Why do Startups fail? 10 Startup Ideas That Stink

Image via Wikipedia

Why do so many startups fail? You may be really smart, execute well and have the funding.  However, the bigger problem may that the problem is too big to handle. The blog Business Insider lists ten startup ideas that never work.  They are:

  1. Semantic Search/Any search company that’s not Google. When was the last time that you asked Jeeves anything?
  2. Social recommendations as a standalone don’t work.
  3. Local News Sites. Perhaps the Patch network of sites may work, but probably not because of lack of advertising dollars.
  4. Micropayments don’t work. The site with the best content, The New York Times failed charging by the article.
  5. Stop trying to kill email. Look what happened to Google wave.
  6. You can’t try to make a better car company. Tesla has sold only 2,000 cars.  How about the DeLorean? I vividly remember John DeLorean busted on tape selling cocaine in a ludicrous attempt to save his company.
  7. Music startups can’t get enough paying customers. I am a music geek and have  purchased music online occasionally on iTunes and rarely on Amazon. (I still purchase CD’s at J&R Music, so I may be a bit of a dinosaur).
  8. Marrying the web and the TV hasn’t worked out.  Even though all the cool kids in New York love Boxee, do you know of anyone who uses it? It remains to be seen what happens with Apple and Google’s latest offerings, but history is not on  their side.
  9. RSS Readers are not a business. Whatever…. Google does the job reasonably well.
  10. A startup focused on kids or making life easier for parents. I’m not sure I agree with this overboard generalization. Certainly my hometown of Port Washington,NY needs more daycare centers. However, if you are planning a startup to take on the big boys, ie Target, Wal-Mart et. al, you are looking for trouble.

What do you think? What is on your list for startup ideas that never work?

The Law Office of Frederic R. Abramson represents startups and small businesses in New York. If you have any questions, feel free to call me at 212-233-0666.

Why do Startups fail? 10 Startup Ideas That Stink

Legislation to Aid Small Businesses Advances in Senate

September 14, 2010

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The New York Times reports that the Senate advanced legislation to aid small businesses on Tuesday after months of Republican resistance.
The President supports the bill, which would provide loans and tax breaks to small businesses, and it is likely to be passed quickly.
The bill would create a $30 billion fund that the government would invest [...]

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Nurturing Start-Ups is the Path to Creating New Jobs

September 13, 2010

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Two-thirds of net new jobs are created by small businesses.  However, the National Bureau of Economic Research found that once the age of a business is taken into consideration, there is no systematic relationship between firm size and growth.
According to the New York Times, nearly all job growth occurs when businesses are starting up. [...]

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New York Tech Community Looks to Repeal LLC Publication Law

April 7, 2010

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Crain’s New York Business reports that members of the group of New York Tech Meetup are working to repeal the law that requires companies to pay a publication fee to form a New York Limited Liability Company (LLC).
Publication fees range from $1000 to over $2000 and are a burden on many start-ups. The rates depend [...]

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Entrepreneurship and Social Change VC NYC panel March 4, 2010

February 27, 2010

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On July 4, we celebrate the entrepreneurs who were our founding fathers who made a difference by bringing social change to America. Unlike July 4, there is nothing particularly unique about the date of March 4.  On that date back in 2006 final contact was attempted with Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network. Unfortunately, no response was [...]

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