Then Attend Livingston County's Inaugural Entrepreneurs' Forum to be held on October 9 at Cleary University in Howell.
HOWELL, MICHIGAN, September 8, 2008-The inaugural Entrepreneurs' Forum - The ABC's of Small Business Ownership will be held from 8:30am to 5:00pm on October 9 at Cleary University's Johnson Center in Howell. Ed Coury of WWJ-950 AM radio and Michigan State Senator Valde Garcia are the scheduled keynote speakers.
The Forum will also include topic-specific expert presenters, panel discussions, and
Posted by: Robert in Marketing, Advertising on
Aug 18, 2008
A discouraging trend has developed with some direct mail advertising campaigns. It seems as though some companies are willing to push the envelope when it comes to getting their products or services in front of the consumer. For instance, VIP Travel Reservations, Inc. recently sent out the direct mail piece surely pushes the limits off ethical (and maybe legal) marketing practices (follow the "Read More" link below to see the VIP Travel marketing materials). Clearly, this direct mail solicitation attempts
Posted by: Robert in Real Estate, General on
Jul 28, 2008
The recently signed into law, "Hope for Homeowners Act of 2008", aims to steer a predicted 400,000 struggling homeowners away from foreclosure and from losing their homes. However, the realities of the current housing market dictate that the legislation will help a very small percentage of American homeowners (maybe 10% of those projected struggling homeowners). The "No Help" legislation will allow those who qualify to cancel their old mortgage loans and replace them with 30-year fixed-rate loans for up to 90
Posted by: Robert in Real Estate on
Jul 22, 2008
The "golden age" for real estate in Michigan (and for most of the U.S. for that matter) has clearly come and gone with much publicity. While many of the problems associated with today's real estate market are reported in the media-the economy, unemployment, poor lending programs, speculation, over-valued appraisals, and low interest rates. One problem goes unreported and remains a thorn in the consumers' side - transaction costs. Transaction costs include closing fees, documentary preparation fees (doc prep
Posted by: Robert in Legal, Labor, Human Resources on
Jul 09, 2008
We heard from clients. Local media publicized it. It appears that the State of Michigan is cracking down on the overuse (misuse in their view) of classifying workers as independent contractors. A report by "The Interagency Task Force on Worker Misclassification" indicated that such misuses (there's that word again) of contractors can "cost the state tax dollars, leave workers unprotected by benefits and place law-abiding employers at a competitive disadvantage." This is important to the State of Michigan (and
Thousands of workers here in Michigan have been (or will be) offered exit packages as their employers deal with the now national economic slowdown. Airlines, home builders, the Big Three automakers all have announced major buyout programs this year. Expect more to come, especially from companies in the finance and housing industries. Deciding when and how to take a job buyout offer is often a complicated decision to make. Many variables exist that may affect one's decision on the buyout offer. Employees will
Posted by: Robert in Legal, Copyright on
Jun 06, 2008
How about a classic law school hypothetical to continue our focus on copyright infringement? A woman came up with the ingenious idea of manufacturing and selling paper handbags constructed of pages torn from magazines that she purchased from Target and the like. The pages used for the handbags were original photographs torn right from the pages of the magazine and were never photocopied. The publisher of one of the magazines seemed to have a problem with this woman trying to express herself with the handbags
a successful business. CEO READY'S "New Entrepreneur Program" will help clients avoid the common pitfalls that many new small business owners make when starting new ventures. 
accounting, business planning, business operations, financial management, human resources, marketing, mediation, and many other areas important to the success of any enterprise. In effect, it's like having a "CEO in your back pocket" to call upon when necessary. Learn More...