We know that hiring, mentoring and growing employees can be one of the best parts of owning a business. These folks become like family and it feels great to be able to help them achieve and grow. However, we also know that having employees is one of the most challenging and risky parts of running a business. For... View Article
An essential part of the work we do at Equinox is helping clients to understand the risks inherent in their business and proactively plan to protect against those risks. I have written before on how to think about the tools available to business owners to insulate risk including the use of contracts, insurance, and the... View Article
Your business is doing well – it’s moving along, growing, expanding to serve new clients and markets. You have a professional services team – a business law attorney, CPA, insurance broker, and banker – and contact them when you feel you need their help with something. Sometimes your instinct tells you that you probably should... View Article
Planning for next year is daunting. Each year, we know it’s time to create that budget, think about what we’ll do differently, and make sure we’ve got the processes and people lined up to do what needs to be done. But planning doesn’t have to be all at once. Some things have a year-end deadline,... View Article
As of July 5, 2017, Washington State became the latest to join a small group of states mandating paid family and medical leave for residents. The effect this will have on employers and employees alike is bound to be great, and it is important to understand the impact of the new regulations. Below we will... View Article
In recent months, I’ve come across a number of business owners who are “not getting any younger” and are contemplating their transition out of their business. Many don’t have that one person identified as the next in line for the business. Maybe the owner has no children or the children aren’t interested in the business,... View Article
On June 7, Department of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta announced the withdrawal of the DOL’s prior Administrator Interpretations (“AIs”) clarifying the department’s position on the broad definition of joint employment and independent contractor misclassification. By withdrawing the AI’s, Acosta does not change the legal obligation of employers under the law. Instead, it rescinds the DOL’s prior guidance... View Article
Many of us, when starting our businesses, were testing the waters. Rather than taking the plunge, we put a toe in. “Will this work?” was the baseline. We might even have had a sense of what the answer to that question looked like — what was the “success” that would drive us to keep it... View Article
We’re good at goal setting, especially around sales. Each year, we determine what our annual sales growth should be and break it down by month and quarter based on cyclicality and recent trends. It all looks pretty on paper. Then, as we go through the year, the stars don’t always align and we miss our... View Article