NEW INCREASES FOR SOCIAL SECURITY IN 2012

November 23, 2011

By Roben D. Hunter, JD, CPA, CVA, CFFA, Hunter Advisors, PLLC
There are new increases in Social Security that have been recently announced, both for the recipients and the employee/employers currently paying into the system.  For those of us paying into Social Security in 2012, the Social Security tax will be payable on the first $110,100 [...]

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Checklist for Avoiding Lawsuits for Overtime Violations

September 27, 2011

By Robert S. Halagan, Halagan Law Firm, Ltd.
One of the “hot” areas for Plaintiff’s lawyers to look to make life miserable for business owners are claims for overtime pay when an employer fails to properly follow the rules for calculating and paying overtime.  The rise in overtime lawsuits in recent years has been significant in [...]

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New Exclusions from Minnesota Estate Tax

September 22, 2011

By Roben D. Hunter, JD, CPA, CVA, CFFA, Hunter Advisors, PLLC
At the end of 2010, the federal estate tax exemption amount was increased to $5 million, which means that up to $5 million dollars worth of assets can pass from an individual to others at death without incurring a federal estate tax.  Unfortunately, Minnesota did [...]

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Additional Insured’s vs. Additional Named Insured’s

September 22, 2011

By Gary Sorenson, CEA, CLCS, PLCS, President, Insurance Brokers of Minnesota
Sometimes a contract calls for “naming” a party as a “additional insured”. On other occasions, it requests a “additional named insured” status.

So, what’s the difference and why is this important to my business?

In general, being a named insured gives that party greater rights [...]

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Minnesota Legislature Creates New Estate Tax Exemptions

September 22, 2011

By Kevin Lanigan, Carlson Estate Planning
Under a new law passed during Minnesota’s 2011 Special Session. An estate tax exemption is available for Minnesota decedents with estates holding qualified Small Business Property or Qualified Farm Property. Owners of such Minnesota property who die after June 30, 2011 can exclude up to $4 million of such property [...]

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Designing An Effective Compensation Plan That Rewards Performance

July 21, 2011

By Robert S. Halagan, Halagan Law Firm, Ltd.
I recently negotiated a labor agreement on behalf of an electric cooperative in which all of the compensation was based on achieving certain performance standards.  This type of compensation plan is extremely rare for a unionized company and reflects an approach to compensation that can serve as a [...]

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Grow Your Business and Build Your Wealth…Not Someone Else’s

July 21, 2011

By Kelli Hoskins, ActionCOACH MetroNorth
Are you the business owner who knows how to build your wealth, or are you the business owner who knows how to make other people wealthy?

Who has all the money?
If you listen to anyone commenting on, questioning or discussing the distribution of wealth in our country, in many cases the [...]

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TRADEMARKS – How to Establish Secondary Meaning for a Descriptive Term

July 20, 2011

By Michael S. Sherrill, Sherrill Law Offices, PLLC
To establish trademark rights in a descriptive term the user must be able to prove that in addition to its normal meaning, consumers have come to also recognize the term as a designation of source (i.e., the term has acquired secondary meaning or distinctiveness).  Specifically, it must be [...]

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IS YOUR CREDIT INFORMATION PROTECTED?

July 20, 2011

By Brian Zarzycki, MP Integrated Solutions
This is a story about the local reseller who did not think people were untrustworthy. This local reseller made an honest living selling from a store that had been in his family for the last 50 years. He did not make a huge profit from what he sold, but his [...]

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PORTABILITY UNDER THE 2010 TAX RELIEF ACT: DOES IT END THE NEED FOR COMPLICATED ESTATE PLANNING?

July 20, 2011

By Kevin Lanigan, Carlson Estate Planning
Under the 2010 Tax Relief Act passed in the closing days of 2010, a new concept known as “portability” between spouses of their Federal Estate Tax Exemption was introduced.
Beginning in 2011, the new estate tax law allows widows and widowers to inherit the remainder of their spouse’s unused lifetime Federal [...]

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“REDUCING YOUR INSURANCE COSTS…DISTINGUISHING BAD ADVICE FROM GOOD ADVICE”

July 20, 2011

By Gary Sorenson, CEA, CLCS, PLCS, President, Insurance Brokers of Minnesota
Many Americans are struggling financially in the current economy, particularly those struck by lay-offs, and are faced with tough decisions about how to reduce expenses. As a result, much has been written in recent months about how to reduce insurance premiums as one aspect of [...]

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MANAGING LEGAL FEES IN BUSINESS TRANSACTIONS

May 26, 2011

By Robert S. Halagan, Halagan Law Firm, Ltd.
Recently I was involved in a business deal where the principals met to negotiate the terms and then brought the lawyers to the table to “document” the deal. Sounds like the cheapest way to handle a transaction, right? Not quite. The lawyers saw issues the principals [...]

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BUDGET FOR PROFIT

May 26, 2011

By Kelli Hoskins, ActionCOACH MetroNorth
As small business owners, most of us are familiar with the term “Budget.”  According to wiki, a budget is “a list of all planned expenses and revenues  that ‘enables the actual financial operation of the business to be measured against the forecast.’”  Yet where is the reference to “Profit?”  [...]

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AS THEY SAY, “CHANGE IS A COMING”

May 25, 2011

By Luke Bauman, Wright County Economic Development Partnership
At 7:00 a.m. on April 14th, I was sitting in the auditorium at General Mills Corporate headquarters.  I was listening to politicians and economic development leaders from around the Twin Cities introduce the “Greater Minneapolis – St. Paul Regional Economic Development Partnership.” This new partnership is the result [...]

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IF YOU LEAD, WILL THEY FOLLOW? Become a leader who inspries transformational change in others

May 25, 2011

By Robert Sicora, Sicora Consulting, Inc.
Change happens within an organization. True leaders are prepared for changes and develop an action plan for things that happen. Linda Ackerman Anderson (2011, March) gave a presentation called The ten common mistakes in leading change, and how to prevent them in which she said: “Change happens from the inside [...]

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