Every great performer, whether an elite athlete or entertainment legend, has the need for professional coaches and advisors.
The goal of our bi-monthly newsletter is to help you find the advisors, coaches and professional support you need to maximize the performance of your business.
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Welcome to Corporate Cranium Business Mentoring Center
Every great performer, whether an elite athlete or entertainment legend, has the need for professional coaches and advisors.
The goal of our bi-monthly newsletter is to help you find the advisors, coaches and professional support you need to maximize the performance of your business.
Find timely articles that help you navigate through the ever-changing daily grind of owning and managing a business.
Sign-up for out Bi-monthly news.
Our Goal is to support and mentor businesses in 3 key areas!
Starting Your New Business
Ask the right questions and find the right answers for issues such as entity type, financing, accounting structure, insurance, partnership, marketing and employees.
Improving and Growing Your Business
Sales, Marketing and Advertising, Team Building and Recruitment, Systems and Business Process Development, and Customer Service.
Selling Your Business for Maximum Value
Determine whether it is ready to be sold, its real value and an achievable selling price, as well as the potential structures for a transaction.
Our Mentors
Recent Mentor Articles
New Exclusions from Minnesota Estate Tax
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 not adopt the federal exemption amount but instead has continue…
Read MoreDesigning an Effective Compensation Plan that Rewards Performance
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 model for non-union employers as well. The…
Read MoreReducing Your Insurance Costs…Distinguishing Bad Advice from Good Advice
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 a belt-tightening strategy. Unfortunately, too much of this advice has…
Read MoreTrademarks: How to Establish Secondary Meaning for a Descriptive Term
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 shown that the consuming public primarily thinks…
Read MoreManaging Legal Fees in Business Transactions
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 didn’t anticipate and a significant amount of time was…
Read MoreThe Employment-Related Practices Liability
Who could be sued for violating an employee’s rights? Just about anyone who employs another person! Discrimination, paying incorrect overtime amounts and sexual harassment are just three of many workplace situations that could lead to a lawsuit. Some actions result from the employer being unaware of applicable laws while others arise out of cultural differences…
Read MoreTrademarks: When is a Designation a Trademark?
Trademarks can take many forms, including words, designs, slogans, scents, names, sounds, colors, etc. However, not every such designation is entitled to the status of a trademark and the rights appurtenant to such status. Such designations, to be entitled to the status of a trademark, must be used in connection with goods or services, must…
Read MoreBudget for Profit
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?” Given the success of a business…
Read MoreRecent Changes in Foreign Bank Account Reporting
Today’s world is one of international investments. On February 23, 2011, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network amended the Federal Bank Secrecy Act and regulations governing the TD F 90-22.1, Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”). The FBAR is required to report a U.S. person’s financial interest in financial accounts located…
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