Today's news for the franchise & small biz owner

Section 1.1031 of the Internal Revenue Code provides for the deferral of capital gain taxes. This is granted in exchange of like property that is being held as an investment or for productive use in a trade or business. There are many rules that must be stricly followed including one known as the same taxpayer requirement. The taxpayer or exchangor can be an individual, husband and wife, trust, partnership, corporation, multi or single member limited liability company (SMLLC). The exception is known as a disregarded entity. To understand what a disregarded entity is, it is important to understand the basic rule for holding title to property. The rule is that the way one holds their title to the old property is the way one has to take title in the new property in a 1031 exchange. This...

Here’s a quote for you: “If you don't have a handle on the emotional side of the engagement with your brand, you might as well spend your marketing budget on coupons.” Don't believe that? This year, in a study of nearly 600 products and services, found that many of those products and services, which consumers used to think of as ‘brands,’ are now regarded as comparable in all key attributes that drive purchase. It showed up in a lot of categories, mostly CPG, where the importance of emotional brand value has decreased significantly or disappeared entirely. Product evaluations by the brands’ own customers were found to be statistically identical, meaning the products were essentially seen to be interchangeable. Advertising and promotion can help to drive...

It’s no secret that I’ve long held that SAS’ relative strengths in both merchandising and customer intelligence uniquely position the company to both navigate and enable the customer-centric transformation that omni-channel retailers are experiencing right now. If anyone can bridge customer and merchandising in a way that drives both the marketing and merchandising organizations to work together to enable customer experiences, it should be SAS. And six years of listening to the company’s message have only strengthened my belief. Yes, I have been attending SAS’ analyst forum in Steamboat Springs for six years now. During that time I’ve seen the company evolve in many ways, from struggling to explain how the retail-specific solutions in the...

When attorneys negotiate commercial leases, oftentimes they breeze through (or overlook entirely) the “boilerplate” clauses. Think boilerplate provisions are unimportant? Ask if a franchise owner was affected by Hurricane Katrina, Superstorm Sandy, or the tornadoes that hit Bronson, Missouri.  Also, ask the attorney who did not catch a poorly drafted notice provision and it cost his client from being able to exercise a critical remedy under the lease. Last, ask a franchisee who is deemed to have “waived” a right in his lease.  Force Majeure When negotiating force majeure clauses, make sure the clause applies equally to all parties. Be sure to include specific examples of events that will excuse performance under the clause. The following are three...