The Metaverse The metaverse isn’t just for gamers anymore. With the rise of block-chain technology, cryptocurrencies, and non-fungible tokens (NFTs)—along with the increasingly realistic-looking realms created in virtual and augmented reality—these three-dimensional realms, best known for games like Fortnite and Roblox, are increasingly becoming a place to do…
NFTs as a Business Asset Simply put, NFT’s (or “tokens”) are digital assets. Various examples include movies, drawings, music, and digital artwork. By their very definition, NFT’s are non-fungible, meaning that they cannot be traded for something else. For example, Da Vinci’s original Mona Lisa is non-fungible; only one original…
Data Management Key to Business Success Small businesses should have thorough, regular—and secure—processes for gathering, storing and interpreting data, which in the “Information Age” has become critical to staying a step ahead of competitors and the marketplace as a whole. Without deliberately planning and engineering the most effective ways to…
New CDC Guidelines The CDC has released new mask guidelines easing former recommendations. The CDC is no longer using vaccination status as the benchmark for mask guidelines and are now using low, medium, and high levels for counties to measure COVID risk and mask recommendations. For low level counties no…
Independent Contractors A recent Illinois Court of Appeals decision in an Illinois Wage Claim Act case puts a magnifying glass on the sticky wicket employers can find themselves when they are unable to pay an outside contractor, at least under certain circumstances. The decision in O’Malley v. Udo, 2022 IL…
Do you need a business license? In the past two years about 30,000 new businesses were started in Illinois. Most of those new business had to get a specific license for their particular type of business. Not all businesses do, but many will need an Illinois Business License specific to…
New Laws for Small Businesses in 2022 From salary and benefits, to the hiring process, to non-compete agreements, an array of new state legislation that affects small businesses in one way or another has taken effect as of the first of the new year, 2022. The legislation focused non-compete agreements…
When is the Best Time to Start a Business? During the pandemic there were over 400,000 new businesses formed, the most since 2007. This outpaced the number of businesses which closed during the pandemic. We have seen a number of businesses which were formed over the past year by…
George Bellas advises on E-Commerce There is no doubt that e-commerce sales have grown tremendously over the last 20-plus years. That is in part because online purchases are taxed differently than in person sales, and small businesses have noticed the advantages of this system. The setup is quite simple: a…
Illinois Freedom to Work Act Illinois Employers who want to protect their business and trade secrets by using restrictive employment contracts will find new hoops to jump through. The enforcement of non-compete and non-solicit agreements, designed to erect roadblocks to prevent former employees from gaining an unfair advantage due to…