How Do Family Businesses Survive Transition? The Cornell University Smith Family Business Initiative says that more than three-quarters (77%) of small businesses rest on significant family involvement. Family Enterprise USA has counted 5.5 million family businesses in the U.S., finding that they contribute 57% of the U.S. GDP, employ 63%…
Illinois Amends One Day in Seven Rest Act The new year will bring with it activation dates for new or amended state legislation that passed earlier this year, some of which will have an impact on small business owners and their employees. One significant change that employers should know about…
What Would It Mean for Your Business? Illinois voters will have the opportunity on Election Day, November 8, to vote “yea” or “nay” on an amendment to the state constitution that would protect workers’ rights to collectively bargain, while prohibiting state legislators from making Illinois a “right to work” state,…
Can I-Robot Hold a Patent? An obscure but telling sign of when the robots will have taken over will be in evidence when they’re allowed to be named as inventors on patent applications. But that day—when “I, Robot”-like artificial intelligence is thusly recognized as rivaling that of humans—hasn’t come about…
Bellas & Wachowski – Chicago Business Lawyers Small businesses with 16 to 24 employees that have been operational for at least two years and don’t already offer qualifying retirement plans will, as of November 1, 2023 be subject to the requirements of the Illinois Secure Choice Savings Program Act. Under…
Subchapter V for Small Business Owners For the past two years, small businesses whose bottom lines were impacted by the onset of COVID-19 enjoyed greater protections while going through Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganizations in the form of higher debt limits under the Small Business Reorganization Act. That act, passed in…
Repayment of Student Debt by Employers Retaining employees, and attracting new ones, has always been at the forefront of employer’s minds, but never more so than right now. An extension of the student loan repayment plan for employers is one attractive way to stabilize your workforce. The CARES Act (Coronavirus…
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…