Best of… for the week of June 11, 2012

President Barack Obama delivers remarks to small business owners, community lenders and members of Congress in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC. Secretary of the Treasury Timothy F. Geithner has his back to the camera. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I thought I’d try something new on the blog this week… I’ve been posting some interesting articles that I’ve found on other blogs, websites, etc. that I think are particularly relevant to small businesses (especially breweries, which are near and dear to my heart). So, today, I thought I’d recap the “best of” for this past week. Let’s get started with…

Mark Sperling blogs about decisions by the NC Business Court

Ok, so this is a little dry for most business owners, but it’s occasionally worth a read or search. NC is one of the few states in the country that has a specialized Business Court specifically to hear business issues and cases, particularly complex ones. This is a great blog to check out from time to time, especially if you’re a business attorney. http://www.ncbusinesslitigationreport.com/

Peer to Peer Business Lending

There’s been a lot of discussion about Crowdfunding lately, here’s an additional twist: Peer2Peer lending. Businesses use other businesses as investment opportunities, cutting out the bank altogether. If you’re thinking about starting a business and need startup money, it’s worth a read. http://under30ceo.com/consider-peertopeer-p2p-lending-business/

Debt v Equity

Another great topic for startup businesses. I advise clients everyday on the difference between debt and equity and what that means to you as a business owner. Read this over before you finalize your business plan. http://venturebeat.com/2012/06/09/debt-vs-equity-which-is-right-for-your-startup/

USPTO Offers IP Awareness Assessment

This is more of a press release than an article, but it’s a great tool for small businesses to make sure they know what their Intellectual Property (IP) issues are. Need copyright? Trademark? What’s a “trade secret,” anyway? The USPTO has some great resources. Check out the press release at

http://www.iplawalert.com/2012/06/articles/patent-1/uspto-offers-ip-awareness-assessment/  and their main page at http://www.uspto.gov

Let’s start there for this installment. I’ll post more next week as things come up that are pertinent to small businesses and the craft beer industry.

Thanks for reading and please, let me know what you think in the comments!

Related articles

• America Invents Act – Patent Office Funding (tacticalip.com)
• Peer-to-peer lending at encash provides a new way of financing between friends and family (prweb.com)
• USPTO and NIST Unveil New IP Awareness Assessment Tool (ipwatchdog.com)
• Small Business Lending Demand Drives Five Point Capital’s Addition of 13 New … – PR Web (press release) (prweb.com)
• Government to invest in startups through P2P lending platforms (wired.co.uk)

Debtor/Creditor – Collecting on Debts – The Bad

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (soundtrack) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Part 1 of a series focusing on The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Debt Collection.

Ok. I was going to write this post later in the week, but I keep seeing so much information and so many “what not to do” examples of debt collection that I feel *someone* is trying to tell me something.

So, here’s the deal:

#1: Television is not real. I know this is a difficult concept for some people, but even “reality tv” is not real. Shows like Repo Men, Lizard Lick Towing, etc. that show people slugging it out to save their car from being repossessed aren’t real. I’m not saying that they don’t happen, they do. What I’m saying is that the law penalizes people who “disturb the peace” for “self help repossession.” Federal and State law both prohibit violence to recover property and can impose stiff fines on bad actors for each occurrence. Sure, it makes good TV, but it’s not a great way to stay in business.

#2:  The debtor has a lot of protection under the law. Opportunities to dispute the credit, prohibition of harassing conduct, and (potentially) discharge under bankruptcy. If you’re in debt, read through the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). If you’re the creditor READ the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and your state equivalent (if it exists). The creditor has to jump through some non-trivial hoops to collect on debts and if you don’t, you face severe fines for each occurrence (that is, let’s say you’re a creditor/collector and have made harassing phone calls – you can get fine $1000 PER PHONE CALL). That quickly makes the debt less attractive to collect.

#3: Realize that once debts are sold or “given over to collections” (in some cases), the collectors are incentivized to collect, regardless of the hardship on the debtor. Here’s an article on one extreme situation. Several debt collection organizations say that “they work with the debtor to get their finances on track and work out a realistic payment plan.” Often, in reality, this means that they work with debtors to prioritize the debt they’re trying to collect over items such as food, rent, or basic necessities (like internet!).

If you’re in debt and are receiving debt collection notices, or if you’re a small business trying to collect on a debt, see an attorney with debt collection experience. It can save a lot of headache, money, and time for everyone.

Related articles

• The Creditor-Debtor Relationship: Low Level Disruption (cleardebt.co.uk)
• Fair Debt Collection – Thwarting Abusive Collections Tactics (lexingtonlaw.com)
• Debt Validation and Collection Agencies (lexingtonlaw.com)
• Collections and Telephone Calls (lexingtonlaw.com)