Here's my "Artist's Guide To Owning & Operating a Business." It's for creative entrepreneurs that want to help get their business up and running quickly. Contact my office to supercharge the findings in my report!

1. THE ARTIST’S GUIDE TO OWNING AND OPERATING
A BUSINESS
Eight Ways to Start and Sustain a Business When
You Don’t Have a Large Nest Egg
by Michael W. Lawrence, Esq.
Attorney & Counselor at Law
As a creatively inclined business person, you possess the ingenuity to turn an idea into a
viable enterprise. You may not have the abundance of capital to start and sustain your
business. Artistic pursuits aren’t known for producing nest eggs that can be used to fund a
business in its early stages. A great idea and a passion to execute it should be enough to
create something meaningful and lasting and now it can! Here are some ways to make your
dream of starting a business real without a big salary or trust fund. To fast track your
results take advantage of my complimentary Revenue Generation Prep Consultation I
detail at the end of this report.
1. Go form a Limited Liability Company (LLC)! It’s fairly easy to do. You can probably go
on Legal Zoom right now and do it in an hour. With all the money you just saved you can
now afford to put me on retainer for all your ongoing legal needs. You’re welcome!
2. Get the right permits starting with those regulating revenue generating areas of your
business. If you are opening a bar, get a liquor license. If you are serving food, get your
food establishment permit. You may need other tangentially related permits, but get the
ones that matter to your bottom line first. A great resource to figure out the all the permits
you need can be found on www.nycbusinessexpress.com.

2. 3. Get a solid accounting program. It’s extremely important to keep track of all expenses and
income. Your business won’t have any tax liabilities if your expenses are greater than your
earnings. This is typically the case in a business’ 1st
year of operation. Also, keeping track
of what works and what doesn’t increases efficiency.
4. Take out an insurance policy. The cost of insurance can become a significant expense. To
minimize your monthly premiums you can choose a policy with a higher deductible. The
deductible is the amount that you will be responsible for paying on any claim before the
insurance company covers the rest of your business’s liability. Insurance policies may be
a required condition for the profit generating activity you are conducting. Commercial
leases may contain language that may call for the tenant to be evicted if they are
engaging in business activities not covered by an insurance policy. You should have a
lawyer review any commercial lease before signing.
5. Apply for your business’s Employer Identification Number (EIN). This is essentially your
business’s social security number. You will need this to differentiate from your
professional and personal assets which will help limit your personal liability. You will
also need this to report income and pay taxes to the Internal Revenue Service.
6. Open a business bank account. Keep business and personal accounts separate.
7. Sublease a portion of your real estate. Your lease has to give you the permission to do this
– that’s why it is important for you to have your lawyer (preferably me) negotiate this
point. Some businesses are able to significantly cut or completely offset their business’s
rent by subleasing. However, you will effectively become a landlord and this will add
more responsibilities to your plate, in addition to running your business. You will have to
determine whether the added responsibility is worth the savings to your bottom line.
Scary Anecdote #1: A client of mine negotiated a lease (before I came on board) that
was incredibly one sided in favor of the landlord. In addition to the lease requiring
insurance that covered my client’s business operations, the lease required my client to
insure the entire building (something that is generally covered by the landlord). As a
result of my client’s ignorance on this point they ended up having to obtain another
insurance premium that cost them an additional $400 each month for the rest of their 10
year lease!
8. Don’t hire employees; instead, hire Independent Contractors. The distinction is small, but it
is an important one. Employees are workers under your direct control. Independent
Contractors are usually separate businesses that are hired for specific projects they
have a specialized expertise to perform. You pay Independent Contractors but have no
additional reporting or withholding duties. You and your team will have to do the bulk
of the work yourself initially, but you’ll keep more of the spoils afterwards.
Scary Anecdote #2: A client of mine (before I came on board) formed their LLC on
Legal Zoom. While applying for workman’s comp insurance, they gave quotes to the
Department of Labor stating an estimate for how much they expected to make that year
as an employee of the LLC. My clients didn’t know that, in New York, members of an
LLC aren’t employees with respect to unemployment insurance. Had I not been their
lawyer they would have had to pay back taxes in unemployment insurance withholdings
for the entire year! I’ve had other clients be put out of business for owing over $150k in
payroll taxes (that’s what happens when you hire employees instead of independent
contractors). Don’t let this be you!

3. SPECIAL OFFER:
Call my office now to schedule a complimentary Revenue Generation Pre p
Consultation . At no charge to you, I will review your plans and objectives
to determine 1) the best business structure for your company and 2) what
permits you need to start making money right away. These services are
valued at $650.00 but are free when you act today! At the end of our
meeting, I will provide you with what you need to create your business
form and apply for your permits without retaining a lawyer. Doing this
work on your own will save you an additional $1,000!
The above points are not legal advice, and are recommendations only. They
do not form the basis for an attorney -client relationship.
Michael’s law practice focuses on the areas of general business and
entertainment law in the music, film, and IT industries. He has worked not
only with musicians, but also with managers and film directors. Michael’s
approach to counseling clients is one that recognizes that his role is not to
stifle the pursuit of outcomes when the inevitable roadblocks occur, but to
help clients find solutions that work from both business and legal
perspectives. He is passionate about applying his legal training and skills
to help artists navigate the business world.
Law Offices of Michael W. Lawrence, Esq.
276 5th Avenue, Suite 704, New York, NY 10004 860.7 85.0762
www.mi kelawrencelaw.com – lawrence@mikelawrencelaw.com