Chicagoland Economic Development Programs

For a thorough and well-organized directory of resources for businesses seeking information on grants and economic development loans, grants and programs run by Illinois and local government entities, go to: http://www.ecodevdirectory.com/illinois.htm

____________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

To 5 Business Tips to Creatively Search for Funding

With the economy still sputtering, your business needs to take advantage of the resources available to them. SCORE (http://www.score.org) offers useful, free resources, business counseling and business tools to small businesses.

One of SCORE’s great resources is its lists of “Top 5 Business Tips.” My pick for this week is SCORE’s 5 Tips to Creatively Search for Funding  - check it out at: http://www.score.org/5_tips_fc_9.html.

SCORE is a partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and is a national association dedicated to helping small business owners form and grow their businesses. SCORE offers terrific free resources, business counseling and business tools for small businesses.

____________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

Legal Guides & Answers to Business Issues

Chicago Business bLAWg contributor and attorney with the law firm of Griffith & Jacobson, LLC, Arieh M. Flemenbaum, has several legal guides and has answered several questions from business owners on http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/60603-il-arieh-flemenbaum-1102412.html:

Arieh's legal Guides on Avvo.com:
Read my legal guides at Avvo.com/

Arieh M. Flemenbaum has also answered many questions and issues posed by business owners.  Below is a link to the questions and Arieh's answers:

Get my answers to legal questions at Avvo.com

Arieh Mordechai Flemenbaum

View lawyer's profile

Top 5 Business Tips - Approaching Your Bank

With the economy still sputtering, your business needs to take advantage of the resources available to them. SCORE (http://www.score.org) offers useful, free resources, business counseling and business tools to small businesses.

One of SCORE’s great resources is its lists of “Top 5 Business Tips.” My pick for this week is SCORE’s 5 Tips on Finance & Capital: Approaching your Bank - check it out at: http://www.score.org/5_tips_fc_2.html

SCORE is a partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and is a national association dedicated to helping small business owners form and grow their businesses. SCORE offers terrific free resources, business counseling and business tools for small businesses.

____________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/contact).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

Top 5 Tips on Conserving Capital

With the economy continuing to sputter, your business needs to take advantage of the resources available to them. SCORE (http://www.score.org) offers useful, freeresources, business counseling and business tools to small businesses.

One of SCORE’s great resources is its lists of “Top 5 Business Tips.” My pick for this week is SCORE’s 5 Tips on Conserving Capital- check it out at: http://www.score.org/5_tips_fc_3.html

SCORE is a partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and is a national association dedicated to helping small business owners form and grow their businesses. SCORE offers terrific free resources, business counseling and business tools for small businesses.

____________________________________________________________

For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/CM/Custom/Contact.asp).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC – We know business – Chicago’s Business Lawyers.

SCORE's Top 5 Business Tips- Finding Angel Investors & Venture Capitalists

With the economy still sputtering, your business needs to take advantage of the resources available to them. SCORE (http://www.score.org) offers useful, free resources, business counseling and business tools to small businesses.

One of SCORE’s great resources is its lists of “Top 5 Business Tips.” My pick for this week is SCORE’s 5 Tips on Finding Angel Investors & Venture Capitalists- check it out at: http://www.score.org/5_tips_fc_7.html

SCORE is a partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and is a national association dedicated to helping small business owners form and grow their businesses. SCORE offers terrific free resources, business counseling and business tools for small businesses.
____________________________________________________________
For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at 312-236-8110 or by email at Contact Us (http://www.gjlaw.com/CM/Custom/Contact.asp).

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC - We know business - Chicago's Business Lawyers.

SCORE's 5 Tips on Factoring

With the economy still sputtering, your business needs to take advantage of the resources available to them. SCORE (http://www.score.org) offers useful, free resources, business counseling and business tools to small businesses.

One of SCORE’s great resources is its lists of “Top 5 Business Tips.” My pick for this week is SCORE’s 5 Tips on Factoring- check it out at: http://www.score.org/5_tips_fc_4.html

SCORE is a partner with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and is a national association dedicated to helping small business owners form and grow their businesses. SCORE offers terrific free resources, business counseling and business tools for small businesses.
____________________________________________________________
For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business grow, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum (312-236-8110 or at amf@gjlaw.com).

Business in Need of Cash? Royalty-based Financing & Other Options

Your business needs cash to grow, but finding financing is still very challenging. Banks are still slow to fund new business loans and venture capitalists have been very selective.  There are several options and alternatives out there, but you have to be a bit creative (and careful to ensure there is a "right" fit).  Below are but a few of the many innovative alternatives to traditional financing and venture capital that are available.

One creative alternative is factoring or invoice/account receivables financing.  While this type of financing is not new, the industries targeted by the factoring companies has expanded and the factoring terms have changed dramatically (making them more accessible and affordable). One example is factoring for the construction industry. Factoring companies have traditionally not served this industry, but we have seen factoring companies offer non-recourse account receivables financing and other credit services to contractors and suppliers (at reasonable rates).

Another option that has seen increased attention lately is royalty-based financing. VentureBeat has a fascinating article on royalty-based financing. The article does a very good job of  reviewing the pros and cons of this type of financing and identifies several of the types of businesses that have successfully used royalty-based financing. To read the full article go to VentureBeat's Entrepreneur's Corner at: http://wp.me/pPijr-1ber

We have also seen an uptick in the leveraging of internal capital resources and self-financing. At times it is easier for a shareholder to obtain financing than his/her business. In these cases, it may be possible to obtain a "personal" loan and structure a shareholder loan to the company.  Many clients have raised capital by selling a minority stake in their business or selling options to employees.  The business can benefit not only from the needed capital, but these transactions are an opportunity to secure the loyalty of key employees.  Also, with a stake in the company, the employees have more of an incentive to help the business succeed.

Having experienced, knowledgeable  and creative professionals (i.e., a good business lawyer and accountant)  may help you explore these alternatives and help you find other options that fit your business needs. For information on how the business lawyers at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC can help your business find financing, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum (312-236-8110 or at amf@gjlaw.com).

A shift in enforcement policy in dealing with illegal workers

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has shifted its enforcement policy in dealing with illegal workers. In its recent enforcement guidance that was distributed to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency, the DHS has made a notable shift in its recent worksite enforcement policies. The DHS has directed an immediate shift in ICE's resources to criminal prosecution of employers who hire illegal workers in an effort to root out illegal immigration. As part of this shift in policy, ICE is to specifically target employers who cultivate illegal workplaces by breaking the law and knowingly hire illegal workers. Unfortunately, the new guidance does not address how ICE is to determine how an employer "knowingly" hire illegal workers.

To review the DHS mandate go to: http://tinyurl.com/dgfp4u

___________________________________________________________
For information on how the shift in policy may effect your business, contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC.

There's life in Business loans

We have heard from several contacts in commercial banking that their banks have money to lend and are looking to make loans. With the Obama administration actively trying to stimulate the business finance sector, the SBA has been revamping its loan programs. For a primer on how the recent changes in the SBA can help your business get a loan read the recent article in Businessweek http://twurl.nl/ttgqtb.


For additional useful resources for business loans & commercial mortgages go to http://www.credentrust.com/.


___________________________________________________________

For more information please contact Arieh M. Flemenbaum ( 312-236-8110 or at amf@gjlaw.com) at Griffith & Jacobson, LLC.

Griffith & Jacobson, LLC - We know your business!
Check us out at http://www.gjlaw.com/