Welcome to ChristineSpringerOnline.com
A Blog about Legal Stuff
Christine's Blog

Entrepreneurial Obstacles

I've recently been thinking a lot about some of the obstacles I've been facing as an entrepreneur, such as limiting beliefs, how to master your fears and insecurities and a few other big issues. I belong to quite a few networking groups, and most of then focus only on the positive side of entrepreneurship. Don't get me wrong -- focusing on the positive is important, but there needs to be some discussion about the dark side of entrepreneurship.

I started talking to a lot of other business owners and have learned that a lot of people feel the same way. As such, I've decided that my company, Desert Edge Legal Services, will sponsor a series of seminars that will give us the tools to get us to the next level with our inner work. I've noticed that more work I do on the inside, the better things become on the outside.

The first seminar is scheduled for Thursday, September 25, 2008 and the presenter is Tammy Holmes, a spiritual coach here in Phoenix. I recently attended one of her group events and learned a lot.

The rest of the seminars will be announced as soon as I get them lined up. If there's an issue you've been struggling with, send me an e-mail and I'll try to include a workshop on it.

Stay tuned for additional details on cost and location!

Thanks,
Christine

Why You Need a Corporate Minute Book

Most people form a legal entity to shield their personal assets. Did you know that keeping good records of your company's actions can further reduce your personal liability?

If your company is ever sued, the other party's attorney is probably going to ask to see your company's records during the discovery phase of litigation. He or she is looking to determine the best way to recover damages for their client, and don't care whether they are business or personal assets. If you have more assets held in your personal name, the attorney may attempt to recover your personal assets despite the corporation protection. This is called "piercing the corporate veil" and is the most litigated issue in corporate law.

The corporate law concept of piercing the corporate veil describes a legal action where a shareholder or director or member of a legal entity is held liable for the debts or liability of the company depite the general principle that shareholders or members are immune from suits in contract or tort that otherwise would hold only the corporate entity liable. Piercing the corporate veil is typically most effective with smaller privately held business entities in which the company has no assets. In this situation, Plaintiffs will usually seek to hold a related person with more assets liable rather than a small business with no assets. (Wikipedia.com)

One way to reduce your personal risk is to keep good company records. This shows that you are serious about running your company legitimately. It's not difficult and only takes a few minutes once you have a system in place. Law firms assemble corporate minute books for their clients when they are retained to form a legal entity. You can assemble one yourself or you can contact me for assistance.

The important items that should go in your book are your formation documents, tax documents, business licenses, and anything else you think should go into your book. Additionally, each time your company takes an action that will materially impact your business, such as merging with another company or purchasing property (to name a few examples), the owners should prepare a written resolution authorizing them to take the specific action. A written resolution in lieu of a formal meeting is fine when signed by all the owners or officers. The original fully executed copy should be placed into the company's minute book.

I network with several attorneys here in Phoenix who stress the importance of limited liability companies keeping records similar to a corporation. Generally, we know a lot about how corporations are treated in the courts. Limited liability companies have not been as tested in the courts simply because they have not been in existence as long as corporations. As such, I think the standard for recordkeeping with a LLC is higher than a corporation.

Simply put, keeping good corporate records is a must for an owner of a business to reduce personal liability. It also makes sense to have all your company's records organized and in one place. Losing a key document is inconvenient and a hassle to replace.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please feel free to e-mail me at
Christine@DesertEdgeLegal.com.

Welcome to My New and Improved Blog

If you've stumbled onto my blog accidentally looking for spiritual inspiration, I hope you're not disappointed. Like a lot of people, I started this blog with the intent to write about the Law of Attraction, but now everyone's writing about that.

Now that I've started a business, (
www.DesertEdgeLegal.com), it makes sense to use this blog to write about legal topics, especially areas of the law that people have questions about.

Besides, everyone knows about the Law of Attraction, right? Just in case you haven't, I've left the best article from the old blog below, called "A Primer on the Law of Attraction." It's relevant to business and people write me frequently because they find it helpful. 

About me: I have over ten years of legal experience as a paralegal in various law firms in St. Louis and Phoenix. I also have several degrees, including a master's from Washington University in St. Louis. I'm also an Arizona Certified Legal Document Preparer (CLDP), which is a license that allows me to prepare legal documents for the public.

My business specializes in helping small businesses and individuals solve their legal problems in the area of corporate law and domestic relations. I'm not an attorney, but I've found that many times a lawyer is not needed. Don't worry, if you need a lawyer, I'll tell you. 

My target market is really the small business owners and people who don't want to hire a lawyer for whatever the reason. And based on talking to many of you, I know this market is entirely underserved because there haven't been many options. In the past, many people either hired an attorney or you took care of the issue by themselves.

There are a lot of people like me with a legal background who can help you with your legal issues. I love to help new businesses get their corporate entity formed and educate people about the law.

If you have any questions about your limited liability company or corporation, please feel free to e-mail me directly at
Christine@ChristineSpringerOnline.com. I would love this blog to be a source of useful information to individuals and small business owners, and if your question is a common one, I'll include it in a blog post so everyone can benefit from the answer.

A Primer on the Law of Attraction

My friend Ann, who is my spiritual mentor, told me that recently she’s been asked by a lot of people for more information on the movie The Secret and the Law of Attraction. She mentioned that she is going to refer people to this blog (thanks Ann!) for more information on how the Law of Attraction works. So I thought I’d better get writing about it so that the masses being referred to my site have something to read when they get here, and I give thanks in advance for all the people who find my site to read this information.

 

As a disclaimer, almost none of the ideas I’m about to share with you are original. I can’t take credit for this information since many, many other teachers before me have talked about these concepts long before I was alive! I just happen to be the messenger today and I can help others apply the law in their own lives.

 

The Law of Attraction is the most powerful law in the universe. It basically says, “Like attracts like.” Everything in this universe is made up of energy, including your thoughts, and you attract everything that shows up in your reality with your thoughts, and especially with your feelings.

 

The feeling part is really the most important part of the Law of Attraction. If you’re not sure about your thoughts, ask yourself how you feel. Our feelings are a guide to what we are creating. If you feel bad, you are not creating the things you want. It’s impossible to feel bad and attract good at the same time.

 

This information is hard for a lot of people to accept at first because no one wants to believe that they attracted a car accident, debt or any other negative situation. However, if you consider the law for a moment, it’s really liberating because it means YOU have the power to change your circumstances.

 

The key to applying the law to your life is to change the way you think about things and get absolutely clear on what you want. Most people send mixed requests to the universe by thinking about what they want combined with what they don’t want.

 

The request usually sounds something like this: “I want a new car, because my current one is falling apart.”

 

The problem with this statement is that you are telling the universe that you WANT your car to fall apart. The universe doesn’t understand the words “I don’t want…” because the universe assumes that if you’re talking about it, you want it. In this statement, you are asking for the car to break down because you thought about how bad the car is, felt the fear of it breaking down, and then talked about it breaking down. When the car breaks down, the universe has delivered exactly what’s been asked for.

 

A clearer and more refined version of this particular request would sound something like this: “Thank you God/Universe (or whatever you choose to call it) for my car. I appreciate the car because it gets me back and forth to work every day and it serves my needs, allowing me to get to the grocery store, etc.” This might not seem like much to be thankful for, but imagine your life without any car at all! Gratitude is the best way to attract more good into your life. And, being thankful for the little things is a good place to start. 
 

Another important thing to understand is that just because your current circumstances are not desirable doesn’t mean you can’t change the future. We are continually living in the residual. In other words, your current reality is a result of your previous thoughts and feelings, and if you change them now, your future reality will change.

 

This will be a challenge to a lot of you because you’ll have to imagine that the future is already here! And you do that by test driving the new car, taking photos of yourself in the car, visualizing yourself owning the car and having the feelings of it already being in your reality. Have you ever noticed how kids pretend to play school, etc.? You'll just be pretending on a bigger scale. 

 

I’m using the example of the car because it’s illustrative of a situation that my mom had trouble with. She didn’t know that she had to be thankful for the car she already has. She thought that if she was thankful for her current circumstances that she was somehow telling the universe that she didn’t need or want the new car she had been asking for. I understood her viewpoint but there is no relation to what exists now and what exists in the future. Just because it exists in your reality now doesn't mean your future can't be different if you choose to change it.

 

However, gratitude for what you have NOW is the fastest way to bring more good into your life, because when you are thankful you are feeling good. When you feel good, you’re attracting good things.

 

So, to attract what you want, get clear on what you want (don’t talk about what you don’t want!) and focus ONLY on what you want. Tell those negative voices to be quiet. Visualize yourself having whatever it is you want, know that you can have it, stay in alignment with it by feeling good, and it will manifest in your reality.


Until next time,

 

Christine