Main Street business
For the shops, trades and family businesses on Main Street
Small businesses here run on trust and a few key papers: how the company is set up, the lease, the big contracts. I write those, read the ones you’ve been handed, and help when one of them goes wrong.
Starting the company
Choosing an LLC or a corporation, the filing, and an operating agreement that says what happens if a partner wants out, gets sick or stops showing up.
Buying or selling the business
The purchase agreement, the equipment list, the lease assignment, a non-compete that a court would actually enforce, and a holdback for old bills.
The shop’s lease
Before you sign: the rent increases, who fixes the roof and the furnace, and how you get out if the business doesn’t make it.
Contracts and unpaid bills
Customer terms that get you paid, a demand letter when they don’t, and small claims or a lawsuit when the letter isn’t enough.
A worked example
Buying the bakery on the corner
A couple agrees to buy a bakery for $85,000: the ovens, the name, the recipes and the lease with four years left on it.
Before anyone signs, I confirm with the landlord that the lease can pass to the buyers, list every piece of equipment by serial number, hold $8,000 of the price back for six months against the seller's old bills, and add a promise that the seller will not open a bakery across the street.
Names and figures are made up; the shape is typical.
What it took
Flat fee, quoted before I start
From signed letter to closing in about a month
Filing fees and any lender’s costs are separate
Business questions
Do I need an LLC?
Often, but not always. It depends on what could go wrong in your line of work, whether you have partners, and your taxes, which is a conversation to have with your accountant too. I’ll tell you if you don’t need one.
Can you look at a lease the landlord says is standard?
Yes, and most of the time there is something worth asking about. Landlords in town are usually willing to talk before you sign, and rarely after.
Do you handle employment problems for my business?
I help owners with hiring paperwork and simple policies. A discrimination claim or a state agency case goes to a lawyer who handles those every day.
What does it cost to start an LLC?
A flat fee, set in writing before I start, plus the state’s filing fee. An operating agreement for two or more owners costs more because it takes more thought.
Send me the papers before you sign them
A lease, a purchase offer, a partnership agreement. Call or write, and I’ll tell you what I’d look at first and what it would cost.