July 9, 2026
How to Pay Yourself: Take It First
A business owner's LLC was profitable on paper, but his bank account did not agree. I get this question constantly. The business has a good year on paper, but the bank account doe…
Surge Business Law
Newsletter
Browse 19 articles tagged with Newsletter.
June 25, 2026
Home Business Zoning Rules Can Stop You
A soap maker did everything right to set up her LLC. Then she found out she could not store inventory at home. She had picked a name, filed the paperwork, set up the LLC. The hard…
June 3, 2026
Iowa SUI Tax Credit: Check Your IWD Account
A few weeks ago I got an email saying I had an important message about my payroll tax. Logging in and tracking it down took more clicks than it should have, but it was worth it. T…
February 5, 2026
90% of Owners Don't Know How Much They Make
When I tell a room of business owners that 90% of them do not know how much they make, almost every head in the room nods. Sometimes I question myself when I say it out loud. Then…
January 8, 2026
A New Reason to Avoid MCA Loans
Too many businesses closed down in 2025, and one thing we saw over and over in those closures was an MCA loan. If you are anywhere near signing one of these emergency business loa…
July 21, 2025
How to Get 5-Star Reviews for Your Business
Here is the entire secret to getting more 5-star reviews: ask for them. That is it. Most small business owners do excellent work and then never ask the happy customer to say so in…
July 1, 2025
Thrive in a Hesitant Economy: Fix Your Value Prop
The headlines look scary right now. A few years ago we lived through a genuinely bad economy. What we are seeing today is not quite that severe, but people are hesitant. Hesitant…
June 18, 2025
How Much Should You Spend on Marketing?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions I get. Someone recently shared that they had talked to marketing companies quoting $2,000 to $4,000 per month. Is that too much?…
April 11, 2025
Coping With Tariffs: Don't Panic, Make a Plan
Tariff talk is everywhere, and it is stirring up a lot of fear and confusion. I posted a short video about it yesterday and it instantly became my most viewed ever. The TikTok ver…
December 23, 2024
How to Fight Burnout as a Business Owner
Let me start with the honest part. 2024 was discouraging for a lot of business owners. If you are heading into the new year worn out, you are not imagining things. Election years…
November 13, 2024
Offer Premium Features Now
I stared in amazement as I was getting ready to pay for my groceries… there was a cashier smiling and waiting to help me check out. That may not seem too odd, but only a couple we…
September 11, 2024
3 Reasons My Business Didn't Fail in Our First 3 Years
About 40% of businesses fail in the first three years ( bls ). Surge Business Law is now three years old and we haven't failed! What did we do to make it this far? First, let me c…
August 21, 2024
How to Survive a Bad Economy as a Small Business Owner
Many business owners are struggling right now because they have fewer customers spending less money. Their overhead is not going down but their income is. Let's understand why thi…
April 17, 2024
It’s OK to be Expensive, Just Don’t Be Overpriced
I made an unusual social media post this week with a scary-looking mathematical formula for calculating “EOQ.” When I was in business school, EOQ was the method taught to optimize…
April 3, 2024
3025% Profit? LOL, no.
Profit, margin, markup… What's the difference? I saw a video by a YouTube creator "Ronnie's Workshop" talking about how he made a wood-working project and sold it for a "3,025% Pr…
March 21, 2024
Will Hiring be Hard This Year?
Yes. Prepare for hiring challenges. I've already heard from several businesses that they're hiring and that they're struggling to find people, even for entry level jobs. This is a…
March 1, 2024
When and How to Hire
Is it safe to hire? Few risks are as scary as hiring. If you do it wrong, or do it at the wrong time, you could cost your business precious money, time, and reputation. One of the…
February 6, 2024
How to Pay Yourself as a Business Owner
SBOBO (Sad, Burned Out Business Owners) When a business owner says they're burned out, when their face is worn and ragged, when they're stressed out… I always ask this one questio…
January 11, 2024
Now Make Real Resolutions
Ten days in, do you know where your resolutions are? I love New Year's resolutions. I make them every year and sometimes I make great progress on them. But sometimes they fail. I'…