Archive for the ‘Licensing’ Category

Contractor Websites

On February 8, 2012 Author By Seth Smiley

In the course of staying on the pulse of the construction industry I read numerous articles online, using things like twitter, Google Reader and other forms of social media. Recently, I discovered a website from Darren Slaughter, he designs websites just for contractors! Many contractors have lackluster sites that all but drive away potential clients, and there are still some who do not even have a site. Its rare to come across an individual who designs sites specifically for contractors.

I found Slaughter because he wrote an informative piece on Google+ for contractors and it has good content. Check it out here.

The discovery of Slaughter’s site got me wondering if there were other sites out there specifically tailored for contractors. From a brief google search, I was able to find the following:

The ones named above seem to be very credible and worth looking into if you are a contractor in need of a site. In this day and age, the contractor operating “out the back of his truck” is a thing of the past. Any good contractor and client will need to be fluent and well versed on using computers, the internet and more. There are no more yellow pages, its all your internet presence.

As always, when looking for contractors a website is important but that should not be where the research ends for a consumer. It is always very important to make sure the contractor is licensed. Any body can put up a site. I would advise contractors to put the licensing information in some form on the site so that it can be double checked against the states website. Here in Louisiana contractors and consumers can find licensing information at the Louisiana State Licensing Board for Contractors.

Posted in:     Around The Web, Business Matters, Construction News, Licensing  /  Tags: , , ,   /   Leave a comment

NOLA Contractor’s College

On February 6, 2012 Author By Seth Smiley

On January 30, the New Orleans Mayor, Mitch Landrieu announced plans for what they are calling Contractor’s College. This cutting edge program will aid Disadvantaged Business Enterprises in becoming educated so as to allow them to compete in the market place with other more established construction companies.

Mayor Landrieu is quoted as saying:

“Contractor’s College is another great example of how we can build capacity among local businesses by removing obstacles that have prevented their inclusion in local opportunities in the past,”

“I am confident that this program will put DBE firms on equal footing with other companies as our City continues to recover and rebuild.”

The program is funded by a $1.042 mm grant from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. This is another step whereby the Landrieu administration has taken positive action to see to it that our business community is more competitive and fair. The Office of Supplier Diversity will oversee the allocation of the funding and run the Contractor’s College.

Those parties interested in participating in the Contractors College will need to fill out the Contractor Contact Form on the city’s website. From there you will receive further information on the program. Further information can be found at the city’s web-site or nola.com.

Posted in:     Construction News, Licensing, Louisiana  /  Tags: , ,   /   1 Comment

New California Business? Knowledge is the key…

On July 26, 2011 Author By Seth Smiley

Most attorneys, myself included, take for granted how little most individuals know about corporation law and business entities. The distinctions between the different types of entities that can be created are substantial and have a tremendous legal effect on how the business operates from year to year.

There are four basic categories of business that can be formed by an individual or groups of individuals: 1) sole proprietor, 2) partnership, 3) limited liability company (aka LLC) and 4) corporation (aka Inc.). All of these entities have varying degrees of complexity regarding start-up and more importantly varying degrees of liability toward the persons in charge and who started the entity.

A sole proprietor is the most simple way one can start up a business, yet it can be the most dangerous for the person who starts it because the individual assumes all of the company’s liabilities. If the company gets sued or defaults on a loan then the assets of the sole proprietor is not protected. A sole proprietor is typically when you will have a person’s name, example: John Smith d/b/a Smith’s Painting. Any suit against Smith’s Painting will be against Smith personally. This is not a safe strategy if a person is trying to protect his assets. In the business world, sole proprietors are not the way to grow a strong and thriving business. For more click here.

Partnerships at one time were very popular and they are very easy to start. Partners share liability according to their partnership agreement, which is the framework for how the partnership operates. In the absence of an operating agreement the business code (Title 2 of the California Business Code) has default rules on how this type of entity operates. Here, liability is still personal but it is shared between the partners only involving partnership business. If one partner commits a tort or acts outside of the partnership agreement other partners may not be liable for the faulty partner’s debt.  Over the years there have been many types of variations to the partnership model including, general partnerships, limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships. For more on how partnerships function in California click here.

The next two types of business entities are the limited liability company (“LLC”) and corporation (“Inc”) can be very complex and warrant a much further in depth analysis that this medium can offer. Luckily for all non-lawyers who did not have to sit through hours of class on the subject, the California Secretary of State offers a wealth of information on existing LLC’s and Inc’s but more information on how to start your own business. The glory of the LLC and the Inc is that there is a corporate shield of liability for members (LLC) and directors/shareholders (Inc.). This means that if the entity is sued then the individuals who started have their assets protected. The only way this shield can be breached is through a theory called piercing the corporate veil.

Overall the Inc is much more complex and has many more formalities than does an LLC. The LLC was created in the 1990’s hybrid of the partnership ease of formation and lack of formalities and the Inc’s limited liability status. Today the LLC is vastly becoming the most popular entity formed California and nationwide, for good reason. Unless you plan on starting a complex, potentially large company the LLC is the way to go. Contact an attorney to best advise you on which entity is best for your new business. See Title 1 for Inc and Title 2.5 of the California Corporations Code for more detailed information.

 

Posted in:     Business Matters, Licensing  /  Tags: , , ,   /   Leave a comment

California’s Contractors State Licensing Board – Very Useful Tool

On July 12, 2011 Author By Seth Smiley

The Wolfe Law Group, LLC (WLG), has two attorneys (Scott G. Wolfe, Jr., and Seth J. Smiley) that are barred in the state of California. As a California attorney, I want to share some of the excellent resources available to contractors through the licensing board.

California has over 300,000 licensed contractors, all of which had to be licensed through the state licensing board. Many contractors do not know all the resources which this arm of the Department of Consumer Affairs makes available to contractors and the public. Some of the more popular features include:

For the consumer there are tutorials on hiring a licensed contractor, knowing the risks of being an owner/builder, filing complaints, legal issues for construction consumers. California CSLB is also very proud of its SWIFT program. SWIFT stands for Statewide Investigative Fraud Team, where the government performs sting operations to catch unlicensed contractors. This team plays the double roll of protecting the consumers from unlicensed contractors, but it also protects those contractors who are playing by the rules from having business stolen from them by their unlicensed counterparts.

For contractors there are links to leading industry bulletins, the very helpful “Contractors Guide to Licensing” which after taking a look is very informative for all contractors, big or small, in educating them on the licensing process. There are also other links regarding out-of-state contractors obtaining reciprocity.

The hearty list of online services offered by CSLB includes, checking on a license, filing a complaint, the full database of all licensed contractors, processing times, searches for surety bond companies and workers comp insurance companies.

I found that the email alerts are very helpful on keeping up with current events and breaking news. Much of the news thus far has been updates on unlicensed contractors who have been caught by the SWIFT program.

As always seek the advice of legal counsel when contemplating licensing, contracting, and negotiating. The California Contractors State Licensing Board has a very top notch site dedicated to aid both the consumer and its professional contractors. This resource should not be overlooked when deciding to get your license or maintaining it. The attorneys at Wolfe Law Group, LLC are experienced in all areas of construction law including contractor licensing.

Posted in:     Construction News, Law Changes & Updates, Licensing  /  Tags: , ,   /   Leave a comment

One License Enough for Joint Ventures in Washington and Oregon

On December 3, 2010 Author By Scott Wolfe Jr

A few months ago, I posted “Joint Ventures and Contractor Licensing – Not A Simple Topic,” which compared the regulation of joint ventures by construction licensing entities in Washington (one party to joint venture requires license) and Louisiana (all parties to joint venture require license).

I completely overlooked a recent change in the Oregon law related to licensing joint ventures.   A change in ORS §701.021 puts Oregon in Washington’s camp insofar as joint ventures are concerned.  Like in Washington, so long as a single member of the joint venture is licensed, the JV entity will be considered licensed.

The change took effect on July 1, 2010.  Read the full text of ORS §701.021 here. Read a great article discussing details of the changed statute from Steward Sokol & Gray LLC here.

Posted in:     Licensing, Oregon  /  Tags: , , ,   /   Leave a comment
Next Page »