Buying or Selling a Michigan Small Business.

What is an Earnout?

An earnout is a portion of the purchase price that is held back by the buyer or placed in escrow contingent upon the business remaining successful after the acquisition.   A buyer will typically hold anywhere from 10-30% of the purchase price back under an earnout agreement, and sometimes the holdback can be as much as 50% if the risks to the buyer are significant.

Why use an Earnout in the Sale of a Michigan Business

Increasingly, Michigan small business acquisitions are including an earnout provision in the purchase agreements.  Buyers of Michigan businesses are using earnouts more prevalent when acquiring businesses where success or failure is based on customer relationships or when

Michigan Employment Compliance

Many would-be Michigan employers opt for utilizing temporary employees through agencies or hiring independent contractors or consultants instead of growing their own workforce.  Even though this might be the easiest choice initially, employing workers directly in Michigan has benefits that should be considered, too.

Below is a summary of the benefits of hiring Michigan employees that is by no means all-inclusive.  It simply highlights a few issues that a company or sole proprietorship typically faces when making the decision whether to hire employees directly or to use contractors or temporary employees instead.  If your business has never hired an employee, it is

Michigan Independent Contractor Law

For the past several years, many Michigan companies have cut back on employment or using Independent Contractors to save on payroll, worker’s compensation, and other employee related expenses.   Michigan employment laws often make compliance easier with Independent Contractors, but not all Independent Contractor arrangements meet Michigan’s definition of an Independent Contractor (When they don’t, the state of Michigan and the IRS considers them employees and imposes all of the compliance and withholding obligations associated with having employees anyway).

Independent Contractor Factors in Michigan

Below are the factors that are considered in determining whether an Independent Contractor is

Buying or Selling a Liquor License

If you are seeking a liquor license in the state of Michigan, the process can be very complex as Michigan has one of the most dynamic liquor control laws in the nation. Eyestone Law Offices PLC can help you work through the process for liquor license acquisition, transfers, and adding or removing owners or permits.

The Process of Obtaining a Liquor License

While the application process itself can appear to be quite simple, the Michigan Liquor Control Commission (MLCC) has many rules, regulations, and standard practices that an experienced liquor license attorney uses in your favor to expedite your liquor license application.  Simple mistakes can easily increase the turn around time for an application from 6 months to as long as 12 to 18 months.

A liquor license lawyer will