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Posts from July 2016

Girl Scouts: Are They Too Direct?

Girl Scouts: Are They Too Direct? published on

From the moment the phrase “Girl Scouts” is uttered, minds drifts to one thing: COOKIES! Thin Mints, Tagalongs, and Samoas — they are all so delicious, but sadly, their sale is sporadic and disappearance rapid. Once Girl Scout cookie season is over, it is impossible to find any of those delicious morsels distributed online or in your local grocery store, leaving consumers of these delectable delights contemplating the reason. Well, the answer is simple: aside from the Girl Scouts being absolutely adorable and it being unthinkable to say no to their little faces, the Girl Scouts use one of the oldest business strategies: direct sales. In a direct sales model, the business sells its products directly to the end consumer, rather than selling products in large volumes to distributors and stores. While the direct sale approach may be challenging, it offers control, flexibility, and immediate customer evaluation.

girl-Scout-Cookies

Direct sales provide business owners with the opportunity to manage their own personal relationships with their customers, which helps business owners understand and adapt to the needs of their customers. Also the feedback gained from direct sales interactions may be useful in evaluating the effectiveness of the business’s marketing campaigns, which will ultimately allow the business owner to tailor the development of products or services to consumer interests. Furthermore, a business that uses a direct sales model is less reliant on retailers, which may provide a stronger position in a negotiation with a retailer and allow the company to potentially secure a larger share of the profit from its products. So this year, when getting your cookie fix from the Girl Scouts, please take notes, because their business strategy is sure to leave you wanting more, while fostering a sweet sense of loyalty to their business brand.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have business related questions, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service, Trademarks, Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills,Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

Investments In Taxi Medallions May Be Waning

Investments In Taxi Medallions May Be Waning published on

The use of ride-sharing businesses may have taxicab companies questioning their investments for taxi medallions. In big cities, a taxi medallion is required for city-issued and regulated taxi services. At its all-time high in 2013, the cost for a taxi medallion was priced as high as $1.2 million but has since seen a sharp decline. Although a high initial expense, business owners often purchased taxi medallions with hopes of providing the license to their children or family members as an inheritance asset. However, many taxi medallion owners are now concerned that there is no market to sell the medallions, given the ride-share competition. One taxi driver notes that he inherited his medallion from his father 28 years ago and used the same to purchase two homes and send his two children to college. However, he, like many medallion owners, is unsure if he will be able to liquidate the value of the medallion to a seller with today’s market.

Taxi Medallion

There is growing concern that the ride-share economy puts medallion owners at an unfair disadvantage, subjecting medallion owners to stricter vehicle inspections, licensure requirements, and fare limitations. Many individual medallion owners and institutional investors alike now seek an active regulatory overhaul, together with prompting app-based innovations for taxis, to assist the medallion business to remain competitive with the burgeoning ride share industry.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have business related questions, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service,Trademarks, Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills,Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

Uber Settles On User Privacy

Uber Settles On User Privacy published on

An on going investigation of the popular car-sharing company, Uber, that has been led by a state attorney general’s office since November 2014 has come to a recent settlement. The investigation centered around the company’s collection, maintenance, and disclosure of customer’s personal information. A data breach of the company’s system had also been reported, in which a third party accessed Uber drivers’ personal information and drivers’ license numbers.

uber

The investigation began after several complaints were filed in which customers were being inappropriately tracked through Uber’s geolocation system, “God View”. This aerial view allows Uber to track real-time movement of cars vis-a-vis customer demand, thereby allowing the company to send alerts rerouting drivers if need be.

Given customer concerns of their privacy, the settlement requires the company to now utilize several data security practices and to encrypt their data, including customer geo-locations, so that riders are protected from unintentional tracking on their persons. Uber will also require a multi-factor authentication that Uber drivers would need to input before accesing customers’ personal information, as well as annual employee training.

The company will also be required to pay a $20,000 penalty for failure to timely notify the affected drivers of the security breach.

If you are a member of Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.’s General Counsel Club and have user privacy questions, call (800) 734-9900 or clubassist@amerilawyer.com for assistance. Remember, as a member of the  General Counsel Club, you receive unlimited legal, business, credit and tax advice all year long.

Spiegel & Utrera, P.A. is a corporate law firm with its main offices located in Miami, Florida with offices throughout the United States. As a law firm, we do more than just help you form your business entity. We stand ready to help with the maintenance of your legal business entity! We will assist you with Incorporation Service,Trademarks, Copyrights, Estate Planning, Legal Counsel, Wills,Trusts, Agreements & Leases, Corporate & Company

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