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Startup tips: Do I need a lawyer to file a DBA?

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What is a DBA?

Filing a DBA, also known as an assumed name, trade name, or fictitious name, is an easy process that is achieved by registering with your state, county, and/or city. There are a few reasons a business might apply for a DBA but the central focus of course is the belief that the prospective name change would be good for business.

What’s the point of having a DBA?

A DBA can accomplish several things for business owners. If a business wishes to rebrand itself without forming a new limited liability company or corporation, they can simply register a DBA instead. If a business receives bad publicity, they may register a DBA to mislead the public into thinking that their business has changed for the better or indeed is an entirely different company.

Do I need a lawyer to file a DBA?

You don’t need a lawyer to file a DBA. The process is normally easy and there is no need to spend your hard earned money on any unnecessary legal fees. All the information you will need on how to file a DBA is here on this website: file a DBA now This site has all the information you will need and you will be able to see that the process of filing a DBA is rather straightforward. Lawyers are generally only required in specific circumstances.

How do you file a DBA?

There is specific paperwork that needs to be filled out, as well as a filing fee. You can do all of this with a local or county agency, but some states require you to file with a state agency instead of, or in addition to, the county. Some states and counties might also require you to publish it with a local newspaper, giving the public notice that you have filed a DBA. However for the average business this is not normally necessary.

You will need to check the specific requirements for your state. For example in New York, sole proprietorships and general partnerships must file a business certificate listing their assumed names with the county clerk’s offices. Corporations, LLCs, LLPs and limited partnerships, on the other hand, must file assumed names with the New York Department of State. In contrast, the state of Kansas has no requirements for businesses to register fictitious names.

Potential uses for a lawyer

Once you’ve chosen your business’s fictitious name and registered it locally, you might want to consider filing for a trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to protect your intellectual property. Trademarks protect words, names, symbols, sounds or colors that distinguish goods and services. If the paperwork and filing process seems like too much to comprehend, you can contact a business lawyer to complete all the necessary filings to secure your DBA name. Reputable business lawyers are listed by the American Bar Association.

Is My DBA Name Protected?

There are some cases where legal help might be needed. This can occur when you want a name that might be considered to close an existing business. There are laws that prevent DBAs that are too similar to existing ones from being used, but this varies from state to state. This limited protection would end at the state’s border. However, it is possible to trademark a DBA, which would offer protection across state lines. Another scenario is where the name might be viewed as controversial in some way, A good example of this would be when a business wants to use a name which might be considered defamatory to their competition.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5A0mleD6SKQ&feature=emb_title

Conclusion

If you need a lawyer for a DBA, it will be because your case has met specific circumstances, where extra legal help might be required. The average business owner however does not want hefty legal fees over a simple name change or an attempt at rebranding their product. Larger companies are more likely to make use of a lawyer if they feel the expenses will be financially worth it.

 

 

 

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In Lifestyle

Understanding How Harmony Place Monterey’s Dr. Mark Schwartz Helps Patients With Eating Disorders

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Dr. Mark Schwartz, Clinical Director at Harmony Place Monterey, has a degree in Psychology from John Hopkins University and over three decades of experience in helping people deal with conditions that dramatically affect their lives. He specializes in several spheres, one of which is eating disorders.

Understanding Eating Disorders 

Eating disorders are usually neglected and not given the kind of focus that many other disorders are. This is because, most often, patients do not realize that they are not in control of their eating habits. They do not want to express their concerns to a therapist or even loved ones. Whether it is bulimia, anorexia, binge eating, or any other form of an eating disorder, there is still a fair amount of shame and ignorance that surrounds these disorders.

Eating disorders are a symptom of underlying issues that eat away at a person’s self-esteem and confidence. They affect an individual’s manner of eating, a process that offers the body sustenance and is essential to its survival. Patients and their families must understand that while eating disorders have been given a specific and distinct diagnostic classification, they do have commonalities with addictive disorders. 

Without therapy, a person who suffers from an eating disorder will continue to escalate until it takes a toll on their health and life. Whether one is bingeing, restricting food, or purging, over time, an eating disorder will worsen. The symptoms of the eating disorder will become habitual and compulsive, and over time it may shadow all aspects of a person’s personal as well as professional life. 

Quite like an addiction, an eating disorder continues to grow. After a while, the temporary relief gained from vomiting, bingeing, or excessive exercise will not be enough, and the symptoms will worsen. At Harmony Place Monterey, Dr. Mark Schwartz and his team of experienced therapists offer patients individual as well as group sessions. The aim is to uncover the deep-rooted issues that cause eating disorders and deal with them in a secure and safe environment. 

Dr. Mark Schwartz’s Approach to Eating Disorders

Dr. Mark Schwartz advocates the use of therapy to help patients acknowledge core issues that are the root of their eating disorders. He believes that when patients develop new life skills, it empowers them and helps them see themselves in a new light. To this end, Dr. Mark Schwartz and his team of therapists use advanced technology and research to ensure that patients receive the very best care.

Under Dr. Mark Schwartz’s guidance, Harmony Place Monterey uses a wide range of treatments to suit the requirements of patients. These include interpersonal therapy, nutritional therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy. As patients begin to face their disorders, they learn to take control of their eating habits and their lives, one step at a time. They learn to deal with their emotions, and with the world around them, in a more adaptive manner. By gaining confidence in their ability to control their eating habits, they also gain confidence in themselves. 

Harmony Place Monterey offers both inpatient as well as outpatient programs to suit the needs and requirements of its patients. The right treatment plan is key to a successful recovery from an eating disorder. And this is why Harmony Place Dr. Mark Schwartz does not believe that there is one single plan that caters to the needs of every patient. He says that people who suffer from eating disorders must understand that it is an addiction and requires therapy. If an individual feels that they are not in control of their eating habits, it is vital to seek help.

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In Business

Hidden Hazards Around Your Pool

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Having a pool in your backyard gives you an oasis from the heat and a place to get away from the stress of the world. However, your pool could cause stress if you do not control the dangers around it. Everything from the pool deck to the water could cause injuries to you and your family. Knowing how to make your pool and the entire area around it safer will preserve both your mental health and your family’s physical well-being.

1. The Deck

The deck around your pool provides your family with a safe way to enter the water. If you don’t have a deck and an above-ground pool, people can only access the pool via a ladder. Excited kids can easily fall from the ladder while trying to get into the pool. Additionally, not having a deck around an above-ground pool creates a hazard if someone tries to sit on the ledge of the pool. If they fall back, they will tumble several feet backward and strike the ground.

While not having a pool deck is dangerous, you must ensure that you choose a deck with a waterproof, non-slip surface. After installation, you must maintain the deck regularly to ensure the integrity of the surface and that it will not hold water that swimmers could slip on.

2. The Fence

If you have a pool, you must have a fence around it to protect your kids and other children in the neighborhood. In fact, many municipalities require fences with locks around pools to prevent kids from sneaking in and swimming unattended, putting them at risk of drowning. Check your local requirements and make sure that your pool fence stands up to them every year.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a fence that surrounds the pool on all four sides, has a latch that only an adult can open, does not allow children to climb or squeeze through, and stays locked when not using the pool.

3. The Water

Just as you need to regularly check the integrity of your pool deck and fence, you also must maintain the water throughout the swimming season. Poorly balanced pool chemicals or dirty water can cause the pool to have a strong chlorine scent that can affect those with breathing problems. People carrying dirt on their bodies into the pool or using the pool as a toilet are among the biggest offenders of germs in pool water.

To keep the water as clean as possible, have everyone rinse off before entering the pool. Plus, do not allow your children to use your pool water as a toilet. Also, regularly check the pH and chemical levels to keep germs at bay and the water clean and healthy.

A Safer Pool Starts With You

You are responsible for the pool area and its safety. Before and during the summer, check your pool deck, fence, and water quality to keep everyone happy and healthy throughout the swimming season.

Sources

https://www.healthychildren.org/English/safety-prevention/at-play/Pages/Pool-Dangers-Drowning-Prevention-When-Not-Swimming-Time.aspx

https://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20190701/crypto-other-dangers-abound-around-the-pool

https://www.capitaldeckandstair.com/our-services/pool-decks/

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In Finance

Easy Money-Saving Tips that Are Also Environmentally-Friendly

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Trying to save money when you have a family sounds like a nightmare. There are multiple people in your home, all of whom have different wants and needs, to consider. However, it is possible to not only lower your spending but also teach your children to care for the planet. Here are some tips that you should start following at home.

Repair What is Broken

Too many people nowadays choose to toss an item that is malfunctioning or broken and buy a new one. If it can be repaired, it will save you money and prevent another electronic item from ending up in a landfill.

Call a local appliance repairman if your air conditioner, refrigerator, washing machine, dryer, etc. stops working properly.

Your household appliances have a negative environmental impact. Unless you are using clean energy sources, these electronic devices get power from the grid, which emits tons of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. The U.S. still mostly relies on energy sources that are not considered environmentally-friendly.

Moreover, your electronics use rare metals that need to be mined from the earth, which has numerous consequences, and only a small portion of electronics that are thrown away actually get recycled. Repairing what is broken, therefore, will save you money and save the plant.

Stop Buying Food and Beverages Outside

A sandwich will cost less if you make it at home from scratch versus buying it from a store. Your cup of coffee in the morning is way overpriced. Eating takeout instead of a packed lunch is preventing you from saving money at the end of the day.

These purchases might seem small, but they quickly add up. If you spend $5 for a latte, for example, every morning before work, at the end of the month, you would have spent $100 on coffee alone.

Making your food at home may require a lot of work, but it will save you so much money. A bag of beans does not cost much. Brewing your coffee at home is easy and quick, too.

For meals, you do not have to wake up extra early every day. Learn how to meal prep, a practice in which you create meals in advance, and then you put it in a refrigerator to be microwaved when it is time to eat. Some meal preppers spend an entire afternoon to cook meals that they would eat for the rest of the week.

Not only does making your food and beverages at home save you money, but you also cut unnecessary waste. Takeout usually comes with excessive plastic packaging, which you should have learned by now is bad for the environment. Even your to-go paper coffee cups are lined with plastic. Start bringing food whenever you go to work or school.

Buy Second-Hand

There are tons of items out there that are pre-loved but are still in great condition. You do not have to buy a new item every time you need or want something. You can go to thrift stores or use apps to find absolutely anything under the sun.

Thrifting, thankfully, has become not just acceptable but popular among young people. On YouTube or Instagram, you see social media celebrities wearing clothes they purchased from Salvation Army or Depop. Buying second hand is a source of pride because you save money and the environment at the same time!

These are only three tips that will save your family money and instill a love for the environment among your kids. Following these tips, hopefully, will change your lifestyle for the better.

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In Tech

Gadgets from Fiction You Can Use in Real Life

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From movies and television to books and comics, so many works of fiction have made use of technological advancements from the corners of different creators’ imaginations to feed the story and build a world filled with adventure and intriguing plots that keep moving forward. Some of these gadgets and tools have become a reality, though, and are already available for different uses today. Read on for some interesting devices that have been previously seen in the annals of fiction.

  • MSAT Satellite

You may have watched Jodie Foster sift through alien radio signals in Contact or played through the mystery game Firewatch. You may have even marveled at the possibilities that could lie with just a satellite walkie talkie but thought that the capabilities they’ve displayed in those stories were stretched for convenience to the stories. However, today there are MSAT satellite radios that make use of 23,000-foot towers to allow fleets to communicate with each other from the edges of the world. This technology uses push-to-talk functionality that works on land and sea and does not rely on the internet to function 24/7.

That makes it one of the interesting infrastructures currently being used in various trades that straddle the line of the old and new by using existent tech that has merely been upgraded to a more powerful and unprecedented version to be used more effectively.

  • Hoverboard

Sure, these aren’t quite as commercially available as the Back to The Future franchise may have led us to believe, but they exist now. They are constantly being upgraded and improved to make those easy-cruising dreams come true eventually. Many variations from companies are trying different approaches to achieve both the visual and practical goals that have been created by Sci-Fi’s presentation of the hoverboard. Some of the most promising ones make use of quantum mechanics and magnetic fields. Though this has seen limited hover time, it’s hit closest to the mark and marks a promising move toward what the future might look like for hobbyists and transportation with enough research and further funding.

  • Full wall TV

Ray Bradbury created many of the most iconic works in science fiction that are lauded today as predicting many of our modern-day knick-knacks, social habits, and gadgets. Among his many imagined tech pieces is the flat-screen television that essentially encompasses a whole wall. It produces a much clearer picture than a projector would and boasts all the capabilities consumers look for in their TVs today. The product that meets Bradbury’s descriptions is Samsung’s offering, “The Wall.” With MicroLED technology, the screen spans 292 inches and is capable of 8k resolution. This entry is a stunning luxury display that is a hallmark of society’s ever-growing fascination for consuming digital media and having tools to make it an intrinsic part of the 21st century’s daily lifestyle.

More and more innovations continue to pour out of inventors and major tech companies that cater to both the common public and massive industries that keep society running. With the way things are going, it seems like anything fiction can be made a reality by tomorrow.

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