Podcasts about general liability

Insurance vs History is a podcast that examines the intersection of insurance and history. Meredith Brasher is a 20-year veteran of the insurance industry, specializing in General Liability, Umbrella and Excess insurance products, wording development, and education. She also has extensive experience in the development and management of MGA programs, as well as auditing for MGA programs and Casualty books of business.She has both a Bachelor's and Master's degree in history, as well as her AU, ASLI and CPCU designations in insurance. She currently works as an insurance consultant, historian, and, sometimes, as a professional actor.www.insurancevshistory.comLinked in: friend/follow me at Meredith BrasherDive deeper into the fascinating history of insurance and discover how it has shaped the world we live in today. Explore A Tedious Brief History of Insurance—a captivating publication that uncovers pivotal moments, groundbreaking innovations, and the enduring impact of insurance through the ages. Perfect for industry professionals, history enthusiasts, or anyone curious about the roots of risk management. Focusing exclusively on risk management and insurance professional development, the Risk & Insurance Education Alliance provides a practical advantage at every career stage, positioning our participants and their clients for confidence and success.

https://www.futureofrisk.comPlease note that this episode was recorded prior to Hurricanes Helene and Milton. “Much like the stock market day-to-day, people are looking for signs of what's going to happen into the future and markets respond accordingly. So, a hailstorm in Texas can have an immediate impact on some carriers thinking about where that's going to go and where the results are going to be. So, it doesn't take a lot to move the market right now.”In the first episode of Zurich North America's “Market in Transition” podcast miniseries, Alex Wells, Head of U.S. Middle Market, and Al Orendorff, Chief Communications Officer, discuss the fragile balance between rate moderation in some lines of insurance and the reality of intensifying risks such as extreme weather. The discussion delves into key dynamics in Property, General Liability and Auto coverages, including social inflation, and unique concerns for Middle Market companies.Record date: 09/03/24

In this episode of Label Free Podcast, host Deanna Radulescu interviews Anna Maria Viti-Welch, the president of the Viti Companies, a third-generation family-owned independent insurance agency celebrating 85 years in business. Anna Maria shares her journey of being involved in the family business for over 30 years and becoming the president of the company.The Viti Companies specialize in consulting with various industries such as restaurants, retail, food manufacturers, and nonprofits for their insurance needs. Based in Highwood, a northern suburb of Chicago, they serve clients nationwide and offer a wide range of insurance products including business insurance, employee benefits, and home and auto insurance.Anna Maria discusses the challenges and rewards of being a woman in a leadership position in a male-dominated industry. She emphasizes the importance of coaching and leadership training for her team members to ensure their growth and success within the company.The conversation delves into the unique challenges of insuring businesses in the cannabis industry, highlighting the complexities and limitations due to federal regulations. Anna Maria provides insights into the insurance requirements for cannabis businesses and the specialized approach needed to secure coverage.To connect with Anna Maria and learn more about the Viti Companies, listeners can visit their website at www.viticompanies.com, contact them at 847-432-1000, or reach out via email at annavw@viticompanies.com. Anna Maria also shares a valuable tip for business owners to always involve their insurance agent in lease or contract negotiations to ensure proper coverage.The episode concludes with Deanna expressing gratitude for the insightful conversation and the dynamic energy shared by Anna Maria during the interview. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast for more engaging discussions with dynamic guests.Are you ready to experience a new level of wellness? Look no further than doTERRA, the leading provider of high-quality essential oils. Join me, your host Deanna Radulescu, as I share an exciting partnership with doTERRA on the Label Free Podcast.Discover the power of nature's remedies with doTERRA's exceptional range of essential oils. From the invigorating Sweet Orange, perfect for consumption, to the refreshing and germ-fighting toothpaste, doTERRA has you covered. Experience the natural whitening and deep cleansing properties that will leave your mouth feeling fresh and revitalized.But that's not all! doTERRA offers a wide range of supplements designed to support your overall vitality. The Lifelong Vitality Pack is a must-try, packed with high-quality ingredients that will nourish your body from within. And for those seeking the ultimate anti-aging solution, look no further than the collagen and NMN combination. This dynamic duo is a game-changer, helping you maintain youthful skin elasticity, luscious hair, and strong nails.Ready to elevate your wellness journey? Click the link below to sign up and explore the world of doTERRA. Take advantage of our specially curated bundles, including the toothpaste, cleaning products, and more. Experience the transformative power of high-quality essential oils and unlock a healthier, happier you.Join the doTERRA revolution today and discover the true potential of nature'shttps://doterra.me/9BpKXkhttps://doterra.me/by9rqQAs always thank you for the support, to contact me directly follow the link below:https://www.labelfreepodcast.com​ Stay Healthy, Stay Ready- Deanna Marie Radulescu

In this episode of Label Free Podcast, host Deanna Radulescu interviews Anna Maria Viti-Welch, the president of the Viti Companies, a third-generation family-owned independent insurance agency celebrating 85 years in business. Anna Maria shares her journey of being involved in the family business for over 30 years and becoming the president of the company.The Viti Companies specialize in consulting with various industries such as restaurants, retail, food manufacturers, and nonprofits for their insurance needs. Based in Highwood, a northern suburb of Chicago, they serve clients nationwide and offer a wide range of insurance products including business insurance, employee benefits, and home and auto insurance.Anna Maria discusses the challenges and rewards of being a woman in a leadership position in a male-dominated industry. She emphasizes the importance of coaching and leadership training for her team members to ensure their growth and success within the company.The conversation delves into the unique challenges of insuring businesses in the cannabis industry, highlighting the complexities and limitations due to federal regulations. Anna Maria provides insights into the insurance requirements for cannabis businesses and the specialized approach needed to secure coverage.To connect with Anna Maria and learn more about the Viti Companies, listeners can visit their website at www.viticompanies.com, contact them at 847-432-1000, or reach out via email at annavw@viticompanies.com. Anna Maria also shares a valuable tip for business owners to always involve their insurance agent in lease or contract negotiations to ensure proper coverage.The episode concludes with Deanna expressing gratitude for the insightful conversation and the dynamic energy shared by Anna Maria during the interview. Listeners are encouraged to subscribe, rate, review, and share the podcast for more engaging discussions with dynamic guests.Are you ready to experience a new level of wellness? Look no further than doTERRA, the leading provider of high-quality essential oils. Join me, your host Deanna Radulescu, as I share an exciting partnership with doTERRA on the Label Free Podcast.Discover the power of nature's remedies with doTERRA's exceptional range of essential oils. From the invigorating Sweet Orange, perfect for consumption, to the refreshing and germ-fighting toothpaste, doTERRA has you covered. Experience the natural whitening and deep cleansing properties that will leave your mouth feeling fresh and revitalized.But that's not all! doTERRA offers a wide range of supplements designed to support your overall vitality. The Lifelong Vitality Pack is a must-try, packed with high-quality ingredients that will nourish your body from within. And for those seeking the ultimate anti-aging solution, look no further than the collagen and NMN combination. This dynamic duo is a game-changer, helping you maintain youthful skin elasticity, luscious hair, and strong nails.Ready to elevate your wellness journey? Click the link below to sign up and explore the world of doTERRA. Take advantage of our specially curated bundles, including the toothpaste, cleaning products, and more. Experience the transformative power of high-quality essential oils and unlock a healthier, happier you.Join the doTERRA revolution today and discover the true potential of nature'shttps://doterra.me/9BpKXkhttps://doterra.me/by9rqQAs always thank you for the support, to contact me directly follow the link below:https://www.labelfreepodcast.com​ Stay Healthy, Stay Ready- Deanna Marie Radulescu

CCCT with John Bordonaro, Sales Leader for C.I.R.E. (The Commercial Insurance & Risk Education) Video CCR Publisher David Corson sat down with John Bordonaro, Sales Leader for C.I.R.E. (Commercial Insurance & Risk Education). The C.I.R.E. curriculum and certification program is a broad and extensive review of commercial and residential construction insurance for agents that wish to serve that market.  A CIRE certification will be earned by successfully completing the curriculum and will be granted by the NationWide Contractors Alliance.  This is in addition to the twenty-three (23) hours of continuing education (CE) credits reported to your state.  Agency groups should consider CIRE for training any Producers working with the Construction Industry. Topics covered include:General Liability in ConstructionCommercial and Personal Auto for ContractorsPollution and Professional LiabilityProperty and Inland Marine for ContractorsCyber and Smart Home LiabilityDirectors and Officers CoverageConstruction Bonding and SuretyWork Comp and Employers LiabilityThe CIRE curriculum is different from the other construction industry certification programs in several meaningful ways.1) Format.  CIRE is offered in a video format with an instructor explaining the material.  Others are offered only in print and must be read.2) Language. CIRE is using construction language and plain English and avoids insurance jargon.  It's intended to be understood by contractors too.3) Application and Examples.   CIRE focuses on the practical applications of the insurance learning being taught.  A key focus is on how concepts are seen in a contractor's operations, day to day.4) Intent.  CIRE is about building a bridge between the insurance and construction industries. 5) Residential construction focus.  CIRE better focuses on the insurance reality of residential  construction and more lightly touches on commercial construction. Enjoy the conversation.linkedin.com/in/john-bordonaro-122a606www.magicmind.com, use DISCOUNTCODE20

Welcome to another insightful episode of The Plant Movement Podcast, where we delve deep into the roots of the green industry. In this episode, we have a special guest, Adrian Guerrero, the owner of Insprovider, a leading business insurance provider catering to the unique needs of the green industry.Adrian takes us on a journey through the essential insurance coverages for businesses in Florida, including General Liability, Commercial Auto, Commercial Property, Umbrella Policy, Contractor Workers, and Inland Marine Insurance. His expertise sheds light on the crucial role insurance plays in protecting businesses and ensuring their growth in a dynamic market.Join us as Willie and Adrian both share personal insight into their journeys, reflecting on strict upbringings that ultimately shaped their entrepreneurial spirits. Willie, no stranger to a disciplined upbringing himself, explores the common ground with Adrian and how their past experiences have been instrumental in their current successes.The conversation takes a meaningful turn as Willie opens up about his faith in God and the importance of fostering a positive culture and environment within his own business. Both Willie and Adrian resonate with the idea that a strong foundation, both personally and professionally, sets the stage for long-term success in the green industry.Tune in as Willie and Adrian share anecdotes, industry wisdom, and personal stories that not only highlight the challenges and triumphs of their respective journeys but also provide valuable lessons for anyone associated with the green movement. Whether you're a seasoned professional or just budding in the industry, this episode offers a blend of practical insights and inspiration to fuel your growth in the world of plants.Get ready to cultivate success and thrive in The Plant Movement!InsProvider Call: (866) INS-PROVWeb: https://insprovider.comIG: https://www.instagram.com/insproviderThe Plant Movement Podcast Call: (305) 216-5320 https://www.theplantmovement.comFollow Us: IG: https://www.instagram.com/theplantmovementpodcast Visuals and Recording by Eddie EVDNT Gonzalez Audio Production by The one and only Mr. Producer Disclaimer: The contents of this podcast/youtube video are for informational and entertainment purposes only and do not constitute financial, accounting, or legal advice. I can't promise that the information shared on my posts is appropriate for you or anyone else. By listening to this podcast/youtube video, you agree to hold me harmless from any ramifications, financial or otherwise, that occur to you as a result of acting on information found in this podcast/youtube video. Support the show

Travis Hedge is the co-founder of Vouch Insurance a provider of business insurance to startups and high-growth companies. In under 10 minutes, founders and finance teams can apply for coverage customized for their startup and industry vertical. Vouch offers 10+ lines of proprietary coverage, from General Liability, EPL, and D&O, to Cyber policies. As the underwriter of these insurance policies, Vouch removes any hidden third-party fees and handles all of the paperwork from start to finish. San Francisco-based Vouch has now raised a total of $165 million since its 2018 inception.Today, Vouch has more than 4,000 clients.Where to find Travis Hedge:• Website: Startup Insurance for Venture Backed Companies | Vouch• LinkedIn: Travis Hedge | LinkedInWhere to find Hadi Radwan:• Newsletter: Principles Friday | Hadi Radwan | Substack• LinkedIn: Hadi Radwan | LinkedInIf you like our podcast, please don't forget to subscribe and support us on your favorite podcast players. We also would appreciate your feedback and rating to reach more people.We recently launched our new newsletter, Principles Friday, where I share one principle that can help you in your life or business, one thought-provoking question, and one call to action toward that principle. Please subscribe Here.It is Free and Short (2min).

“In that early stage, you really have to leverage your network and those around you who have done it before. Because they're only advisors, they can only go so far. It's kind of wild in that first year of having nothing and creating everything. You have to trust your instincts”, says Lauri.She shares her journey from growing up in a family of entrepreneurs through to joining Pie Insurance at its launch. Lauri gives insight in to her discussions with Co-Founder John Swigart and the vision for building the team in those early days. “The idea of making something much more accessible affordable and easier to understand for small business owners was a mission that I could rally around. But I shared with John, ‘Why don't you call me in six months to a year?'He said no for two reasons. He said he wanted to surround himself with a team that he trusted. The second reason was he and Dax (Co-Founders) were committed to getting the culture and the hiring right from the outset and they were willing to make the investment to do so.”Year one was spent establishing the core HR functions of the insurance business and recruiting from their networks. With 2 employees on day 1 in 2017, the business now has over 400 pie-oneers and has expanded from Workers' Comp to offer Commercial Auto Insurance, General Liability and Business Owners Insurance. “We wanted to make sure the individuals we were bringing in, understood the business, understood what it was like to join an early stage start up because it's not for everyone.”Lauri highlights how being a remote-first business impacts culture. “It's definitely a dichotomy a lot of companies face. On the one hand, being purely remote gives you access to much of the talent across the US. But it also has the challenge of building a culture.”“You have to have a fantastic on-boarding program. How you set up your new team members for success on day one, those first six months is everything. But it's important to have some live collaboration. We don't believe it should be 100% remote all the time.”Lauri discusses the investment in tech to facilitate communication as well as the complexities of supporting team members based across different States. She gives her advice to candidates coming to interview and shares her thoughts on best practice for fellow people leaders across the insurance industry. “You have to have a very thorough and tight talent process. You have to execute it similarly across the business. We do competency-based interviewing. We prep all of our interview panels before we interview and then we debrief together as a group. That ensures that everyone is on the same page going into and leaving the process.”To drive their insurance careers forward, Lauri encourages people to be integrative thinkers. “Something that's helped me be successful in my career is being an integrative thinker. It's not looking at a problem as ‘I've got path A or B' as the solution. It's considering all of the perspectives and all of the needs and ‘how do I solve for that that greater needs set'.Lauri shares the importance of working with an Executive Search firm that understands the business culture and calibrates with their recruitment needs. She concludes by sharing the value of mentoring and leveraging your insurance network. “I don't have all the answers and I'm not supposed to. I have points of view and perspectives but I hold them loosely. I try to take in other perspectives that will refine my views on things. If your early in your career, don't ever give up on your network and cultivating it.Connect with Lauri Putt Needleman on LinkedIn or find out more about Pie InsuranceThe Insurance Coffee House...

Rancho Mesa's Vice President of the Construction Group Sam Clayton and Executive Vice President Daniel Frazee discuss residential exclusions and how they can impact those in the construction industry. Show Notes: Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter. Director: Alyssa Burley Producer/Editor: Lauren Stumpf Host: Sam Clayton Guest: ⁠Daniel Frazee⁠ Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, "The DeLong Incident" by Craig MacArthur © Copyright 2023. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cleaning Business Life Podcast( We are Now looking for sponsorships) Email us @ cleaningbusinesslife@gmail.comHi Everyone! If you are just joining us for the first time, welcome! If you are just dipping your toes in the cleaning industry and just started or need refresher tips you are in the right place! Grab a chair, workout or grab PÜR Evergreen natural all purpose cleaner and a cloth and come join Shannon and I as we chat about some great tips!  I loved this intro Kimberly Gonzales!!Let's talk about that insurance! GET IT NOW! You want to always carry insurance, it tells your clients that you have skin in the game and that your not doing this as a hobby, and that you are serious about being a professional cleaning business owner. Me-myself-and I- just needs to have General Liability for "Just incase."Flooding the bathroom floors, valued at 45k. Cha. Ching!!If you have a lower priced item, it is recommended that you pay out of pocket in order to not get dropped by said insurance company.  Many policies have a deductible. You only need Workman's Comp when you have real w-2's. Shop around every year. Always vacuum the bathrooms first to include all dry large showersDo you clean the cat box or cat throw up? Do you clean up a dog mess? If client is home, then tell them that Fluffy left you a gift. If they are not home, snap a photo and send over to a client. What is a deep clean vs a basic cleaning. The RED Flags you need to know. 1.I have tried everyone in town and no one can clean well.2. I need someone to clean that isn't an arm and a leg!3. I only need my bathrooms cleaned and I don't want to pay full price. Know your gut feelings and follow them. Know your safety protocols!What are the safety protocols?Communicate where you are going to be at the time you are arriving and leaving! Text or Call someone. Have someone to check up on you while you clean. Take a picture of their license and load it up on their files. Be aware of what is around you. If you arrive and you feel off, LEAVE! Get your spidey sense on and take action with it. Communicate with the client a LOT! I mean like on the phone. It is hard to read people over texting. Engage with them! DON'T take on every client! Be picky! Don't take the BS from clients. Clear Boundaries! ( The agreement) Establish Clear Boundaries with your Clientsby getting The Basic Contract Bundle : https://klean-freaks-university.newzenler.com/courses/basic-contract-bundleLink to The Price is Right!!https://www.buzzsprout.com/2155653/12640024-the-price-is-right-episode-4.mp3?download=trueHave a question or comment about this episode please email us @cleaningbusinesslife@gmail.compurevergreen.com Kimberly Gonzales e/info@purevergreen.comkleanfreaksunversity.com Shannon Miller e/cleaningbusinesslife@gmail.comJoin my FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1583362158497744youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIjMz_-9YyiFvNVIgb61iYg

Nicole B. Cordeiro, Esq., of Smith Duggan Buell & Rufo LLP in Lincoln breaks down general liability issues in this podcast, excerpted from MCLE's 12/6/22 live webcast: Litigators' Guide to the Alphabet Soup of Torts. The full program is available as an on demand webcast or an MP3 here.  Get 24/7 instant access to hundreds of related eLectures like this one—and more—with a subscription to the MCLE OnlinePass. Learn more at www.mcle.org/onlinepass.

This week, we're getting you up to speed with everything you need to know about general liability and umbrella insurance policies. Find out what exactly these policies cover, how much coverage you might need, and how they work when a claim is filed.  Topics we cover in this episode include:Why contractors need general liability and umbrella policiesWhat general liability coverage and rates are based on How your insurance company handles a claimUmbrella and excess policiesHow the size and net worth of your company should be factored into the coverage you getCurrent trends in general liability and umbrella premiumsLINKSVisit the episode page at https://contractorsuccessforum.com/umbrella for more details and a transcript of the show.Find all episodes and related links at ContractorSuccessForum.com.Join the conversation on our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/contractor-success-forum FIND US ONLINERob Williams, Profit Strategist | IronGateESS.comWade Carpenter, CPA, CGMA | CarpenterCPAs.comStephen Brown, Bonding Expert | McWins.com

This week, we're getting you up to speed with everything you need to know about general liability and umbrella insurance policies. Find out what exactly these policies cover, how much coverage you might need, and how they work when a claim is filed.  Topics we cover in this episode include:Why contractors need general liability and umbrella policiesWhat general liability coverage and rates are based on How your insurance company handles a claimUmbrella and excess policiesHow the size and net worth of your company should be factored into the coverage you getCurrent trends in general liability and umbrella premiumsLINKSVisit the episode page at https://contractorsuccessforum.com/umbrella for more details and a transcript of the show.Find all episodes and related links at ContractorSuccessForum.com.Join the conversation on our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/contractor-success-forum Find all episodes and related links at ContractorSuccessForum.com.Join the conversation on our LinkedIn page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/CarpenterCPAs FIND US ONLINEWade Carpenter, CPA, CGMA | CarpenterCPAs.comStephen Brown, Bonding Expert | SuretyAnswers.com

Daniel Frazee, Executive Vice President of Rancho Mesa Insurance, and Vice President of the Construction Group, Sam Clayton discuss important forms and endorsements in general liability policies. Show Notes: Subscribe to Rancho Mesa's Newsletter. Director: Alyssa Burley Producer/Editor: Lauren Stumpf Host: Daniel Frazee Guest: Sam Clayton Music: "Home" by JHS Pedals, "Movin' Up" by Dan Lebowitz © Copyright 2023. Rancho Mesa Insurance Services, Inc. All rights reserved.

Today's guests are a pair of broking executives clearly relishing an opportunity to lead a business through a period of accelerated growth in a market that is extremely favourable. James Baird (pictured left) and Paul Richards (right) are co-CEOs and Managing Partners of Consilium, the wholesale and specialist insurance and reinsurance broker that is part of the expansive Aventum group. Aventum Group CEO David Bearman laid down a marker back in Episode 82 almost two years ago and it's worth re-listening to that podcast to put this one into context: https://www.thevoiceofinsurance.com/podcast/episode/33b1d9c1/ep-82-david-bearman-ceo-aventum-dont-walk-into-a-crowded-room This encounter is a tour de force. Whilst both James and Paul have worked together for most of their long careers they are relatively new arrivals to the Aventum fold. But you wouldn't know from listening in here – the two are brimming with enthusiasm for their new home. Consilium already places $500mn of Gross Written Premium and has incredibly ambitious growth targets, but what is refreshing is that we aren't talking about a familiar tale of private Equity backing, debt leverage, M&A and exit multiples. Here we are only using those terms to define what Consilium isn't. And that's what's so fascinating. Consilium is a young broker with an average age way below that of these two interviewees and this interviewer. It has a progressive mindset on the application of tech in broking, much of which it develops in-house, yet in other ways it is incredibly traditional, balking at debt leverage, external equity investment and M&A for volume. The calculation here is that by growing organically whatever it loses in leverage the broker wins culturally, because it only hires people it feels will fit in and buy into the intermediary's more stable culture. It also banks on that solid environment being a plus for customers who benefit from continuity of service. It's definitely different. And with 30% organic growth on the cards, it certainly seems to be doing something right! Listen on for a really interesting and refreshing encounter. James speaks first. NOTES: Some Abbreviations. GL is General Liability and the ULR and ILR are respectively the Ultimate and Incurred Loss Ratios. LINKS We thank our naming sponsor AdvantageGo: https://www.advantagego.com/

Speakers:Briggs Cheney, Esq., Dixon•Scholl•Carrillo•P.A., and the Co-Chair to the NMJLAP Committee.Seth Sparks is a director in the Litigation Department. He practices in the areas of trucking defense, professional liability, insurance coverage and bad faith and insurance defense. He represents his professional clients before their regulatory boards including the Disciplinary Board, an agency of the New Mexico Supreme Court. Having litigated jury and non-jury cases at all levels of state and federal courts in New Mexico, he has significant trial experience. Mr. Sparks also coordinates and conducts accident investigations for his trucking clients and set up a rapid action team for that purpose.Mr. Sparks was a law clerk for the Honorable John Edwards Conway, Chief United States District Judge for the District of New Mexico from 1994-1996.Mr. Sparks has achieved the highest Martindale-Hubbell rating.Mr. Sparks is listed in The Best Lawyers in America for his expertise and experience in insurance law and transportation law.Best Lawyers in America named Mr. Sparks Albuquerque Transportation Law Lawyer of the Year for the years 2013, 2018 and 2020.Mr. Sparks is listed in Southwest Super Lawyers for his experience and expertise in Civil Litigation: Defense.Mia Kern Lardy is a shareholder in the Litigation group. She practices primarily in employment, education, and insurance litigation at both the trial and appellate level. She has lead attorney experience in administrative due process hearings as well as in a jury trial. Mia has been recognized as a Southwest Rising Star by Southwest Super Lawyers® since 2016.After receiving her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Spanish magna cum laude from Marquette University, Mia received her law degree cum laude with a certificate in child law from Loyola University Chicago School of Law in 2010. While at Loyola, Mia was a Child Law Fellow and the Editor-in-Chief of the Children's Legal Rights Journal. She was awarded the President's Medallion in 2009. Prior to joining Modrall Sperling, Mia clerked for the Honorable Petra Jimenez Maes of the New Mexico Supreme Court.Mia served as an adjunct professor for a legal drafting class at the University of New Mexico School of Law. She also served on the University of New Mexico School of Law Kellogg Grant Advisory Committee that was charged with designing a new program in children's law.Angelica Lopez, is an Associate in the Albuquerque office. She is a member of our Litigation Department, and her practice focuses primarily on Products Liability, General Liability, and Health Law litigation.During law school, Ms. Lopez served as Editor-in-Chief of the New Mexico Law Review. After her first year of law school, Ms. Lopez was selected to serve as an extern in the chambers of the Honorable Justice Barbara J. Vigil of the New Mexico Supreme Court. Ms. Lopez's hard work and dedication to excellence in law school also allowed her to serve as a Tutor for Professor Ted Occhialino's Civil Procedure class and as a Writing Tutor for the Legal Analysis and Communication Program.Upon graduation, Ms. Lopez was among the top students recognized for academic success. She received a LexisNexis Award for Top Academic Achievement, the UNM School of Law's Faculty Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Law School, and the West Academic Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement in the Third Year.Ms. Lopez brings over twelve years of work experience with the State of New Mexico prior to law school, including eight years of service as a Court Clerk for the Second Judicial District Court, one and a half years of service at the Department of Finance and Administration, and three years of service at the General Services Department overseeing complex procurements for executive branch agencies.Disclaimer:Thank you for listening! This episode was produced by the State Bar of New Mexico's Well-Being Committee and the New Mexico  Lawyer Assistance Program. All editing and sound mixing was done by BlueSky eLearn. Intro music is by Gil Flores. The views of the presenters are that of their own and are not endorsed by the State Bar of New Mexico. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment or legal advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.

Dillon Hawkins, Business Insurance Consultant with Hub International, talks with Host Michael Chavez to discuss growing his business while raising a family. Are you covering your commercial insurance needs? From Errors & Ommissions to General Liability and Cyber, Dillon knows how to assess your needs and help you stay protected during a highly litigious time in history. To reach Dillon, call  817-529-5331 or email Dillon.Hawkins@HUBinternational.comHost Michael Chavez helps business owners get over their fears and procrastination through great conversations that unearth and expose thoughts and habits keeping us from achieving our goals. Don't stay stuck in self-doubt and uncertainty; don't let external circumstances stop you from becoming all you were meant to be.  To work with Michael, call 682-365-2078.The Michael Chavez Podcast is produced for the OBBM Network Podcasts and available on Spotify and all syndicated networks.Junkluggers of Grapevine, Irving, and Denton  630-470-8307IvorChester.com John Chester, Music TherapyOBBM Network Brands, Local DFW B2B Podcasts, TV, and AdvertisingSupport the show

No one likes to be threatened with having a lawsuit slapped on them. You may have also thought of suing a customer for non-payment. And do you have General Liability insurance for your pool service? I go over this and more for you.Leslie's Pro: Pool Service Pro, open a Wholesale account today! Customer referrals, free cleaner repairs, free water testing, open 7-days a week. It is fast and easy to become a Leslie's Preferred Pool Care Provider. https://lesliespool.com/commercial-services.html/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=spll&utm_campaign=spll

InspectorPro Errors & Omissions And General Liability Insurance Program. What Home Inspectors Need To Know When Considering To be Insured Or Not To Be Insured.I am joined by Marketing director Stephanie Jaynes of Citadel Insurance services the parent company of the InspectorPro insurance program. Stephanie simplifies complex insurance and legal concepts to help home inspectors protect their livelihood and avoid unnecessary risk.Stephanie explains the difference between E&O and General Liability insurance. Stephanie also shares the most common Errors & Omissions claims against home inspectors as well as General Liability claims against home inspectors.What to expect when a client files a claim (demand for Money)? Are you sure you want to deal with this on your own? Waisting hours of your time and potentially turning down inspections to deal with a past inspection client.John Laforme shares his tips about how to avoid claims and how to deal with an unhappy inspection client. Remember your customer service does not end after the inspection is over as your clients may have multiple questions weeks or months after the inspection. So pay attention to your clients concerns (do not ignore their concerns).InspectorPro Insurance is the leading home inspection insurance provider in the nation. With a reputation built on superior claims handling and quality customer service, we give clients peace of mind. Our risk management tools work to change the litigious culture plaguing home inspection businesses by helping inspectors educate their clients and avoid claims. Our errors and omissions and general liability insurance policies are built to serve your unique business needs. Insuring with anyone else simply isn't worth the risk. For more information, visit https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com. You can also reach them by phone (866-916-9419) and by email (weprotect@inspectorproinsurance.com). Some articles we referenced during the podcast include: Top 5 Claims Against Home InspectorsTop 5 General Liability Claims Against Home InspectorsTop 10 Reasons Clients File Claims Against Home InspectorsYour Pre-Inspection Agreement: Attorney's Fees For more information about our state-specific pre-inspection agreements, visit https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/about/what-sets-us-apart/pre-inspection-agreements/.John LaformeHome Inspection Authorityhttps://www.homeinspectionauthority.com/Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for video versions of the podcastshttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXzxEH5J8y5EW1lZ3LtDB0A 

Endorsements (also referred to as Waivers) to an insurance policy amend coverage for items of a special circumstance, or that need specificity of a certain nature. Some of these endorsements are required by individual states, and others are elected by the carrier. Tune in to learn more about your commercial general liability policy!

All policies contain an Exclusion section, which specifies what the insurance company will not cover. This will vary in some degree from company to company and policy to policy so it is important to read each policy exclusion. Tune in to learn more about your commercial general liability policy and more!

The Conditions section of the policy outlines the duties, provisions, rules of conduct, and obligations required for coverage to remain effective in the insurance policy. If the terms of the Conditions aren't met, a denial of coverage could occur. Tune in to learn more about your commercial general liability policy and more!

In this episode of the Aviation Insurance Podcast, let's get into the insuring agreements coverage D related to hangar keepers' legal liability. In this second installment, lets talk about the multiple facets of what a loss could be. Tune in to learn more about your commercial general liability policy and more!

In this two-part episode of the Aviation Insurance Podcast, let's get into the insuring agreements coverage D related to hangar keepers' legal liability. It provides protection for damages that you become legally liability for, damages to non-owned or non-leased aircraft in your custody or control. Tune in to learn more about your commercial general liability policy and more!

In this episode of the Aviation Insurance Podcast, let's get into the insuring agreements coverage C related to premises medical payments. It's kind of a quick no fault help, take care of a few expenses, limits are not real high. Tune in to learn more about your commercial general liability policy and more!

As we continue to discuss the aviation or airport commercial general liability exposures, let's get into the insuring agreements coverage B related to personal and advertising injury. Tune in to learn more about your commercial general liability policy and more!

As we continue to discuss the aviation or airport commercial general liability exposures, let's get into the insuring agreements coverage A related to the premises and operations. Tune in to learn more about your commercial general liability policy and more!

The aviation or airport commercial general liability policy is a third-party liability policy that protects things other than the aircraft and the liability rising out of the use of the aircraft. In this episode of the Aviation Insurance Podcast let's talk briefly and in overview about your CGL policy. Tune in to learn more!

In this show we discuss: -Changes To The Transfer Tax In Rhode Island ft. Melissa D'Ellena -Changes To General Liability Requirements For Landlords ft. John Lapointe -Buying & Selling Congruently ft. Matt Bates -RIBlogger's Top 5 Early February Events!

Most people groan when the topic of insurance comes up. It can be expensive, and you might not ever need to use it, at least you hope so. So why would we dedicate a podcast to talking about insurance? Because it's a vital part of risk management and running a business, or a home. You need to make sure you have the right coverage and that it is protecting what you need it to. It is more important than ever to have a relationship with your insurance broker and one that understands all the coverages YOU NEED, because General Liability, doesn't mean you are generally covered. In fact, you could be leaving a lot to chance. Join us as we talk insurance shop with our expert guest: Kristi Strum, Vice President and General Manager at Insurance Service of Asheville (ISA). To learn more about Krisit and ISA visit: www.isa-avl.com Welcome to the Her Two Cents Podcast where your hosts Laura Webb and Faith Doyle come together as two female financial advisors with over 40 years of collective experience to provide a multigenerational perspective on all things money. Our goal is that through these conversations, we can normalize the way women talk about and view money.

Tom Frederickhttps://sandiegofloodrestoration.com/619-265-7337SDFR – San Diego Emergency Water & Sewage Cleanup is an IICRC Board Certified Company fully licensed and insured in the area of both General Liability and Pollution coverage. With our 24/7/365 immediate service, we can get to your home or office fast, often within 60 minutes. Call now and let us start putting some control in this seemingly uncontrollable calamity.

Following a soft market cycle characterized by marked underpricing, an excess casualty market that was hardening in 2019 is now firm. Underwriters continue to look for rate increases and cut capacity as large claims climb the tower.Three CRC Group Producers who specialize in Casualty weigh in on the current conditions of the market.Featuring:Jason Howard is a Senior Vice President located in the San Francisco, CA office where he specializes in construction, environmental, life sciences, and excess limits.Ben Wright is a Senior Casualty Broker and Vice President with the Houston, Texas office where he focuses on liability placements in the energy, construction, and industrial service sectors.Craig Nettles is a Broker in the Atlanta, Georgia office, handling a large portfolio of General Liability, Casualty, and Environmental Insurance business all across the country.Subscribe to CRC Group on YoutubeSubscribe to Tools & Intel (email newsletter)Read Past Tools & Intel ArticlesFollow CRC Group on LinkedIn

Los Seguros en mi Negocio: ¿Cuáles necesito y cuáles son opcionales? Commercial Car Insurance, General Liability, Bond, Workers Compensation

Part 1: Understanding an Insured's ContractPart 2: Additional Insureds and Certificates of InsuranceThe PROFocus Contractors course will be held December 16-17, 2021.  Allen Messer, CIC, CPCU brings technical skill, initiative, and experience to bear on the complex problems of insurance and risk management.  He began his insurance career in March of 1971.  He has worked for several different insurance companies in various capacities and has been involved in the independent agency system as a producer and agency owner. Allen currently consults agencies, companies, risk managers, and attorneys as well as instructs various seminars and live webinars.  He earned his CPCU designation in 1981 where he received the Distinguished Graduate Award for attaining the highest academic average in the Nation.  He earned his CIC designation in 1977 and serves as an Educational Consultant and is a National Faculty member of The National Alliance for Insurance Education & Research.Cathy Trischan, CIC, CRM, CPCU has been with the E&K Insurance Group in Eatontown, New Jersey since 1996, and currently serves as Director of Commercial Underwriting.   She began her insurance career upon graduation from Rutgers University in 1987.  She has worked as a claims adjuster for a major property and casualty carrier as well as in the commercial departments of several New Jersey agencies.  In addition to her work with E&K, Cathy provides education and consulting services to other agents and brokers.  She is a National Faculty member of The National Alliance, speaking in the CIC, CISR, and Ruble programs.  She also serves as a mentor for new CIC and CISR faculty.  Cathy is a regular presenter for various agents' associations and other organizations and has taught both pre-licensing and continuing education courses.  She has written courses and articles on various insurance topics.  A firm believer that one should never stop learning, Cathy holds several professional designations including CIC, CRM, and CPCU.Jay Williams, CIC, CRM, CRIS, MLIS, AIP, AAI, ACSR is the Director of Faculty Development, a National Faculty Member, and an Educational Consultant for The National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research. He earned his CIC designation in 1996 and his CRM designation in 2004.  He is a veteran of the insurance industry, starting his career in 1979. His experience includes 21 years in the agency business, nine years at the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, and seven years as an insurance company and PEO executive. Jay also served as the interim CEO for Applied Client Network, the user-group association for agents using Applied Systems platforms. Jay has been teaching formal insurance classes for over 20 years, including both technical insurance and E&O loss control classes for FAIA. He was part of the IIABA Loss Control Working Group for 5 years and also served on the Professional Liability Committee. His experience on the agency, association, and company sides gives Jay a uniquely rounded perspective on the insurance industry. His most recent position was the CEO of a construction risk wholesale operation. In addition to his work as an insurance educator, Jay serves as an expert witness, a consultant to insurance companies, associations, agencies, and industry-related partners, and an E&O auditor.

In this episode, “Global Settlements in Multijurisdictional Construction Claims (https://loisllc.com/webinar/global-settlements/),” Tashia Rasul (https://loisllc.com/attorney/tashia-rasul/), partner at Lois Law Firm (https://loisllc.com/), explores the advantages of resolving the general liability and workers' compensation cases at the same time. Further, defense counsel representing general litigation defendant and workers' compensation claim should be brought together at the time the arbitration, mediation, or other settlement opportunity arises. Tashia discusses the following: Workers' Compensation reimbursement and leverage. General Liability/civil litigation settlement allocation. Using counsel effectively to negotiate settlements. Practical examples. This audio is from a live webinar provided to clients on September 7, 2021 (https://loisllc.com/webinar/global-settlements/). How to attend these webinars live and ask questions Join us for our monthly webinars on New York and New Jersey workers' compensation law. Register for a Construction Defense Webinar (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7649060921835510031) Register for a Civil Litigation Webinar (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2939203908210686476) Register for a New York Workers' Compensation Webinar (12PM SESSION) (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8126129122765451535) Register for a New York Workers' Compensation Webinar (3PM SESSION) (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7249849108834235650) Register for a New Jersey Workers' Compensation Webinar (https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5291331929217948419) Schedules and Information Handout materials are provided in advance of each session. The webinar courses follow the "life cycle" of a claim and correspond to chapters in the Workers' Compensation Handbooks (https://loisllc.com/publications/) offered by the Firm. Webinar Archive * View archive of prior Workers' Compensation and Civil Litigation webinars (https://loisllc.com/webinars/archive/) Disclaimer This webinar is not legal advice! The materials presented by this webinar/podcast and any affiliated website are for informational purposes only and are not offered as legal advice as to any particular matter. No viewer/listener/reader should act on the basis of these materials without seeking appropriate professional advice as to the particular facts and applicable law involved. The materials are not represented to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. Opinions presented by this video/podcast are the opinions of the author. Neither the use of this web site nor the transfer of information to or from this web site shall create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between Greg Lois, the presenter in the video/podcast, or LOIS LAW FIRM LLC and any person. You should not send any confidential information to this web site until after you have entered into a written agreement for the performance of legal services.

This week, Stephanie Jaynes, Marketing Director of InspectorPro Insurance, simplifies complex insurance and legal concepts to help home inspectors protect their livelihood and avoid unnecessary risk. Her articles have appeared in publications like the ASHI Reporter, CREIA Inspector Magazine, and the InspectorPro Blog. She's been a guest on NACHI TV, Spectora Spotlight, The ASHI Online Learning Center, The Successful Home Inspector Podcast, Today's Home Inspector, and now Inspection Pro Joe! InspectorPro Insurance is the leading home inspection insurance provider in the nation, with a reputation built on superior claims handling and quality customer service. Tune in to hear what Stephanie has to say about Errors & Omissions, General Liability, and Worker's Compensation insurance catered to home inspectors. If you have any insurance questions, this is the episode for you!   Here are a few links provided by Stephanie if you want more info: https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/insurance-101/eo-vs-general-liability/ https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/case-study/it-can-happen/ Pre-Claims%20Assistance:%20The%20FAQs https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/top-claims/top-5-claims-home-inspectors/ https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/top-claims/general-liability/ https://www.inspectorproinsurance.com/categories/contracts-and-reports/

Welcome to the Sprint to Profit Podcast for Amazon Sellers. In today’s episode, we‘re speaking with Ashlin Hadden, a leading expert and a pioneer in the world of providing insurance solutions for Amazon sellers. Ashlin works with clients from all over the United States, as she is licensed in every state. She fights to help protect Sellers’ most valuable assets. Although licensed to sell all personal, commercial and life insurance, her real passion is for E-commerce sellers. She works with e-commerce sellers with General Liability, Products Liability, Workers Compensation, Directors & Officers, Errors & Omissions, Professional Liability for Consultants/Coaches, 3 PL’s & Warehouse and even Commercial Auto. To get some FREE training on what it takes to have a successful business to fuel your lifestyle, head to www.goteamreal.com to download our FREE training today. Also head to www.goteamreal.com/income to download your free INCOME calculator. Talking Points: 00:23 - Hello and Welcome 02:01 - Ashlin’s background and journey into insurance and ecommerce 07:13 - The importance of insurance for an Amazon business 10:46 - Ashlin’s recommendations for insurance 13:00 - Different types of insurance and coverages 17:15 - The process of getting insurance 21:38 - Mistakes sellers make with insurance 27:34 - Statistics and numbers in insurance 31:00 - Contacting Ashlin 32:22 - Conclusion Resources/Links: Resource Link: www.ecom.insure Ashline Hadden Insurance Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AshlinHaddenInsuranceAgency/ Money/Time Investment Tool: https://www.goteamreal.com/smartgoal Our Website: https://www.goteamreal.com/ Real Amazon Seller Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/AmazonSellerRoundTable/ Quotes: 01:41 - “Nobody grows up thinking, ‘I want to sell insurance someday.’” - Ashlin Hadden 07:28 - “If you are a proseller, it’s in your terms of service that you have a general liability policy with products completed. If you’re a proseller. If you don’t have it and they find out you don’t have it, they are suspending people. So if you want to continue to sell, first and foremost, you need your insurance policy.” - Ashlin Hadden 07:57 - “This is such a litigious country. We sue over the dumbest stuff.” - Ashlin Hadden 11:19 - “General liability is what you do or say as a business, product liability is what your products do.” - Ashlin Hadden

Looking for General Liability Insurance Policies for Home Builders, Contractors & Small Businesses in Los Angeles County? Call Brightway, The JT Agency (+1-818-616-7876) for Your Free Quote and Get the Commercial Insurance coverage that best fits your business. Go to http://www.brightwayjt.com (http://www.brightwayjt.com) for more information.

As a landlord or property manager, do you ever worry that a maintenance vendor you send to a property might not have the correct insurance coverage? Dispatching a repairman with insufficient or expired insurance could create a liability on your property management business. Further, its a big job to track all of the insurance policies from vendors to make sure they remain in compliance with your standards for coverage. On this episode of Property Management Brainstorm, Bob discusses the topic of tracking certificates of insurance with Dave Bixler of Thimble. Dave explains a service called Certificate Manager that helps landlords and property managers make sure vendors and contractors have the right policy in place and provides for tracking Certificates of Insurance in one online location.Topics Covered[2:55] Dave Bixler introduces himself and Thimble.[4:15] Why it's  important to make sure that those vendors have proper insurance coverage. [4:55]  What type of insurance should a landlord and property manager make sure their vendors have in place before sending them to a property? [8:20] What should landlords and property managers obtain as proof of insurance from a vendor or contractor and how Thimble Certificate Manager can help keep these documents organized?[11:00] Recommended insurance levels for various types of contractor trades.[12:45] Best practices for utilizing Certificate Manager for tracking Certificates of Insurance.[16:15] Are certain contractor trades risker and require higher insurance limits? .[22:30] Obtaining insurance policies for one-time vendors or contractors who may be too small to afford annual insurance policies.[28:30] Thimble's program for members of NARPM (National Association of Residential Property Managers).[30:00] Dave shares a personal story about how he came up with the idea for Certificate Manager.Connect to Learn More About Small Business Insurance From ThimbleThimble Certificate Manager for NARPM MembersConnect with BobNorth County Property GroupThis episode is always available for listening, sharing, or download at Property Management Brainstorm. Subscribe to Property Management Brainstorm on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify,  TunedIn,  iHeart Radio and YouTube.

Welcome to Courtroom Confidential's Until Court Do Us Part “Las Vegas edition”! For the everyday working-class person, divorce can sometimes mean a direct path to bankruptcy avenue. When divorce results in a financial crisis for one spouse or the other, what can clients do? Can one spouse file for bankruptcy and discharge the marital debts, support obligations, and lawyer fees? Lianna Urfalyan and Chata Holt, attorneys in the family law department in the Las Vegas, Nevada office of the premier firm Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara are here to teach you the lesson of what to do when divorce breaks the bank!Lianna Urfalyan represents clients in family matters in Nevada. She specializes in puzzling through complex divorce and financial issues and vigorously advocating for clients every step of the way. She co-authored the Family Law Codex Manual in 2018, and the ABA publication for Foreign Discovery in 2020. She is also fluent in Armenian.Chata Holt is a Senior Associate and practices within the areas of Bankruptcy, Family Law, Construction Defect Litigation and General Liability. She was recently selected for Rising Stars in 2020 and Super Lawyers in 2021.This episode is brought to you by Pete Fowler Construction, a team of building experts who help lawyers and insurers find solutions to their expensive problems. They translate the technical speak of building design, engineering, estimating, and construction into plain-English everyone can understand and use to make smart decisions. To read learn more visit PeteFowler.com

Learn about what insurance you need as a contractor with Heather & Seth. We explain the special needs and coverages contractors have and how they are protected by General Liability, Workers Comp, Commercial Auto, Professional Liability, Property, Business Personal Property, Inland Marine, Builders' Risk, Umbrella, and various Bonds.Please leave any comments or requests you may have below or email info@elevateglobalinsurance.com www.elevateglobalinsurance.com

Welcome to Courtroom Confidential's Until Court Do Us Part “Las Vegas edition”! We've seen it in the movies and read about them in the tabloids…drive thru weddings with an Elvis impersonator serving as the officiant and couples waking up from a party-filled weekend in Vegas only to realize they need aspirin and an annulment! Lianna Urfalyan and Chata Holt, attorneys in the family law department in the Las Vegas, Nevada office of Bremer Whyte Brown & O'Meara are here to teach you the lesson of the legal consequences of an overnight wedding, grounds for an annulment, and the basics of an uncontested divorce in Nevada.Lianna Urfalyan represents clients in family matters in Nevada. She specializes in puzzling through complex divorce and financial issues and vigorously advocating for clients every step of the way. She co-authored the Family Law Codex Manual in 2018, and the ABA publication for Foreign Discovery in 2020. She is also fluent in Armenian.Chata Holt is a Senior Associate and practices within the areas of Bankruptcy, Family Law, Construction Defect Litigation and General Liability. She was recently selected for Rising Stars in 2020 and Super Lawyers in 2021.This episode is brought to you by Pete Fowler Construction, a team of building experts who help lawyers and insurers find solutions to their expensive problems. They translate the technical speak of building design, engineering, estimating, and construction into plain-English everyone can understand and use to make smart decisions. To read learn more visit PeteFowler.com

In this episode The Turf Teacher vents about solo operators saying they don't need Worker's Compensation or General Liability and that they pay their one helper under the table. You are asking for a disaster if you don't get insured or withhold taxes from your employer. Coming at you live from America's Podcast Studio, Eric "The Turf Teacher" Jones. The Landscape Contractor and Green Industry Platform for success, this is "The Podscape" brought to you by LMN Software. Check out www.turfteacher.com for more information on how you can earn your irrigation, landscape and pesticide credits all online or in person. We also have a Christmas Lighting class coming to a town near you! For more information on LMN Software and to try it out free visit www.golmn.com/free and use referral code 8957743.

The ACORD Forms training gives agents a short but intense training on ACORD forms, an often overlooked but critical component of an agent's daily tasks. Hear about the five Quick Skill Modules and how they can help you successfully complete the General Commercial, Commercial Auto, Commercial Property, General Liability, and Workers Compensation ACORD forms. Listen to learn more. Ready to level up? Buy this bootcamp. 

General Liability Insurance and how to read your policy. What you know about your insurance can affect your business and keep you up and running, whether you're a real estate investor (REI), small business, or big company. Learn about how to protect your hard work and investment.www.elevateglobalinsurance.com

Noteworthy Documentation An interview with Dr. Ben Caldwell, LMFT about some basic documentation information as well as updates relevant to the 21st Century Cures Act. Curt and Katie talk with Ben about what to consider when writing your notes including what to include and what should not be included. We look at who can see your progress notes as well as other considerations related to records requests and confidentiality.        It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. Interview with Dr. Ben Caldwell, LMFT Dr. Benjamin Caldwell, PsyD is a California Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (#42723) and the Education and Director for SimplePractice Learning. He currently serves as adjunct faculty for California State University Northridge in Los Angeles. He has taught at the graduate level for more than 15 years, primarily in Law and Ethics, and has written and trained extensively on ethical applications in mental health care. In addition to serving a three-year term on the AAMFT Ethics Committee, Dr. Caldwell served as the Chair of the Legislative and Advocacy Committee for AAMFT-California for 10 years. He served as Editor for the Users Guide to the 2015 AAMFT Code of Ethics and is the author for several books, including Saving Psychotherapy and Basics of California Law for LMFTS, LPCCs, and LCSWs. In this episode we talk about: Documentation as our favorite thing ever Excitement about Ben breaking the record on number of interviews on this podcast What needs to go into your documentation Accurate, adequate, and timely Standard of care How much information to put into your notes Who is the audience for your documentation Who might request records The importance documentation in continuity of care Where to put client quotes The difference between progress and process or psychotherapy notes What can be subpoenaed (including psychotherapy notes) How much information you include based on what is advisable to protect self The benefit of doing documentation for yourself as well as for treatment efficacy The 21st Century Cures Act – Open Notes (deadline now extended through April 2021) Optional certification process that requires clients to have access to all the information in their chart without charging them) Most mental health providers have no changes required from this change Most private practice EHRs are not on these systems Hospitals may have this requirement, but individual practitioners are not responsible for the mechanism to provide documentation to clients How to make sure you’re ready for clients to see your documentation The communication is going on for people who are required to comply with this open notes mandate, including how to access information and who to contact with questions In most states, clients have a fundamental right to request their records Confidentiality and access to records for family members, especially parents of minor children Conversations to have at the beginning of treatment in these situations regarding what will be included in the chart (and what will not be put into the chart) What not to include in your chart (specifically written reports from child abuse reports) A debate of who owns the record – who can see them is different from who owns them Our Generous Sponsors: GreenOak Accounting If you love dreaming about growing your practice, but you feel a disconnect between where you are now and where you want to be, check out GreenOak Accounting. You went to school to become a therapist, not an accountant! Your time is much better spent doing what you love–and not crunching numbers. That’s where GreenOak Accounting comes in! They specialize in working with private practices just like yours, so you can reclaim precious hours each week! They can help with all your accounting needs like bookkeeping, budgeting, forecasting, payroll and even assist with implementing Profit First. If you are interested in freeing up your schedule for more clients, or just getting back time for yourself, go to greenoakaccounting.com to schedule a free, no obligation consultation today. You can also check out our podcast, Therapy for Your Money, hosted by GreenOak Accounting owner Julie Herres. CPH & Associates CPH & Associates is an insurance company that specializes in professional liability insurance for mental health professionals. We currently insure over 100,000 mental health professionals throughout the United States. We can insure you throughout your professional career starting with your student practicum, through your post masters internship, and on to practicing with your professional license. With up-to-date legal resources and exceptional customer service, CPH protects your career against a grievance from a regulatory board, claim, or lawsuit. Because our business is specialized, we are able to focus on your liability needs in a way that bigger companies are not. We are able to serve a large client base while maintaining a small-office approach. With options to add General Liability, Cyber Liability, and coverage for your LLC or corporation, a policy with CPH is tailored specifically to meet your liability needs. Policy holders are encouraged to take advantage of our Attorney Avoiding Liability Helpline, providing two free hours of attorney consultation per year for situations with a client that could result in a claim or lawsuit. With our online application and renewal process, real-time online policy change capabilities and knowledgeable customer service, we continue to keep our customers’ needs a priority! Get a quote and apply online to receive proof of coverage within minutes at cphins.com.   Resources mentioned: We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance! The 21st Century Cures Act Open Notes Org article related to the Cures Act Simple Practice Learning Course: HIPAA in the age of COVID-19 Psychotherapynotes.com   Relevant Episodes: Episodes with Dr. Ben Caldwell – The Fight to Save Psychotherapy Defining the Therapy Movement COVID-19 Legal and Ethical Updates Dr. Maelisa Hall: Make Your Paperwork Meaningful Nicol Stolar-Peterson: CYA for Court Barbara Griswold: Busting Insurance Myths   Connect with us! Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined Conferences  Our consultation services: The Fifty-Minute Hour Who we are: Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and CSUN, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also Past President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com A Quick Note: Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it. Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.   Stay in Touch: www.mtsgpodcast.com www.therapyreimagined.com Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapist’s Group https://www.facebook.com/therapyreimagined/ https://twitter.com/therapymovement https://www.instagram.com/therapyreimagined/   Credits: Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/ Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/

Grad Programs Moving Online Curt and Katie chat about the quick move to online learning when the pandemic hit. We talk about the challenges with virtual platforms – what has worked and what has not. We look at the decisions related to starting or continuing therapist education at this time. We also talk about the opportunities that have been gained and ideas for students and professors on how to more effectively approach online graduate programs. It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. In this episode we talk about: Graduate programs for therapists moving online during the pandemic The education one applied for is vastly different from what you’re getting right now The rapid shift to online education and lack of deliberate choices to shift how to teach Synchronous and asynchronous elements of education The requirement for faculty to learn and utilize technology effectively A lack of interaction due to polite students keeping their mics off The spoke and wheel conversations that impact how learning happens The lack of guidance on how to create truly effective online education Navigating time on screens Role plays translating into learning telehealth, rather than in-person therapy The lack of interaction with the material, more passive learning Developing clinical efficacy for telehealth The uncertainty of the efficacy of clinical work in the newer space of telehealth The impact on discussions social justice, racial and cultural identity, due to the ability to opt out of the conversation in online education The importance of figuring out how people learn and how it applies to the online space Should people delay or pause education? What the impacts on the workforce might be Opportunities within the online learning space, especially when the technology is well used Theoretical versus practical base The need to have more deliberate and direct conversations to create connections that may have happened organically The adjustments and planning that may improve the situation Different factors that impact each student’s and each professor’s ability to engage Looking at expectations, support, and needed infrastructure What students can do to better access education during this time Developing personal relationships with professors Putting together options to increase connection and interaction with peers Seeking career mentorship and synchronous conversations Moving from venting and commiserating to advocacy within the system The ability to make changes, be nimble, and put forward a collective voice Our Generous Sponsors: CPH & Associates CPH & Associates is an insurance company that specializes in professional liability insurance for mental health professionals. We currently insure over 100,000 mental health professionals throughout the United States. We can insure you throughout your professional career starting with your student practicum, through your post masters internship, and on to practicing with your professional license. With up-to-date legal resources and exceptional customer service, CPH protects your career against a grievance from a regulatory board, claim, or lawsuit. Because our business is specialized, we are able to focus on your liability needs in a way that bigger companies are not. We are able to serve a large client base while maintaining a small-office approach. With options to add General Liability, Cyber Liability, and coverage for your LLC or corporation, a policy with CPH is tailored specifically to meet your liability needs. Policy holders are encouraged to take advantage of our Attorney Avoiding Liability Helpline, providing two free hours of attorney consultation per year for situations with a client that could result in a claim or lawsuit. With our online application and renewal process, real-time online policy change capabilities and knowledgeable customer service, we continue to keep our customers’ needs a priority! Get a quote and apply online to receive proof of coverage within minutes at cphins.com GreenOak Accounting If you love dreaming about growing your practice, but you feel a disconnect between where you are now and where you want to be, check out GreenOak Accounting. You went to school to become a therapist, not an accountant! Your time is much better spent doing what you love–and not crunching numbers. That’s where GreenOak Accounting comes in! They specialize in working with private practices just like yours, so you can reclaim precious hours each week! They can help with all your accounting needs like bookkeeping, budgeting, forecasting, payroll and even assist with implementing Profit First. If you are interested in freeing up your schedule for more clients, or just getting back time for yourself, go to greenoakaccounting.com to schedule a free, no obligation consultation today. You can also check out our podcast, Therapy for Your Money, hosted by GreenOak Accounting owner Julie Herres. Resources mentioned: We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below might be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance! Blog post: Online Therapy is Here to Stay Relevant Episodes: Building Hope for the Next Generation of Therapists Unlearning Very Bad Therapy   Connect with us! Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined 2021  Our consultation services: The Fifty-Minute Hour Who we are: Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also Past President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com A Quick Note: Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it. Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.   Stay in Touch: www.mtsgpodcast.com www.therapyreimagined.com Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapist’s Group https://www.facebook.com/therapyreimagined/ https://twitter.com/therapymovement https://www.instagram.com/therapyreimagined/   Credits: Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/ Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/

Career Trekking with MTSG An interview with Marissa Esquibel, LMFT on her journey from community mental health to private practice. Curt and Katie talk with Marissa about how she used the Modern Therapist’s Survival Guide podcast to shift her mindset and change her career trajectory. Marissa highlights the benefits of belief, guidance, and community.    It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. Interview with Marissa Esquibel, LMFT “Though she be but little, she is fierce.” – Shakespeare Marissa Esquibel is not like a regular therapist, she’s a cool therapist. With her practice located near Los Angeles, Marissa is on a one-woman mission to empower young women to stop playing small and to start taking up space. She works exclusively with young adults, 20-something’s, who are checking off all the boxes of “success,” and yet, they feel like failures internally. They often come to Marissa dealing with depression, anxiety, imposter syndrome, or codependency. As an undergraduate, she attended UC Santa Barbara and then received her Masters in Clinical Psychology from California State University, Fullerton. In September of 2018, she became licensed and opened-up shop to her virtual therapy practice in March 2020. When Marissa is not in session with patients, she spends her time reading, hanging out with friends and family, binging on podcasts and audiobooks, attending her own therapy, and making sure to get her 10,000 steps a day. She loves her work, job, and life and looks forward to connecting with you.  Learn more about Marissa at therapywithmarissa.com In this episode we talk about: Marissa’s burnout story and how she made the trek from community mental health to private practice Reflections on the question: what do therapists get wrong (and the self-analysis and feedback informed nature of the question) The idea of self-sacrifice and hard work being required to be a good therapist The importance of critical thinking regarding what is effective, what is healthy for me How Marissa made the decision to move to a group practice and then her own private practice Marissa’s experience at Therapy Reimagined 2019 and her follow up with speakers The need for belief, guidance, and community Marissa talks about the episodes that helped her to move forward How Marissa implemented a new plan for her career “I choose this agony, this heart ache, this effort” – Marissa Esquibel, LMFT Marissa’s choice to be vulnerable at this time and to keep on going The determination and belief that has kept Marissa moving forward on her vision and mission The need to hear from (and connecting with) people at each stage of career development Our Generous Sponsors: GreenOak Accounting If you love dreaming about growing your practice, but you feel a disconnect between where you are now and where you want to be, check out GreenOak Accounting. You went to school to become a therapist, not an accountant! Your time is much better spent doing what you love–and not crunching numbers. That’s where GreenOak Accounting comes in! They specialize in working with private practices just like yours, so you can reclaim precious hours each week! They can help with all your accounting needs like bookkeeping, budgeting, forecasting, payroll and even assist with implementing Profit First. If you are interested in freeing up your schedule for more clients, or just getting back time for yourself, go to greenoakaccounting.com to schedule a free, no obligation consultation today. You can also check out our podcast, Therapy for Your Money, hosted by GreenOak Accounting owner Julie Herres. CPH & Associates CPH & Associates is an insurance company that specializes in professional liability insurance for mental health professionals. We currently insure over 100,000 mental health professionals throughout the United States. We can insure you throughout your professional career starting with your student practicum, through your post masters internship, and on to practicing with your professional license. With up-to-date legal resources and exceptional customer service, CPH protects your career against a grievance from a regulatory board, claim, or lawsuit. Because our business is specialized, we are able to focus on your liability needs in a way that bigger companies are not. We are able to serve a large client base while maintaining a small-office approach. With options to add General Liability, Cyber Liability, and coverage for your LLC or corporation, a policy with CPH is tailored specifically to meet your liability needs. Policy holders are encouraged to take advantage of our Attorney Avoiding Liability Helpline, providing two free hours of attorney consultation per year for situations with a client that could result in a claim or lawsuit. With our online application and renewal process, real-time online policy change capabilities and knowledgeable customer service, we continue to keep our customers’ needs a priority! Get a quote and apply online to receive proof of coverage within minutes at cphins.com.   Resources mentioned: We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance! therapywithmarissa.com Marissa’s social media: https://www.instagram.com/therapywithmarissa/ https://www.tiktok.com/@therapywithmarissa Tiffany McLain – Lean in Make Bank   Relevant Episodes: Toxic Work Environments Joining Your Association Making Bank as a Therapist Getting a J-O-B Interview Strategies for Therapists The Burnout System Giving and Getting Good Supervision Therapist Safety Connect with us! Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined Conferences  Our consultation services: The Fifty-Minute Hour Who we are: Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and CSUN, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also Past President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com A Quick Note: Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it. Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.   Stay in Touch: www.mtsgpodcast.com www.therapyreimagined.com Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapist’s Group https://www.facebook.com/therapyreimagined/ https://twitter.com/therapymovement https://www.instagram.com/therapyreimagined/   Credits: Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/ Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/

Quarantine Self-Care for Therapists Curt and Katie chat about the challenges for therapists during the pandemic. We look at what is unique to therapists’ experiences, causes of burnout, and ways in which therapists can work to protect their mental health and wellness during this time. It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. In this episode we talk about: How therapists can take care of themselves during this time The risks for burnout during COVID – study in the Asian Journal of Psychiatry Taking on clients’ emotions, reacting together in real time Compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma The strain of “in this together” Lack of the usual go-to self-care practices Lack of in-person community and connection Difficulty in getting feedback related to how we’re being received Not knowing if we’re providing effective therapy The concept of stasis, and just waiting for things to go back to normal Longer term therapy due to lack of progress or on-going stressors The lack of distraction from work or other responsibilities The danger of filling time with work The struggle or concern related to raising fees during a pandemic How work may have become more of a grind Lack of creativity or inspiration The importance of taking a self-assessment Realistic expectations Priorities and values All the roles we are playing right now What resources do we have available to us? Creating separation between work and personal space (through physical separation, ritual, structure) How to identify opportunities with what is happening now Identifying new challenges and risks, how to mitigate risks Creating a sustainable situation even if it is just for now Managing your schedule Connecting with your community, so you don’t feel so isolated The importance of breaks Our Generous Sponsors: CPH & Associates CPH & Associates is an insurance company that specializes in professional liability insurance for mental health professionals. We currently insure over 100,000 mental health professionals throughout the United States. We can insure you throughout your professional career starting with your student practicum, through your post masters internship, and on to practicing with your professional license. With up-to-date legal resources and exceptional customer service, CPH protects your career against a grievance from a regulatory board, claim, or lawsuit. Because our business is specialized, we are able to focus on your liability needs in a way that bigger companies are not. We are able to serve a large client base while maintaining a small-office approach. With options to add General Liability, Cyber Liability, and coverage for your LLC or corporation, a policy with CPH is tailored specifically to meet your liability needs. Policy holders are encouraged to take advantage of our Attorney Avoiding Liability Helpline, providing two free hours of attorney consultation per year for situations with a client that could result in a claim or lawsuit. With our online application and renewal process, real-time online policy change capabilities and knowledgeable customer service, we continue to keep our customers’ needs a priority! Get a quote and apply online to receive proof of coverage within minutes at cphins.com GreenOak Accounting If you love dreaming about growing your practice, but you feel a disconnect between where you are now and where you want to be, check out GreenOak Accounting. You went to school to become a therapist, not an accountant! Your time is much better spent doing what you love–and not crunching numbers. That’s where GreenOak Accounting comes in! They specialize in working with private practices just like yours, so you can reclaim precious hours each week! They can help with all your accounting needs like bookkeeping, budgeting, forecasting, payroll and even assist with implementing Profit First. If you are interested in freeing up your schedule for more clients, or just getting back time for yourself, go to greenoakaccounting.com to schedule a free, no obligation consultation today. You can also check out our podcast, Therapy for Your Money, hosted by GreenOak Accounting owner Julie Herres. Resources mentioned: We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below might be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance! Asian Journal of Psychiatry article: Burnout: A risk factor amongst mental health professionals during COVID-19 Brighter Vision Article by Katie: Clinician Self-Care in the COVID Era Hey Tiffany: Money Sessions Podcast - Raising Fees During a Pandemic Meme: I can’t remember, do I work from home or live at work? Blog: Making Decisions Now Modern Therapists Happy Hour for November   Relevant Episodes: Structuring Self-Care Shared Traumatic Experiences Burnout or Depression Compassion Fatigue Managing Vicarious Trauma Recession-Proofing Your Practice It’s About Time   Connect with us! Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined 2021  Our consultation services: The Fifty-Minute Hour Who we are: Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also Past President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com A Quick Note: Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it. Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.   Stay in Touch: www.mtsgpodcast.com www.therapyreimagined.com Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapist’s Group https://www.facebook.com/therapyreimagined/ https://twitter.com/therapymovement https://www.instagram.com/therapyreimagined/   Credits: Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/ Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/  

All Things Group Therapy An interview with Katie K. May, of Become a Group Guru, about creating effective therapy groups. Curt and Katie talk with Katie May about the clinical elements of group creation as well as the business elements that support effective groups. We look at screening, developing the group container, and curriculum considerations.     It’s time to reimagine therapy and what it means to be a therapist. To support you as a whole person and a therapist, your hosts, Curt Widhalm and Katie Vernoy talk about how to approach the role of therapist in the modern age. Interview with Katie K. May, LPC, The Group Guru Katie K. May is a licensed therapist and online course creator.  She helps therapists market and fill groups and online group programs so that they can scale their impact and increase their income, without adding more hours in the office.  To learn more and gain access to free trainings and resources to generate new clients like magic, visit www.becomeagroupguru.com In this episode we talk about: Building and running therapy groups Why therapists wait too long to build their therapy groups The challenge of knowing when to actually start a group Language to use in marketing a group you’ve not started The different types of groups you can provide The importance of aligning your client and your curriculum How to create your own curriculum The group container that is built The anxiety that many therapists face when looking to develop a group How group therapy can align with treatment goals How to talk with your individual therapy clients to move into group Overcoming imposter syndrome when moving into providing group therapy Innovative ways to start to develop group norms, goals, and cohesion The skills we have from other elements of being a therapist that we can use within group Different activity ideas that support group members talking to each other Screening criteria for inclusion and exclusion How to navigate clients who may not be appropriate for group, or may show up differently in the group versus how they show up for initial screening Navigating to online group therapy during the pandemic Consciously talking about how to be together online Looking at the logistics of telehealth groups (i.e., platforms that work for groups) How to start a group – clarity on who the group is for, what group members are experiencing, and what outcomes are you offering Providing group to your individual clients How to assess interest for group Different ways to learn about doing group and the power of learning by doing Our Generous Sponsors: GreenOak Accounting If you love dreaming about growing your practice, but you feel a disconnect between where you are now and where you want to be, check out GreenOak Accounting. You went to school to become a therapist, not an accountant! Your time is much better spent doing what you love–and not crunching numbers. That’s where GreenOak Accounting comes in! They specialize in working with private practices just like yours, so you can reclaim precious hours each week! They can help with all your accounting needs like bookkeeping, budgeting, forecasting, payroll and even assist with implementing Profit First. If you are interested in freeing up your schedule for more clients, or just getting back time for yourself, go to greenoakaccounting.com to schedule a free, no obligation consultation today. You can also check out our podcast, Therapy for Your Money, hosted by GreenOak Accounting owner Julie Herres. CPH & Associates CPH & Associates is an insurance company that specializes in professional liability insurance for mental health professionals. We currently insure over 100,000 mental health professionals throughout the United States. We can insure you throughout your professional career starting with your student practicum, through your post masters internship, and on to practicing with your professional license. With up-to-date legal resources and exceptional customer service, CPH protects your career against a grievance from a regulatory board, claim, or lawsuit. Because our business is specialized, we are able to focus on your liability needs in a way that bigger companies are not. We are able to serve a large client base while maintaining a small-office approach. With options to add General Liability, Cyber Liability, and coverage for your LLC or corporation, a policy with CPH is tailored specifically to meet your liability needs. Policy holders are encouraged to take advantage of our Attorney Avoiding Liability Helpline, providing two free hours of attorney consultation per year for situations with a client that could result in a claim or lawsuit. With our online application and renewal process, real-time online policy change capabilities and knowledgeable customer service, we continue to keep our customers’ needs a priority! Get a quote and apply online to receive proof of coverage within minutes at cphins.com Resources mentioned: We’ve pulled together resources mentioned in this episode and put together some handy-dandy links. Please note that some of the links below may be affiliate links, so if you purchase after clicking below, we may get a little bit of cash in our pockets. We thank you in advance! Katie K May’s Website: Become A Group Guru The Fill Your Group FAST Workshop Irwin Yalom – The Theory and Practice of Group Therapy Zoom Healthcare Google Meet through G-Suite (make sure to get a BAA) Relevant Episodes: Who Gets to Have Therapy Therapy of Tomorrow Connect with us! Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapists Group Get Notified About Therapy Reimagined Conferences  Our consultation services: The Fifty-Minute Hour Who we are: Curt Widhalm is in private practice in the Los Angeles area. He is the cofounder of the Therapy Reimagined conference, an Adjunct Professor at Pepperdine University and CSUN, a former Subject Matter Expert for the California Board of Behavioral Sciences, former CFO of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, and a loving husband and father. He is 1/2 great person, 1/2 provocateur, and 1/2 geek, in that order. He dabbles in the dark art of making "dad jokes" and usually has a half-empty cup of coffee somewhere nearby. Learn more at: www.curtwidhalm.com Katie Vernoy is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, coach, and consultant supporting leaders, visionaries, executives, and helping professionals to create sustainable careers. Katie, with Curt, has developed workshops and a conference, Therapy Reimagined, to support therapists navigating through the modern challenges of this profession. Katie is also Past President of the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists. In her spare time, Katie is secretly siphoning off Curt's youthful energy, so that she can take over the world. Learn more at: www.katievernoy.com A Quick Note: Our opinions are our own. We are only speaking for ourselves – except when we speak for each other, or over each other. We’re working on it. Our guests are also only speaking for themselves and have their own opinions. We aren’t trying to take their voice, and no one speaks for us either. Mostly because they don’t want to, but hey.   Stay in Touch: www.mtsgpodcast.com www.therapyreimagined.com Our Facebook Group – The Modern Therapist’s Group https://www.facebook.com/therapyreimagined/ https://twitter.com/therapymovement https://www.instagram.com/therapyreimagined/   Credits: Voice Over by DW McCann https://www.facebook.com/McCannDW/ Music by Crystal Grooms Mangano http://www.crystalmangano.com/

In this episode, “Global Settlements in Multijurisdictional Construction Claims (https://loisllc.com/webinar/global-settlements-2020/),” Tashia Rasul (https://loisllc.com/attorney/tashia-rasul/), partner at Lois Law Firm (https://loisllc.com/attorneys/partners/), explores the advantages of resolving the general liability and workers' compensation cases at the same time. Further, defense counsel representing general litigation defendant and workers' compensation claim should be brought together at the time the arbitration, mediation, or other settlement opportunity arises. Tashia discusses the following: Workers' Compensation reimbursement and leverage. General Liability/civil litigation settlement allocation. Using counsel effectively to negotiate settlements. Practical examples. How to attend these webinars live and ask questions Join us for our monthly webinars on New York and New Jersey workers' compensation law. Register for a Construction Defense Webinar (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7649060921835510031) Register for a Civil Litigation Webinar (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/2939203908210686476) Register for a New York Workers' Compensation Webinar (12PM SESSION) (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8126129122765451535) Register for a New York Workers' Compensation Webinar (3PM SESSION) (https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7249849108834235650) Register for a New Jersey Workers' Compensation Webinar (https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5291331929217948419) Schedules and Information Handout materials are provided in advance of each session. The webinar courses follow the "life cycle" of a claim and correspond to chapters in the Workers' Compensation Handbooks (https://loisllc.com/publications/) offered by the Firm. Webinar Archive * View archive of prior Workers' Compensation and Civil Litigation webinars (https://loisllc.com/webinars/archive/) Disclaimer This webinar is not legal advice! The materials presented by this webinar/podcast and any affiliated website are for informational purposes only and are not offered as legal advice as to any particular matter. No viewer/listener/reader should act on the basis of these materials without seeking appropriate professional advice as to the particular facts and applicable law involved. The materials are not represented to be correct, complete, or up-to-date. Opinions presented by this video/podcast are the opinions of the author. Neither the use of this web site nor the transfer of information to or from this web site shall create or constitute an attorney-client relationship between Greg Lois, the presenter in the video/podcast, or LOIS LAW FIRM LLC and any person. You should not send any confidential information to this web site until after you have entered into a written agreement for the performance of legal services.

Joseph S. Fritzson, www.fritzsonlaw.com, endeavored to establish his own law firm and business consulting practice after a meteoric rise to becoming partner with a downtown NYC law firm, at the age of 30. Joseph continuously seeks to provide the exact need for all of his clients.  Mr. Fritzson specializes in various areas of litigation and trial practice as an attorney.  His main focus is in all forms of General Liability, Employment Law, Commercial Litigation, Federal Claims, as well as Corporate Structure and Governance.  When jumping into his business consulting shoes, Joseph is a wizard with initial corporate set-up, structure, and guidance.

In today’s episode of Agents Influence podcast, host Jason Cass interviews Chris Cheatham,  the CEO of Risk Genius. Chris talks about the importance of knowing your policy coverage, Covid-19 coverage concerns, litigations, and social inflation. Chris also shares what made them build the algorithm, and how Risk Genius can help with technology and automation. Episode Highlights: Jason Cass introduces guest Chris Cheatham. (1:01) Is Chris an Android or an iPhone user? (2:27) What was the last app that Chris downloaded? (2:35) Does Chris love to win or hate to lose?  (5:35) What does Chris attribute to his success, skill, or luck? (6:06) Chris shares his background story and the secret of his success. (8:22) Chris tells a story about the carrier who wants to use their software for policy review and checking. (13:49) Chris explains why they develop algorithms that understand General Liability policies. (18:29) Chris states that he was not necessarily an insurance expert when he started. (18:55) Chris shares that it took five years to figure out how they continuously add different lines of business for carriers. (19:26) Chris speaks about the greatest coverage crisis in the history of insurance. (20:53) Did anybody find out that there was actually COVID coverage? (21:56) Chris talks about social inflation. (28:57) Chris shares that Warren Buffett came up with a letter to the shareholders in 1975. (29:02) Chris says that some states are looking to create immunity for businesses that open up like nursing homes. (37:56) Chris states that policy checking will become even more vital going forward. (44:31)   3 Key Points: The idea of Risk Genius for developing the algorithms was if somebody would upload a policy, there would be a checklist of clauses they need to review. Chris has discovered a million use cases for their software, and how it can be valuable for the insurance industry. Chris thinks that brokers and agents will be having a lot of pressure in making sure they check their policies and advising the customers properly of what they have. Key Quotes: “I just try to be the nerdiest nerd of all nerds.”- Chris Cheatham “If you have the entire country shut down for pandemic insurance, insurance doesn't have the dollars to actually back that up.”- Chris Cheatham “Policy checking is going to become even more important going forward.”- Chris Cheatham   Resources Mentioned: Agency Intelligence Brainshare Reach out to Jason Cass LinkedIn - Chris Cheatham Risk Genius   Advertisements: Podium Lightspeed Voice Insurance Agent App  

In Episode 59--Trinity and Mike talk about why you need insurance and what kind of insurance you need. We talk about everything from General Liability to Worker's Comp to Cyber Security. While you are protecting your business and it's assets, don't forget to protect your people with Key Person Insurance. MENTIONED IN THE SHOW General Liability Professional Insurance (Errors and Omissions) Worker's Comp Automobile Insurance for business purposes Umbrella Policies Gap Insurance Cyber Insurance Key Person Insurance --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/wired-2-change/message

Chris goes into General Liability, Professional Liability, and BOP Insurance.  Call- 620.231.6460 with questions! 

Guest: Roger Graff, VP of Claims from Farm Bureau Insurance

This episode dives into how General Liability Insurance policies are rated. It reviews how different trades, gross revenue, payroll and subcontractor expenses all impact the amount of money your company will spend in it's General Liability Insurance.

Interview with Entrepreneur, mom and wife Shilo Losino. She shares her story of how she started her own business, being a female in a male dominated industry (Insurance and Construction), professional development, benefits of being a part of a Master Mind, Parenting and Relationship tips. We end with a meditation on embracing your uniqueness to boldly move forward in the world. More about Shilo's business and getting in touch with her: Contractors Best Insurance (contractorsbestins.com) We are Dedicated to Best Price, Best Capacity and Best Service! Contractors Best Insurance Services, Inc. focuses on you, the client, to find a program that fits you. Our Specialty is BONDING with appointments to most major surety companies. Our combined 40 years of Surety Underwriting Experience paired with our long-term, strong relationships with all of our Surety Underwriters allow us to offer the service and flexibility unmatched by other agencies or agents. Our services extend to all aspects of your business. It’s a one stop shop with a hard working team; your team! We offer extensive markets for General Liability, Workers Compensation, Property, Commercial Auto etc. You need it, we have it. We do the shopping for you so you can focus on your business. Call Shilo 818.667.7656 or email: Shilo.Losino@ContractorsBestIns.com

In this episode we speak with Chris Sheppard, Senior Vice President at Eastern Insurance. This show differs because it is a more educational based discussion of policies including General Liability, Professional Liability, Worker's comp, Inland Marine and a number of other products that fall under these coverages. We'll also discuss the nuance of coverages, WC in particular, and touch on topics such a OCIP, CCIP, EMR and more. We'll also talk about where things are headed around rates and types of alternative coverages. Enjoy the show! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/joekelly/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/joekelly/support

Don't go another day without making sure your E&O and General Liability coverage have you and your home inspection business fully protected. Let InterNACHI's Elite Risk Insurance give you the peace of mind you need to sleep well!

Don't go another day without making sure your E&O and General Liability coverage have you and your home inspection business fully protected. Let InterNACHI's Elite Risk Insurance give you the peace of mind you need to sleep well!

I recently heard of a contractor that had a generator stolen from his job site. The question was asked; will his insurance cover the loss? Well, will it? My name is Scott Lollar, and I'm a DYB coach and I want to talk to you today about the options you have to insure your company against everything from damaging someone's property to yes, having equipment stolen from a job site. Insurance can be challenging to understand, both what you need and what it will cost you. There are many classifications, codes and reporting agencies. Insurance is something you hope you never use but if you need it, you better have the proper coverage. So, the first task is to find an insurance professional that has the expertise in construction insurance. Not every insurance broker even offers the insurance you need, but more importantly, some insurance agents have more experience in consumer lines like auto and home. So, even though they might be capable of writing your business policies, I find that an agent experienced in Business Insurance has an advantage, so you can get the right coverage and that the agent is available should you ever need to file a claim. I have to highlight Federated Insurance. Federated only writes business insurance and I find that they have a very competitive quote and their agents are unmatched in my experience. They know their industry and also know a lot about yours. So I'd always include them when you're requesting proposals. Now, let's look at some of the coverages you might consider. The most basic and foundational coverage is General Liability. This is the most standard coverage and many small or entry level contractors that say they're insured often only have this coverage. General liability covers any claims or losses due to any damage or injury to a third party as a result of your work. This could be damage done by anyone employed by your company, to anything on a job site like a furniture or a car. I once saw an inexperienced painter, not mine, lose control of an extension ladder and drop it on the top of the minivan. It also would cover medical costs if the customer or any other third party is injured due to your work. It will not cover your employees or your assets. You can purchase policies with limits that match your exposure and are paid based on your annual projected revenue. First, there is a rating system that tracks other businesses like yours and comes up with a rate that is based on historical loss rate of other contractors in your industry. There is a multiplier and outcomes your annual rate or cost. There are also different deductible amounts you can select for these policies. So, if you have a great cash flow you could insure the first, say $10,000 of losses and your rate would be lower because the insurance company might determine in your industry the claims over that threshold are infrequent. I will say that increasing deductibles do not typically save you a lot on premiums, but if you happen to have a lot of smaller frivolous claims, you might consider self-paying some of these to protect your long-term rate. So if you work on multi-million dollar houses, a $500,000 policy limit might not be enough for the work you do. Typical policies are between $500,000 and a million dollars, especially for residential contractors. There are also different deductible amounts and you can select for these policies. If you do commercial work, these limits will need to be much higher to cover your risk of loss. Most commercial clients will tell you the limits required to work on their properties and will require a certificate of insurance providing these limits. In order to insure your employees for lost wages, medical expenses and disability resulting from an accident while working for your company where they sustained an injury, you will need Workman's Compensation Insurance. This insurance is the most-costly of your policies and it is billed based on your estimated payroll for the year. Similar to the liability rating, Workman's Compensation has a bureau that collects and reports data on premiums and claims called the National Council on Compensation Insurance or NCCI. NCCI is owned by the insurance companies to gather data and determine modifications and classifications in order to determine risk levels and premiums for insurance companies to use when quoting Work Comp. policies. NCCI performs this role on behalf of the insurance companies in 36 of the 50 states. 14 states either have their own reporting bureaus or have a state-run Work Comp. program. The primary report that they create, that affects your company is the experience modification rate. An experienced mod is a determination of your claims and premium history compared to the industry you are in. The average of the loss experience in the industry is 1. So you'll pay more or get a credit based on your Work Comp. claims history or mod rate. The criteria for determining this rate is simply to gauge the future chances of risk, based on the past cost of claims by your company. So, below 1 you'll see companies offer you credit based on your low mod or if over one, you'll see a higher cost of insurance. In addition, there are a couple of benchmarks required in order for you to get an experience modification. That's right… Experience. In Illinois, a company needs $3,000 of premium, per year for 3 consecutive years or $10,000 of premium in any one of the previous 3 years to get an experienced mod. Each state can be different in the amount of premium and timeframe so find out yours in your state. So those that are new to the business or have never had a Work Comp. insurance policy will get dinged until they can get an experienced mod because the insurance industry does not know if you are a high or low risk. Now at this point, I want to talk about the difference in estimated and actual premium. When you request a quote and go through underwriting, you are stating what you expect to have in the next 12 months in both revenue and payroll. This will be the estimated amount of premium that you will pay. After the 12 months, the insurance company will do an audit of your accounting file and will bill you for what you actually should have paid. If you've paid too little, then it seems like you almost always do, they will bill you for your shortfall. This is called an Audit Premium. This additional money you can owe can be a killer. I have seen contractors owe $10,000, $20,000 and $30,000. And it can be a financial disaster. You should be tracking monthly what your actual is to your estimated and if you have underestimated for the month, I would take the money and put it into a separate savings account. This will ensure that when your audit is complete, you will have money set aside to pay the bill without a crisis for your company. I also want to address those that use subcontractors to perform their work. Subcontractors need their own coverage and you will need a Certificate of Insurance, a COI for your audit. If they do not have coverage, your insurance company will add that premium to your audit. Make sure you have proof of full coverage before you ever hire them to do any work for you. Of course, there's Auto Insurance, to cover your company vehicles. It is important to make sure you ensure all of the vehicles that are primarily a business vehicle, on a business policy. Sometimes owners have a vehicle that they ensure personally because it's usually cheaper, but use it for work. You need to discuss this with an insurance professional, to make sure there is proper coverage to shield you personally from any exposure should you have an accident. At this point, it is important to look at an umbrella policy, instead of raising individual limits on your policy, an umbrella policy can raise your limits on any one occurrence in several policies where you have liability, specifical liability in auto and if written properly, can sit over parts of Work Comp. Talk to your insurance broker about the details of this policy. But, it is an inexpensive way to get more coverage in several places. Moving on, how about insuring your tools and equipment? There is coverage for that, it is called Inland Marine Insurance and it covers your equipment wherever it is; on a job site, on a truck or in your shop. There are limits that you need to determine as well as deductibles, so you can determine what makes sense for your business. And yes, this is what would have been required to pay for the replacement of the generator in my example. Without this insurance, you have no coverage. A less common insurance is Errors & Omission. This coverage is a professional liability insurance that covers you, in case there is a failure due to inadequate work. This is less common for painters, but you can ask about what it would cover and the cost. It typically is not an expensive item. In addition to these common policies, there is also pollution coverage that might protect you in case of contamination to the environment due to say paint runoff or lead during the course of your work. Find a good broker which I am not, and look at all the options to see which policies are best for you. They will help you determine what the proper coverages are and to manage your risk at each point in your journey, and you can determine the amount of risk you can tolerate and how much it will cost you for the peace of mind to know you are covered. I hope this is helpful, and as always if I can help you in any way build your business. I'm here to help so if I can serve you in any way, email me at scott@dybcoach.com. Till next time.   P.S. Here's our Free Sundries Spreadsheet to help you save money! https://dybcoach.com/sundries-cheat-sheet/

Today’s question: Today’s question comes from Britton. We are building an e-commerce platform and want to make sure we cover our insurance needs before we launch. What is your recommendation? Jake’s answer: Insurance isn’t an exciting topic, but it’s an important one. Let’s talk about the different types of insurance you may need to have for your startup. As you start getting customers, this is something you’ll want to look into. Types of Insurance Errors and Omissions Insurance. This protects you from lawsuits covering negligence and is the baseline for most businesses. Cost for this type of insurance will vary and somewhat depends on how expensive the goods or services are that you’re selling. You’ll want to have between $500k-$2M in coverage. Cyber Liability Insurance. This covers everything digital that errors and omissions insurance doesn’t cover. Things such as cyber attacks are covered under this type of insurance and can cover data loss and business lost due to being hacked. Directors and Officers Insurance. This protects your business when claims are made against your management team. Things such as breach of duty are covered here and most of the time these types of claims come from investors. This also covers unfair business practices and more. Employment Practices Liability Insurance. If you are ever sued for employee related issues, this would cover you. Any HR related issue is covered under this policy. General Liability and Property Insurance. This covers damages to offices and equipment, slips and falls, etc. It encompasses a lot of random issues, but generally it covers everything not covered by other insurance types. What Insurance Should a Startup Have? If I was just getting started with my idea or had a handful of customers then I wouldn’t worry about any of this stuff. This is especially true for an ecommerce business. If you don’t have the money to cover them, then you probably don’t need them. Some of them are must haves no matter what though, including errors and omissions and general liability. If you have any employees then you need the employment practices and liability insurance. If you hire an accountant and a lawyer right away then they will be able to answer these questions specific to your business. Ask Your Own Question Got questions about startups and/or startup culture? We’ve got answers. Head over to LaunchChat.io and record your own question to have it featured on the show. Stay in Touch Ask your own question Follow Jake Twitter Check out Jake’s articles Medium Jake’s personal site Check out Launchpeer Follow Launchpeer on Twitter

Remember the rule of thumb. Everyone who has any connection to the project is likely to be brought into the suit. In this episode, we discuss the proper coverage in regards to design firms and the addition of Professional Liability insurance.

Most people overlook insurance when they're starting their business. Some get a general liability cover and assume that they are sufficiently covered. But what does “general liability” mean, and how do you know if you are insuring your business properly? Ryan Andrew joins us today to shed light on some of the things you should consider when it comes to insuring your business. Ryan is from The Andrew Agency located in Richmond, Virginia, offering professional insurance services in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. Click here to find more information on our website. Insuring your business - Key Points What does general liability cover? How Hans got into trouble over an insurance policy. As your business grows, and at least once annually, update your insurance agent to help. you determine whether or not you are still adequately insured. Less than 10% of active businesses have cyber liability. When would you need cyber liability insurance? Small businesses are just as susceptible as large corporations to cyber-crime. One in three businesses will get sued. When a breach occurs, the cost of sorting it out and subsequently complying with regulation could shut down a small business. Cyber liability is new territory for insurance companies, but they are developing products to meet your needs. Professional liability and cyber liability are a higher risk to the business than general liability. Your insurance policy is a working document that evolves as your business evolves. When starting a business, take time to set it on a solid foundation. This is worth listening to! Links The Andrew Agency Telephone: +1 804-320-2886 If you have not checked out all of our free resources available to you. Click here for our site. Here are some of our featured free resources. How Can I Organize My Financials? Should I Have A Business Plan? What Steps Should I Take Towards Branding? How Can Marketing Bring In More Clients? The Start-Up Checklist What Type Of Corporation Should I Be? Things To Consider When Scaling A Business

Most people overlook insurance when they’re starting their business. Some get a general liability cover and assume that they are sufficiently covered. But what does “general liability” mean, and how do you know if you are insuring your business properly? Ryan Andrew joins us today to shed light on some of the things you should consider when it comes to insuring your business. Ryan is from The Andrew Agency located in Richmond, Virginia, offering professional insurance services in Virginia, Maryland, and D.C. Click here to find more information on our website. Insuring your business - Key Points What does general liability cover? How Hans got into trouble over an insurance policy. As your business grows, and at least once annually, update your insurance agent to help. you determine whether or not you are still adequately insured. Less than 10% of active businesses have cyber liability. When would you need cyber liability insurance? Small businesses are just as susceptible as large corporations to cyber-crime. One in three businesses will get sued. When a breach occurs, the cost of sorting it out and subsequently complying with regulation could shut down a small business. Cyber liability is new territory for insurance companies, but they are developing products to meet your needs. Professional liability and cyber liability are a higher risk to the business than general liability. Your insurance policy is a working document that evolves as your business evolves. When starting a business, take time to set it on a solid foundation. This is worth listening to! Links The Andrew Agency Telephone: +1 804-320-2886 If you have not checked out all of our free resources available to you. Click here for our site. Here are some of our featured free resources. How Can I Organize My Financials? Should I Have A Business Plan? What Steps Should I Take Towards Branding? How Can Marketing Bring In More Clients? The Start-Up Checklist What Type Of Corporation Should I Be? Things To Consider When Scaling A Business

El éxito y futuro de su negocio también dependerán de que tan bien lo protege de circunstancias inesperadas. Las pólizas de seguro de General Liability y Workers Compensation van mano a mano para protegerlo de reclamos de responsabilidad civil o si algun empleado se lesiona en el cumplimiento de su trabajo. Como sucede en la mayoría de los casos, una vez que se hace un reclamo, la póliza podría estar sujeta a cambios o cancelación a la hora de la renovación, pero he aquí la importancia de trabajar con un agente de seguros independiente como Seguros Latorre que le ayudará a buscar alternativas entre los diferentes proveedores de seguro hasta conseguir la póliza correcta para su negocio.  

La póliza de Genetal Liability o de daños a terceros es muy importante para el éxito y crecimiento de su negocio, igualmente lo es la de Workers Compensation. Estas pólizas de seguro las va a necesitar para hacer cualquier negocio. Recientemente han habido ciertos cambios en la industria de los que necesita estar al tanto. Hoy hablamos de esto y mucho más.

No ponga en riesgo lo que tanto le ha costado y proteja su negocio con un seguro de general liability o de responsabilidad civil ante terceros que lo proteje de cualquier demanda legal que pueda recibir por daños o perjuicios a bienes o personas como resultado de los trabajos que realice.

Our guest today is Dorene Stockman, an insurance agent with the Owens Group, an independent agency. Dorene helped me get my own insurance policy, and I thought she was very knowledgeable and a helpful advisor on that process, so I asked her to be on the show to share her advice for independent professionals on the types of coverage we need to consider getting. In our conversation we discuss the types of coverage that are applicable to most independent professionals, namely: Business owners insurance – closely related to General Liability policy Umbrella policy Professional liability policy Privacy / cyber policy We discuss policies that independent professionals should consider getting if you hire an employee or engage a subcontractor, including Workers comp Disability Unemployment insurance For those independt professionals that serve on the board of a non-profit or for-profit, we discuss directors & officers insurance Dorene also shares tips on how to select a broker, how often you should re-quote your policy, and how to work most effectively with a broker. Dorene prepared a much more exhaustive list of policy types that are applicable to narrower groups of independent professionals – if you email me at unleashed@umbrex.com I’ll send you a copy You can find Dorene’s firm at owensgroup.com Reach Dorene at: dstockman@owensgroup.com

The guest on the show today is Ashlin Hadden of Ashlin Hadden Insurance. She is here to talk about an area that nobody wants to think about but that is really important: insurance. Even more specifically, Ashlin specialises in Amazon liability insurance and has some great tips for Amazon sellers to help them in this area. Ashlin’s Origin One day a customer needed insurance for an Amazon business because at that time Amazon had just introduced new rules regarding sellers needing General Liability Insurance. Ashlin’s initial response was no because people don’t really know what Amazon sellers do. Carriers didn’t want to work with them because they don’t really understand the industry. However, this customer was persistent and Ashlin did agree to help. Educating the carriers about eCommerce was part of the process. She has done a lot over the last 15 months. Now Ashlin focuses on helping eCommerce sellers get their Amazon liability insurance and proving to insurance carriers that you are good risks for them to have. Amazon Liability Insurance for Sellers Amazon used to require a general liability insurance policy if you had 3 months of $10,000 of sales or more. Recently this has changed, so now any seller must have a $1,000,000 general liability insurance policy with products completed. What that means for you as a seller is that you need a policy that has general liability and product liability no matter if you are private label, wholesale or retail arbitrage. A lot of people think they can’t afford it, but it really is inexpensive. If you’re a fairly new seller doing retail arbitrage you’re looking at about $500 a year policy. That might seem like a lot but it’s part of your terms of service to have Amazon liability insurance. If you don’t have it, Amazon could suspend you and take you off the platform, so it’s a very cheap policy to make sure you’re protected. General Liability vs Product Liability Insurance General liability is anything you do or say as a business that could harm somebody. Product liability is anything your product could do to harm somebody. It doesn’t matter what your product does if it hurts somebody or their property, it’s covered under the policy. General liability is anything else that’s not really included in your product liability. For example, if somebody says you slandered them, you stole their intellectual property. If you do get yourself into a situation like that, you would also need to call a lawyer. Of course, the person to call is CJ Rosenbaum because he knows about the nitty gritty of all of this. Amazon Liability Insurance Ashlin isn’t the only broker providing Amazon liability insurance, however, there’s not a lot that know where to get it. There just aren’t a lot that know what Amazon sellers do, how to class you, and really what coverage you need. From the 30 different companies, Ashlin works with there are only about 2 or 3 that understand and are comfortable insuring an eCommerce seller. Not only does Amazon require the liability insurance, they also require the Certificate of Insurance to be sent to them along with some verbiage on it. Ashlin takes care of all of that for you. She will organise a policy that meets the Amazon requirements. General and Product Liability, a $1M aggregate policy. She sends Amazon the required information for you so it’s uploaded onto your Seller Central. Plus she will do it every year moving forward so Amazon always has an updated copy on file for you! You get to sit back and relax and know that you’re protected and don’t have to do anything else with the insurance. Ashlin will take care of it. Amazon Liability Insurance Premium The insurers will take into account your sales numbers, where you’re from, what you’re selling and how you’re selling. e.g. retail arbitrage, wholesale or private label. Retail arbitrage is the cheaper one, then wholesale. Private label is more expensive because you’re really the one that’...

I had a ton of requests to clarify the types of malpractice insurance so here you go!  I did not get into the nitty gritty language of the policies because I didn’t want people dosing off (we’ll save that for another show) but I spend some time explaining the difference between types of policies including […] The post Episode 012 – Types of Malpractice Insurance, Statute of Limitations, and Why You Should Care! first appeared on The NP Dude.

Jeff Samuels of Founder Shield (http://foundershield.com/) joins us to talk Insurance for Startups. We discuss General Liability, Errors & Omissions, Workers Comp, and Benefits. It's an episode designed to answer every possible question a startup could have about Insurance.

Janey Nethery worked in claims for years before joining Michael Sullivan & Associates as Executive Director. Her experience as a client of General Liability and Workers’ Compensation law firms has given her deep insight into what clients want, what it looks like when firms delight, and yet how easy it is to fail. In this conversation she shares quite a few examples that reveal just how hard firms have to work every day at every level to get it right.

This Podcast Is Episode Number 0092 And It Will Be About Reducing Your Construction Company Start Up Stress We Are QuickBooks Experts Specializing In Construction New Contractor's Have horrendous Levels of Stress Did You Quit Your Job - And start your own construction company only to discover you need a contractor’s license and bond. Suddenly you realize it costs real money? Now that can be stressful!Did You Ask A Friend Or Relative - To loan you some start-up capital and they agreed on condition you become equal partners in your construction company. The idea was you would do all the work they would get half the profits and you politely refused, or not? This is getting very stressfulDid You Go To Your Bank - And they offered to give you a line of credit. They don't want to be partners they just want everything you own used for collateral. You say O.K. and then find out the interest rate is 24% (more or less) and they can call the loan due if you ever miss a payment and take everything you own?. This is getting extremely stressfulDid You Use Your Personal Credit Cards - And supplier accounts to finance your new business and perhaps you were not careful about what you bought? What To Do Next - You have never run a business. The only thing you know is your old boss was a terrible business manager and anyone could do better than that! But now that you are the boss you don't know where to start NOW THAT'S EXTREMELY PAINFUL STRESS!Are You Spending Time To Set Up - Your construction company properly so that it will save you grief, time, money and pay you dividends in the future? Or are you "Winging It"?Are You Taking Steps To Protect Yourself - With a Subchapter S-Corp (Sub S) to help protect your business and personal assets?Get Organized - We strongly recommend a Subchapter S-Corp for tax advantages, protecting your personal assets in the event of a claim or lawsuit against your company and for future expansion. Consult with a construction attorney and follow their advice.Tax Advantages For LLC or a Sub S - If you do not setup your corporation correctly the profit or loss from your business will be passed through to the owners as normal income. Since the LLC or Sub S does not pay state or federal income tax (as separate business entities), you may be able to save money over a Sole Proprietorship; eliminate double taxation.Partnerships Are The Only Ships - Designed to sink. We recommend stay away from them like the plague.Construction Bookkeeping Service - That understands construction is best when you start because they can setup QuickBooks correctly in the beginning for your construction company and take care of the accounting until you are ready to take over.Bank Accounts - Set up two bank accounts in your company name. All large income and expenses go through one account and keep the debit card in your personal safe. The second bank account is for your debit card you keep in your wallet and has no more than $500 or whatever you need for small purchases during the week.Never Ever Co-Mingle - Personal and business money or you could lose the tax benefits and personal protection of your corporation.Put Money In And Take Money Out - Of your business is O.K. if it is done correctly. Your bookkeeping service can advise you on how to do it so that it is recorded in QuickBooks properly. Understand When A Transaction Is Income - And when it is not incomeInsurance - Is critical to your construction company. General Liability and Auto/rental equipment insurance can help protect you and your company against claims for personal injury and property damage, and may provide you with legal defense of those claims. Talk to an insurance agent that understands construction about your insurance needs.Architectural or Engineering Designs - Similar services are good reason to get Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions) insurance to help protect you and your company from claims arising out of mistakes in designs and calculations.Contractor's Licenses - Information changes rapidly so check online for your local county or contact us and we can help 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com.Performance Bonds - If you are doing public sector work, you will probably be required to provide a performance bond to ensure that you complete the work in accordance with terms of the contract. Bonds or guarantees are provided by surety companies. Getting your construction company qualified is a process because the surety company will go through a due diligence process on your company to determine how much money they will write or guarantee for your bonds.Business Planning And Strategy Development - Is the blueprint for your business to succeed. You get out of them what you put into them. Garbage In = Garbage Out! Your business plan is a living breathing document that you will change and update as needed. It provides the baseline and milestones for your business and lets you make decisions in advance in the calm environment of your office instead of "on the fly" while driving, talking on your cell, eating lunch, and putting together a bid. It is a must have to borrow money from a bank.Paperwork - Begin the habit of putting all paperwork into manila envelopes which you write the job name on both sides in big letter. If you are thinking of doing your own construction bookkeeping think again, your time is more valuable in managing your business, getting customers and keeping them happy. Let us take care of your construction accounting.Estimating Process - There is no one right answer. You can develop your own estimating and pricing process or use a software estimating program like UDA.Contracts - We recommend seeking the advice of a qualified construction attorney to put together a contract that fits your specific needs. Your contracts need a well-defined scope of work, clear payment terms, a reasonable schedule and a good change order clause. No work should ever be performed based on verbal agreements. Get everything in writing, always, no exceptions! Invoicing - For small projects we have a Free Invoice Template you can download and for larger projects with multiple deposits, change orders, progress payments check out our Pay Application.Do Not Offer Financing - Your customer or client's project by providing a substantial amounts of labor, material, subcontractors and rental equipment hoping to get paid later on down the road. Follow McDonald's restaurant model: Step #1 Customer places order, Step #2 Customer pays, Step #3 Customer gets food. I have owned and operated several construction businesses and have clients who do it now and always work on "Other People's Money (O.P.M.). Nothing will kill your business and your hopes and dreams faster than running out of money.Marketing | Accounting | Production M.A.P. - Is a process that never stops. Selling convinces your customer or client to buy your construction services and it comes after the marketing step. Knowing how to write proposals for customers or respond to a request for proposal (RFQ). What makes your company different than the competition? What are your construction company's Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats? Perform a SWOT Analysis. Never ever bad-mouth your competition; it's temping but unprofessional and they might actually do a better job than you do. Year Over Year In Any Economy One Thing Never Changes20% Of The Contractors Earn And Keep 80% Of The ProfitsThey Have A Business Process Management StrategyTo Know Where To Focus Their Limited Resources   The 80/20 Rule Combined With Business Process ManagementCan Improve Your Life In Ways You Never Dreamed Possible!Fast Easy Accounting  The 80 20 Rule For Construction   Join Trade Organizations - This is a great place to meet new customers and get lots of referrals because construction is deep and wide and no company does it all. The best one we have found is The Master Builders Association. And spend time learning about Networking For Contractors. This organization is good for all construction and related industries. Labor - Can include yourself in the beginning, construction workers, subcontractors and labor pools like Madden Industrial Contractors. Subcontractors are specialty trade contractors that you can delegate certain portions of the work you intend to perform. Make sure they have appropriate experience, properly licensed, bonded and insured. It is important in order to maintain future long term relationships that pay dividend to pay your subcontractors on time and treat them well.Employees - Bring lots of flexibility and responsibility. Flexible because you can allocate resources as need and scheduling is in your direct control. Responsibility because someone has too process payroll and the payroll tax returns. You need to manage cash flow to have money for their wages, benefits you offer and any applicable state and federal withholding taxes related to their wages, such as Social Security, income tax withholding, workers Compensation and unemployment insurance. In addition you may be responsible for employee benefits such as vacation pay, health insurance, and contributions to a retirement program. With labor Pools they take care of all of that and you pay a fixed cost per hour or whatever you negotiate with the service. Check with your construction attorney and your liability insurance agent to make certain you are covered. Lessons You Will LearnThe Easy Way OrThe Hard Way Lesson #01 - A new contractor meets an experienced customer and money changes hands and not the way you expect itThe Contract Screwing - This is typical of what happens when you first get started. You bid on a project and you are the low bidder. You are given the client's standard contract, which contains the client's favorite set of commercial terms and conditions, to sign as a condition of getting the project. You close your and sign the contract because you don't want to ask for changes in the terms or consult your construction attorney. You put the signed contract in your bottom desk drawer and pray hard nothing will happen during the course of the project that will cause you to ever have to read the contract again.That Is Not What Happens This Is What Usually Happens:Poorly defined scopes of work create claims and disputes.The completion schedule is too short and exposes you to monetary damages for failure to finish on time.Payment terms put you in never ending negative cash flow by loaning the customer money at 0% and borrowing on your credit cards at 24%The customer keeps 5% to 10% of the contract price as retention for up a year or more after the entire project is finished which could be all your profit in the project.Indemnity clauses could make you financially responsible for bodily injury and property damage claims caused by customer negligence.Indemnity clauses could make you pay the customer's attorney fees and costs.Your insurance company may be required to provide additional insured coverage for the project giving the customer free insurance and full access to the policy coverage and limits.Oftentimes the term and coverage of the warranty is beyond normal industry standards.Dispute resolution clauses that require arbitration first and then litigation, probably the two worst ways ever invented to resolve disputes.The client's pre-printed final waiver of lien document (necessary for contractor to receive final payment) waives all contractor's rights to recover unpaid extra work and to pursue any claims that arose during the course of the project.Your Construction Attorney - Is your friend and ally and can save you a lot of grief. Most contracts are easy to read and understand.Scope of Work - Description in the contract is of key importance and a well-defined scope of work with details that outlines specific work to be performed by you, the contractor.  The scope of work needs to also define work that is excluded and all work to be done by others, including the owner, which may interface with the contractor's scope of work. Never worry about too much detail; that detail will significantly help with the avoidance or resolution of claims and disputes that may arise out of the scope of work.Schedule And Gantt Chart - Make sure you have enough time in the schedule to perform the scope of work. This is where every minute spent developing your Work-Breakdown-Structure (WBS) is worth an hour or more in time needed to do the work. Add Contingency To Your Schedule - Minor delays, weather, equipment problems, etc. always happen and do not expect the customer to be sympathetic and allow more time for delays. This is extremely important if the contract has liquidated money penalty damages for late completion.Payment Terms - Should need to add positive cash flow. Get cash coming in early and often. Paid when paid and paid if paid terms are ridiculous and we recommend not signing them ever! Clients who want these types of payment terms all have access to plenty of money and can pay you. Remember cash is king!Retention - Instead of retention being withheld from your progress payment invoices consider providing a warranty guaranty instead but check with your construction attorney first! Indemnities - Can be an open door to your cash reserves and everything you own, be careful! Indemnities typically cover claims for bodily injury, death of persons and property damage. The broad and intermediate form indemnities may require you to pay for bodily injury, death and property damage claims caused by the client, and you could be liable for the customer's attorney's fees and costs. Indemnity in contracts can be a dangerous risk transfer if enforced in a court of law could possibly bankrupt your company for something you didn't do. Again your construction attorney is the person to ask and don't be afraid to walk away from a project. Three types of indemnities: Broad Form:  A broad form indemnity contractually obligates you, the contractor, to be responsible for claims arising out of any amount of the client's negligence, including his sole negligence.  The 100% indemnity.Intermediate Form:  An intermediate form indemnity contractually obligates you, the contractor, to be responsible for claims arising out of the client's negligence, excluding only those claims arising out of the client's sole negligence.  The 99.9% indemnity.Limited Form:  A limited form indemnity contractually obligates both the contractor and the client to be responsible only to the extent they are negligent for a claim.Additionally Insured - Is a typical requirement in a contract that means something like: "Contractor will name customer as an additional insured on his General Liability Insurance policy." Understand that when you name your customer as an additional insured to your general liability insurance policy (bodily injury and property damage coverage) he receives full access to the policy monetary limits and coverage provided by the policy at no cost, FREE, $0.00! The customer may also receive the legal defense of a claim because your general liability policy for FREE!Warranty - Is a good thing because it shows your commitment to stand behind your work and fix or replace defective parts or workmanship. Standing behind your work with a good warranty will give you a very good reputation. However, warranties don't have to go on forever and you don't need to marry the project, one year is about right and perhaps you could offer extended warranties as well. Your warranty should exclude things like normal wear and tear, corrosion, improper usage, etc.  Make sure your warranty is specific as to what it includes and excludes, when it starts and when it ends.Dispute Resolution- Well defined and documented dispute resolution clause in all your contracts that outlines the process to try and resolve disputes with negotiation as the starting place and if negotiation fails, then mediation. If that will not work provide for a senior executive in each organization to try and resolve the dispute. If all else fails arbitration and/or litigation is the end and both parties will lose.Lien Waiver - Do not ever give a lien waiver in advance of the check clearing the bank. All 50 states have lien laws that provide contractors with some limited protection against customers that refuse to pay. Make sure your construction attorney reviews the original contract looking for the customer's final lien wavier that could be hidden deep in the contract documents. Some final lien waivers also waive your rights to collect outstanding change orders and/or bodily injury or property damage claims against your employees or property caused by the negligence of the customer so be careful.Board Of Advisors - Finally one of the best things you can do at very little cost is put together your own Board of Advisors to help guide you. Finally Find A Mentor - Someone who has been were you want to go and can guide you. We would like to be that person for you. Fill out the form on the right or call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com and schedule your no charge one-hour consultation I hope this podcast helps you understand that outsourcing your contractors bookkeeping services to us is about more than just “doing the bookkeeping”; it is about taking holistic approach to your entire construction company and helping support you as a contractor and as a person. We understand the good, bad and the ugly about owning and operating construction companies because we have had several of them and we sincerely care about you and your construction company! That is all I have for now and if you have listened this far please do me the honor of commenting and rating podcast www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast Tell me what you liked, did not like, tell it as you see it because your feedback is crucial and I thank you in advance. We Remove Contractor's Unique Paperwork Frustrations For Construction Company Owners who do not need the full power of QuickBooks for contractors and want 24/7 online access we offer Xero Accounting Online and we have custom setup for construction companies. I hope this podcast helps you understand that outsourcing your contractors bookkeeping services to us is about more than just “doing the bookkeeping”; it is about taking holistic approach to your entire construction company and helping support you as a contractor and as a person. We understand the good, bad and the ugly about owning and operating construction companies because we have had several of them and we sincerely care about you and your construction company! That is all I have for now and if you have listened this far please do me the honor of commenting and rating podcast www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast Tell me what you liked, did not like, tell it as you see it because your feedback is crucial and I thank you in advance. You Deserve To Be Wealthy, Because You Bring Value To Other People's Lives! I trust this will be of value to you and your feedback is always welcome at www.FastEasyAccounting.com/podcast This is one more example of how Fast Easy Accounting is helping construction company owners across the USA including Alaska and Hawaii put more money in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. Construction accounting is not rocket science; it is a lot harder than that and a lot more valuable to construction contractors like you so stop missing out and call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com Thinking About Outsourcing Your Contractors Bookkeeping Services? Click On The Link Below: www.FastEasyAccounting.com/hs Need Help Now? Call Sharie 206-361-3950 sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com In closing, I want to caution you that we may or may not be a good fit for your contracting company. This guide will help you learn what to look for in outsourced construction accounting. Thank you very much and I hope you understand we really do care about you and all contractors regardless of whether or not you ever hire our services.Bye for now until our next episode here on the Contractors Success MAP Podcast. Warm Regards, Randal DeHart | Contractors Accountant We Remove Contractor's Unique Paperwork Frustrations

Let Us Help Reduce Construction Business Start Up Stress New Contractor's Levels of Stress You Quit Your Job - And started a construction business only to discover you need a contractor’s license and bond. Suddenly you realize it costs real money. Now that's stressful. Ask A Friend Or Relative - To loan you some start-up capital and they agree on condition you are partners in the business and each have an equal share. You do all the work they get half the profits and you politely refuse. This is getting very stressful Go To Your Bank - And they offer you a line of credit. They don't want to be partners they just want everything you own used for collateral. You say O.K. and then find out the interest rate is 24% and they can call the loan due if you miss a payment and take everything you own. This is getting extremely stressful Use Credit Cards - And supplier accounts to finance your new business and be very careful about what you buy. What To Do Next - You have never run a business. The only thing you know is your old boss was a terrible business manager and anyone could do better than that. But now that you are the boss you don't know where to start NOW THAT'S STRESS! Spending Time To Set Up - Your construction company properly will save you grief, time, money and pay you dividends in the future. In addition you will do a better job protecting your business and personal assets. Get Organized - Pick a company name that says something about what you are doing. We strongly recommend a Subchapter S Corp (a Sub S) for tax advantages, protecting your personal assets in the event of a claim or lawsuit against your company and for future expansion. Consult with a construction attorney and follow their advice. Tax Advantages For LLC or a Sub S - The profit or loss from your business is passed through to the owners as normal income. Since the LLC or Sub S does not pay state or federal income tax (as separate business entities), you may be able to save money over a Sole Proprietorship; no double taxation. Partnerships Are The Only Ships - Designed to sink. We recommend stay away from them like the plague. Bookkeeping Service - That understands construction is best when you start because we can setup QuickBooks correctly in the beginning and take care of the accounting until you are ready to take over. Bank Accounts - Set up two bank accounts in your company name. All large income and expenses go through one account and keep the debit card in your personal safe. The second bank account is for your debit card you keep in your wallet and has no more than $500 or whatever you need for small purchases during the week. Never Co-Mingle - Personal and business money or you could lose the tax benefits and personal protection of your corporation. Put Money In And Take Money Out - Of your business is O.K. in done correctly. Your bookkeeping service can advise you on how to do it so that it is recorded in QuickBooks properly. Insurance - Is critical to your construction company. General Liability and Auto/rental equipment insurance can help protect you and your company against claims for personal injury and property damage, and may provide you with legal defense of those claims. Talk to an insurance agent that understands construction about your insurance needs. Architectural or Engineering Designs - Similar services are good reason to get Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions) insurance to help protect you and your company from claims arising out of mistakes in designs and calculations. Contractor's Licenses - Information changes rapidly so check online for your local county or contact us and we can help 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com. Performance Bonds - If you are doing public sector work you will probably be required to provide a performance bond to ensure that you complete the work in accordance with terms of the contract. Bonds or guarantees are provided by surety companies. Getting your construction company qualified is a process because the surety company will go through a due diligence process on your company to determine how much money they will write or guarantee for your bonds. Business Planning And Strategy Development - Is the blueprint for your business to succeed. You get out of them what you put into them. Garbage In = Garbage Out! Your business plan is a living breathing document that you will change and update as needed. It provides the baseline and milestones for your business and lets you make decisions in advance in the calm environment of your office instead of "on the fly" while driving, talking on your cell, eating lunch, and putting together a bid. It is a must have to borrow money from a bank. Paperwork - Begin the habit of putting all paperwork into manila envelopes which you write the job name on both sides in big letter. If you are thinking of doing your own bookkeeping think again, your time is more valuable in managing your business, getting customers and keeping them happy. Let us take care of your accounting. Estimating Process - There is no one right answer. You can develop your own estimating and pricing process or you can use something like UDA. Contracts - We recommend seeking the advice of a qualified construction attorney to put together a contract that fits your specific needs. Your contracts need a well-defined scope of work, clear payment terms, a reasonable schedule and a good change order clause. No work should ever be performed based on verbal agreements. Get everything in writing, always, no exceptions! Invoicing - For small projects we have a Free Invoice Template you can download and for larger projects with multiple deposits, change orders, progress payments check out our Pay Application. No Financing - Your customer or client's project by providing a substantial amounts of labor, material, subcontractors and rental equipment hoping to get paid later on down the road. McDonald's restaurant model: #1 Customer places order #2 Customer pays #3 Customer gets food. I have owned and operated several construction businesses and have clients who do it now and always work on "Other People's Money (O.P.M.). Nothing will kill your business and your hopes and dreams faster than running out of money. Marketing Then Sales - Is a process that never stops. Selling convinces your customer or client to buy your construction services and it comes after the marketing step. Knowing how to write proposals for customers or respond to a request for proposal (RFQ). What makes your company different than the competition? What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths? Perform a SWOT Analysis. Never ever bad-mouth your competition; it's temping but unprofessional and they might actually do a better job than you do. Join Trade Organizations - This is a great place to meet new customers and get lots of referrals because construction is deep and wide and no company does it all. The best one we have found is The Master Builders Association. And spend time learning about Networking For Contractors. This organization is good for all construction and related industries. www.FastEasyAccounting.com/mba Labor - Can include yourself in the beginning, construction workers, subcontractors and labor pools like Madden Industrial Contractors. Subcontractors are specialty trade contractors that you can delegate certain portions of the work you intend to perform. Make sure they have appropriate experience, properly licensed, bonded and insured. It is important in order to maintain future long term relationships that pay dividend to pay your subcontractors on time and treat them well. Employees - Bring lots of flexibility and responsibility. Flexible because you can allocate resources as need and scheduling is in your direct control. Responsibility because someone has too process payroll and the payroll tax returns. You need to manage cash flow to have money for their wages, benefits you offer and any applicable state and federal withholding taxes related to their wages, such as Social Security, income tax withholding, workers Compensation and unemployment insurance. In addition you may be responsible for employee benefits such as vacation pay, health insurance, and contributions to a retirement program. With labor Pools they take care of all of that and you pay a fixed cost per hour or whatever you negotiate with the service. Check with your construction attorney and your liability insurance agent to make certain you are covered. Lessons You Will Learn The Easy Way Or The Hard Way Lesson #01 - A new contractor meets an experienced customer and money changes hands and not the way you expect it The Contract Abuse - This is typical of what happens when you first get started. You bid on a project and you are the low bidder. You are given the client's standard contract, which contains the client's favorite set of commercial terms and conditions, to sign as a condition of getting the project. You close your and sign the contract because you don't want to ask for changes in the terms or consult your construction attorney. You put the signed contract in your bottom desk drawer and pray hard nothing will happen during the course of the project that will cause you to ever have to read the contract again. That Is Not What Happens This Is What Usually Happens: Poorly defined scopes of work create claims and disputes. The completion schedule is too short and exposes you to monetary damages for failure to finish on time. Payment terms put you in never ending negative cash flow by loaning the customer money at 0% and borrowing on your credit cards at 24% The customer keeps 5% to 10% of the contract price as retention for up a year or more after the entire project is finished which could be all your profit in the project. Indemnity clauses could make you financially responsible for bodily injury and property damage claims caused by customer negligence. Indemnity clauses could make you pay the customer's attorney fees and costs. Your insurance company may be required to provide additional insured coverage for the project giving the customer free insurance and full access to the policy coverage and limits. Oftentimes the term and coverage of the warranty is beyond normal industry standards. Dispute resolution clauses that require arbitration first and then litigation, probably the two worst ways ever invented to resolve disputes. The client's pre-printed final waiver of lien document (necessary for contractor to receive final payment) waives all contractor's rights to recover unpaid extra work and to pursue any claims that arose during the course of the project. Your Construction Attorney - Is your friend and ally and can save you a lot of grief. Most contracts are easy to read and understand. Scope of Work - Description in the contract is of key importance and a well-defined scope of work with details that outlines specific work to be performed by you, the contractor.  The scope of work needs to also define work that is excluded and all work to be done by others, including the owner, which may interface with the contractor's scope of work. Never worry about too much detail; that detail will significantly help with the avoidance or resolution of claims and disputes that may arise out of the scope of work.Schedule And Gantt Chart - Make sure you have enough time in the schedule to perform the scope of work. This is where every minute spent developing your Work-Breakdown-Structure (WBS) is worth an hour or more in time needed to do the work. Add Contingency To Your Schedule - Minor delays, weather, equipment problems, etc. always happen and do not expect the customer to be sympathetic and allow more time for delays. This is extremely important if the contract has liquidated money penalty damages for late completion. Payment Terms - Should need to add positive cash flow. Get cash coming in early and often. Paid when paid and paid if paid terms are ridiculous and we recommend not signing them ever! Clients who want these types of payment terms all have access to plenty of money and can pay you. Remember cash is king! Retention - Instead of retention being withheld from your progress payment invoices consider providing a warranty guaranty instead but check with your construction attorney first! Indemnities - Can be an open door to your cash reserves and everything you own, be careful! Indemnities typically cover claims for bodily injury, death of persons and property damage. The broad and intermediate form indemnities may require you to pay for bodily injury, death and property damage claims caused by the client, and you could be liable for the customer's attorney's fees and costs. Indemnity in contracts can be a dangerous risk transfer if enforced in a court of law could possibly bankrupt your company for something you didn't do. Again your construction attorney is the person to ask and don't be afraid to walk away from a project.  Three types of indemnities: Broad Form:  A broad form indemnity contractually obligates you, the contractor, to be responsible for claims arising out of any amount of the client's negligence, including his sole negligence.  The 100% indemnity. Intermediate Form:  An intermediate form indemnity contractually obligates you, the contractor, to be responsible for claims arising out of the client's negligence, excluding only those claims arising out of the client's sole negligence.  The 99.9% indemnity. Limited Form:  A limited form indemnity contractually obligates both the contractor and the client to be responsible only to the extent they are negligent for a claim.Additionally Insured - Is a typical requirement in a contract that means something like: "Contractor will name customer as an additional insured on his General Liability Insurance policy." Understand that when you name your customer as an additional insured to your general liability insurance policy (bodily injury and property damage coverage) he receives full access to the policy monetary limits and coverage provided by the policy at no cost, FREE, $0.00! The customer may also receive the legal defense of a claim because your general liability policy for FREE! Other Things To Be Aware Of: Warranty - Is a good thing because it shows your commitment to stand behind your work and fix or replace defective parts or workmanship. Standing behind your work with a good warranty will give you a very good reputation. However, warranties don't have to go on forever and you don't need to marry the project, one year is about right and perhaps you could offer extended warranties as well. Your warranty should exclude things like normal wear and tear, corrosion, improper usage, etc.  Make sure your warranty is specific as to what it includes and excludes, when it starts and when it ends.Dispute Resolution- Well defined and documented dispute resolution clause in all your contracts that outlines the process to try and resolve disputes with negotiation as the starting place and if negotiation fails, then mediation. If that will not work provide for a senior executive in each organization to try and resolve the dispute. If all else fails arbitration and/or litigation is the end and both parties will lose. Lien Waiver - Do not ever give a lien waiver in advance of the check clearing the bank. All 50 states have lien laws that provide contractors with some limited protection against customers that refuse to pay. Make sure your construction attorney reviews the original contract looking for the customer's final lien wavier that could be hidden deep in the contract documents. Some final lien waivers also waive your rights to collect outstanding change orders and/or bodily injury or property damage claims against your employees or property caused by the negligence of the customer so be careful. Board Of Advisors - Finally one of the best things you can do at very little cost is put together your own Board of Advisors to help guide you. Find A Mentor - Someone who has been were you want to go and can guide you. We would like to be that person for you. Call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com and schedule your no charge one-hour consultation For Construction Company Owners who do not need the full power of QuickBooks for contractors and want 24/7 online access we offer Xero Accounting Online and we have custom setup for construction companies. Click Here For More. This is one more example of how Fast Easy Accounting is helping construction company owners just like you put more money in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. Construction accounting is not rocket science; it is a lot harder than that and a lot more valuable to construction contractors like you so stop missing out and call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com Thinking About Outsourcing Your Contractors Bookkeeping Services? Click On The Link Below: www.FastEasyAccounting.com/hs Need Help Now? Call Sharie 206-361-3950 sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com

Let Us Help Reduce Construction Business Start Up Stress New Contractor's Levels of Stress You Quit Your Job - And started a construction business only to discover you need a contractor’s license and bond. Suddenly you realize it costs real money. Now that's stressful. Ask A Friend Or Relative - To loan you some start-up capital and they agree on condition you are partners in the business and each have an equal share. You do all the work they get half the profits and you politely refuse. This is getting very stressful Go To Your Bank - And they offer you a line of credit. They don't want to be partners they just want everything you own used for collateral. You say O.K. and then find out the interest rate is 24% and they can call the loan due if you miss a payment and take everything you own. This is getting extremely stressful Use Credit Cards - And supplier accounts to finance your new business and be very careful about what you buy. What To Do Next - You have never run a business. The only thing you know is your old boss was a terrible business manager and anyone could do better than that. But now that you are the boss you don't know where to start NOW THAT'S STRESS! Spending Time To Set Up - Your construction company properly will save you grief, time, money and pay you dividends in the future. In addition you will do a better job protecting your business and personal assets. Get Organized - Pick a company name that says something about what you are doing. We strongly recommend a Subchapter S Corp (a Sub S) for tax advantages, protecting your personal assets in the event of a claim or lawsuit against your company and for future expansion. Consult with a construction attorney and follow their advice. Tax Advantages For LLC or a Sub S - The profit or loss from your business is passed through to the owners as normal income. Since the LLC or Sub S does not pay state or federal income tax (as separate business entities), you may be able to save money over a Sole Proprietorship; no double taxation. Partnerships Are The Only Ships - Designed to sink. We recommend stay away from them like the plague. Bookkeeping Service - That understands construction is best when you start because we can setup QuickBooks correctly in the beginning and take care of the accounting until you are ready to take over. Bank Accounts - Set up two bank accounts in your company name. All large income and expenses go through one account and keep the debit card in your personal safe. The second bank account is for your debit card you keep in your wallet and has no more than $500 or whatever you need for small purchases during the week. Never Co-Mingle - Personal and business money or you could lose the tax benefits and personal protection of your corporation. Put Money In And Take Money Out - Of your business is O.K. in done correctly. Your bookkeeping service can advise you on how to do it so that it is recorded in QuickBooks properly. Insurance - Is critical to your construction company. General Liability and Auto/rental equipment insurance can help protect you and your company against claims for personal injury and property damage, and may provide you with legal defense of those claims. Talk to an insurance agent that understands construction about your insurance needs. Architectural or Engineering Designs - Similar services are good reason to get Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions) insurance to help protect you and your company from claims arising out of mistakes in designs and calculations. Contractor's Licenses - Information changes rapidly so check online for your local county or contact us and we can help 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com. Performance Bonds - If you are doing public sector work you will probably be required to provide a performance bond to ensure that you complete the work in accordance with terms of the contract. Bonds or guarantees are provided by surety companies. Getting your construction company qualified is a process because the surety company will go through a due diligence process on your company to determine how much money they will write or guarantee for your bonds. Business Planning And Strategy Development - Is the blueprint for your business to succeed. You get out of them what you put into them. Garbage In = Garbage Out! Your business plan is a living breathing document that you will change and update as needed. It provides the baseline and milestones for your business and lets you make decisions in advance in the calm environment of your office instead of "on the fly" while driving, talking on your cell, eating lunch, and putting together a bid. It is a must have to borrow money from a bank. Paperwork - Begin the habit of putting all paperwork into manila envelopes which you write the job name on both sides in big letter. If you are thinking of doing your own bookkeeping think again, your time is more valuable in managing your business, getting customers and keeping them happy. Let us take care of your accounting. Estimating Process - There is no one right answer. You can develop your own estimating and pricing process or you can use something like UDA. Contracts - We recommend seeking the advice of a qualified construction attorney to put together a contract that fits your specific needs. Your contracts need a well-defined scope of work, clear payment terms, a reasonable schedule and a good change order clause. No work should ever be performed based on verbal agreements. Get everything in writing, always, no exceptions! Invoicing - For small projects we have a Free Invoice Template you can download and for larger projects with multiple deposits, change orders, progress payments check out our Pay Application. No Financing - Your customer or client's project by providing a substantial amounts of labor, material, subcontractors and rental equipment hoping to get paid later on down the road. McDonald's restaurant model: #1 Customer places order #2 Customer pays #3 Customer gets food. I have owned and operated several construction businesses and have clients who do it now and always work on "Other People's Money (O.P.M.). Nothing will kill your business and your hopes and dreams faster than running out of money. Marketing Then Sales - Is a process that never stops. Selling convinces your customer or client to buy your construction services and it comes after the marketing step. Knowing how to write proposals for customers or respond to a request for proposal (RFQ). What makes your company different than the competition? What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths? Perform a SWOT Analysis. Never ever bad-mouth your competition; it's temping but unprofessional and they might actually do a better job than you do. Join Trade Organizations - This is a great place to meet new customers and get lots of referrals because construction is deep and wide and no company does it all. The best one we have found is The Master Builders Association. And spend time learning about Networking For Contractors. This organization is good for all construction and related industries. www.FastEasyAccounting.com/mba Labor - Can include yourself in the beginning, construction workers, subcontractors and labor pools like Madden Industrial Contractors. Subcontractors are specialty trade contractors that you can delegate certain portions of the work you intend to perform. Make sure they have appropriate experience, properly licensed, bonded and insured. It is important in order to maintain future long term relationships that pay dividend to pay your subcontractors on time and treat them well. Employees - Bring lots of flexibility and responsibility. Flexible because you can allocate resources as need and scheduling is in your direct control. Responsibility because someone has too process payroll and the payroll tax returns. You need to manage cash flow to have money for their wages, benefits you offer and any applicable state and federal withholding taxes related to their wages, such as Social Security, income tax withholding, workers Compensation and unemployment insurance. In addition you may be responsible for employee benefits such as vacation pay, health insurance, and contributions to a retirement program. With labor Pools they take care of all of that and you pay a fixed cost per hour or whatever you negotiate with the service. Check with your construction attorney and your liability insurance agent to make certain you are covered. Lessons You Will Learn The Easy Way Or The Hard Way Lesson #01 - A new contractor meets an experienced customer and money changes hands and not the way you expect it The Contract Abuse - This is typical of what happens when you first get started. You bid on a project and you are the low bidder. You are given the client's standard contract, which contains the client's favorite set of commercial terms and conditions, to sign as a condition of getting the project. You close your and sign the contract because you don't want to ask for changes in the terms or consult your construction attorney. You put the signed contract in your bottom desk drawer and pray hard nothing will happen during the course of the project that will cause you to ever have to read the contract again. That Is Not What Happens This Is What Usually Happens: Poorly defined scopes of work create claims and disputes. The completion schedule is too short and exposes you to monetary damages for failure to finish on time. Payment terms put you in never ending negative cash flow by loaning the customer money at 0% and borrowing on your credit cards at 24% The customer keeps 5% to 10% of the contract price as retention for up a year or more after the entire project is finished which could be all your profit in the project. Indemnity clauses could make you financially responsible for bodily injury and property damage claims caused by customer negligence. Indemnity clauses could make you pay the customer's attorney fees and costs. Your insurance company may be required to provide additional insured coverage for the project giving the customer free insurance and full access to the policy coverage and limits. Oftentimes the term and coverage of the warranty is beyond normal industry standards. Dispute resolution clauses that require arbitration first and then litigation, probably the two worst ways ever invented to resolve disputes. The client's pre-printed final waiver of lien document (necessary for contractor to receive final payment) waives all contractor's rights to recover unpaid extra work and to pursue any claims that arose during the course of the project. Your Construction Attorney - Is your friend and ally and can save you a lot of grief. Most contracts are easy to read and understand. Scope of Work - Description in the contract is of key importance and a well-defined scope of work with details that outlines specific work to be performed by you, the contractor.  The scope of work needs to also define work that is excluded and all work to be done by others, including the owner, which may interface with the contractor's scope of work. Never worry about too much detail; that detail will significantly help with the avoidance or resolution of claims and disputes that may arise out of the scope of work.Schedule And Gantt Chart - Make sure you have enough time in the schedule to perform the scope of work. This is where every minute spent developing your Work-Breakdown-Structure (WBS) is worth an hour or more in time needed to do the work. Add Contingency To Your Schedule - Minor delays, weather, equipment problems, etc. always happen and do not expect the customer to be sympathetic and allow more time for delays. This is extremely important if the contract has liquidated money penalty damages for late completion. Payment Terms - Should need to add positive cash flow. Get cash coming in early and often. Paid when paid and paid if paid terms are ridiculous and we recommend not signing them ever! Clients who want these types of payment terms all have access to plenty of money and can pay you. Remember cash is king! Retention - Instead of retention being withheld from your progress payment invoices consider providing a warranty guaranty instead but check with your construction attorney first! Indemnities - Can be an open door to your cash reserves and everything you own, be careful! Indemnities typically cover claims for bodily injury, death of persons and property damage. The broad and intermediate form indemnities may require you to pay for bodily injury, death and property damage claims caused by the client, and you could be liable for the customer's attorney's fees and costs. Indemnity in contracts can be a dangerous risk transfer if enforced in a court of law could possibly bankrupt your company for something you didn't do. Again your construction attorney is the person to ask and don't be afraid to walk away from a project.  Three types of indemnities: Broad Form:  A broad form indemnity contractually obligates you, the contractor, to be responsible for claims arising out of any amount of the client's negligence, including his sole negligence.  The 100% indemnity. Intermediate Form:  An intermediate form indemnity contractually obligates you, the contractor, to be responsible for claims arising out of the client's negligence, excluding only those claims arising out of the client's sole negligence.  The 99.9% indemnity. Limited Form:  A limited form indemnity contractually obligates both the contractor and the client to be responsible only to the extent they are negligent for a claim.Additionally Insured - Is a typical requirement in a contract that means something like: "Contractor will name customer as an additional insured on his General Liability Insurance policy." Understand that when you name your customer as an additional insured to your general liability insurance policy (bodily injury and property damage coverage) he receives full access to the policy monetary limits and coverage provided by the policy at no cost, FREE, $0.00! The customer may also receive the legal defense of a claim because your general liability policy for FREE! Other Things To Be Aware Of: Warranty - Is a good thing because it shows your commitment to stand behind your work and fix or replace defective parts or workmanship. Standing behind your work with a good warranty will give you a very good reputation. However, warranties don't have to go on forever and you don't need to marry the project, one year is about right and perhaps you could offer extended warranties as well. Your warranty should exclude things like normal wear and tear, corrosion, improper usage, etc.  Make sure your warranty is specific as to what it includes and excludes, when it starts and when it ends.Dispute Resolution- Well defined and documented dispute resolution clause in all your contracts that outlines the process to try and resolve disputes with negotiation as the starting place and if negotiation fails, then mediation. If that will not work provide for a senior executive in each organization to try and resolve the dispute. If all else fails arbitration and/or litigation is the end and both parties will lose. Lien Waiver - Do not ever give a lien waiver in advance of the check clearing the bank. All 50 states have lien laws that provide contractors with some limited protection against customers that refuse to pay. Make sure your construction attorney reviews the original contract looking for the customer's final lien wavier that could be hidden deep in the contract documents. Some final lien waivers also waive your rights to collect outstanding change orders and/or bodily injury or property damage claims against your employees or property caused by the negligence of the customer so be careful. Board Of Advisors - Finally one of the best things you can do at very little cost is put together your own Board of Advisors to help guide you. Find A Mentor - Someone who has been were you want to go and can guide you. We would like to be that person for you. Call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com and schedule your no charge one-hour consultation For Construction Company Owners who do not need the full power of QuickBooks for contractors and want 24/7 online access we offer Xero Accounting Online and we have custom setup for construction companies. Click Here For More. This is one more example of how Fast Easy Accounting is helping construction company owners just like you put more money in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. Construction accounting is not rocket science; it is a lot harder than that and a lot more valuable to construction contractors like you so stop missing out and call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com Thinking About Outsourcing Your Contractors Bookkeeping Services? Click On The Link Below: www.FastEasyAccounting.com/hs Need Help Now? Call Sharie 206-361-3950 sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com

Let Us Help Reduce Construction Business Start Up Stress New Contractor's Levels of Stress You Quit Your Job - And started a construction business only to discover you need a contractor’s license and bond. Suddenly you realize it costs real money. Now that's stressful. Ask A Friend Or Relative - To loan you some start-up capital and they agree on condition you are partners in the business and each have an equal share. You do all the work they get half the profits and you politely refuse. This is getting very stressful Go To Your Bank - And they offer you a line of credit. They don't want to be partners they just want everything you own used for collateral. You say O.K. and then find out the interest rate is 24% and they can call the loan due if you miss a payment and take everything you own. This is getting extremely stressful Use Credit Cards - And supplier accounts to finance your new business and be very careful about what you buy. What To Do Next - You have never run a business. The only thing you know is your old boss was a terrible business manager and anyone could do better than that. But now that you are the boss you don't know where to start NOW THAT'S STRESS! Spending Time To Set Up - Your construction company properly will save you grief, time, money and pay you dividends in the future. In addition you will do a better job protecting your business and personal assets. Get Organized - Pick a company name that says something about what you are doing. We strongly recommend a Subchapter S Corp (a Sub S) for tax advantages, protecting your personal assets in the event of a claim or lawsuit against your company and for future expansion. Consult with a construction attorney and follow their advice. Tax Advantages For LLC or a Sub S - The profit or loss from your business is passed through to the owners as normal income. Since the LLC or Sub S does not pay state or federal income tax (as separate business entities), you may be able to save money over a Sole Proprietorship; no double taxation. Partnerships Are The Only Ships - Designed to sink. We recommend stay away from them like the plague. Bookkeeping Service - That understands construction is best when you start because we can setup QuickBooks correctly in the beginning and take care of the accounting until you are ready to take over. Bank Accounts - Set up two bank accounts in your company name. All large income and expenses go through one account and keep the debit card in your personal safe. The second bank account is for your debit card you keep in your wallet and has no more than $500 or whatever you need for small purchases during the week. Never Co-Mingle - Personal and business money or you could lose the tax benefits and personal protection of your corporation. Put Money In And Take Money Out - Of your business is O.K. in done correctly. Your bookkeeping service can advise you on how to do it so that it is recorded in QuickBooks properly. Insurance - Is critical to your construction company. General Liability and Auto/rental equipment insurance can help protect you and your company against claims for personal injury and property damage, and may provide you with legal defense of those claims. Talk to an insurance agent that understands construction about your insurance needs. Architectural or Engineering Designs - Similar services are good reason to get Professional Liability (Errors and Omissions) insurance to help protect you and your company from claims arising out of mistakes in designs and calculations. Contractor's Licenses - Information changes rapidly so check online for your local county or contact us and we can help 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com. Performance Bonds - If you are doing public sector work you will probably be required to provide a performance bond to ensure that you complete the work in accordance with terms of the contract. Bonds or guarantees are provided by surety companies. Getting your construction company qualified is a process because the surety company will go through a due diligence process on your company to determine how much money they will write or guarantee for your bonds. Business Planning And Strategy Development - Is the blueprint for your business to succeed. You get out of them what you put into them. Garbage In = Garbage Out! Your business plan is a living breathing document that you will change and update as needed. It provides the baseline and milestones for your business and lets you make decisions in advance in the calm environment of your office instead of "on the fly" while driving, talking on your cell, eating lunch, and putting together a bid. It is a must have to borrow money from a bank. Paperwork - Begin the habit of putting all paperwork into manila envelopes which you write the job name on both sides in big letter. If you are thinking of doing your own bookkeeping think again, your time is more valuable in managing your business, getting customers and keeping them happy. Let us take care of your accounting. Estimating Process - There is no one right answer. You can develop your own estimating and pricing process or you can use something like UDA. Contracts - We recommend seeking the advice of a qualified construction attorney to put together a contract that fits your specific needs. Your contracts need a well-defined scope of work, clear payment terms, a reasonable schedule and a good change order clause. No work should ever be performed based on verbal agreements. Get everything in writing, always, no exceptions! Invoicing - For small projects we have a Free Invoice Template you can download and for larger projects with multiple deposits, change orders, progress payments check out our Pay Application. No Financing - Your customer or client's project by providing a substantial amounts of labor, material, subcontractors and rental equipment hoping to get paid later on down the road. McDonald's restaurant model: #1 Customer places order #2 Customer pays #3 Customer gets food. I have owned and operated several construction businesses and have clients who do it now and always work on "Other People's Money (O.P.M.). Nothing will kill your business and your hopes and dreams faster than running out of money. Marketing Then Sales - Is a process that never stops. Selling convinces your customer or client to buy your construction services and it comes after the marketing step. Knowing how to write proposals for customers or respond to a request for proposal (RFQ). What makes your company different than the competition? What are your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths? Perform a SWOT Analysis. Never ever bad-mouth your competition; it's temping but unprofessional and they might actually do a better job than you do. Join Trade Organizations - This is a great place to meet new customers and get lots of referrals because construction is deep and wide and no company does it all. The best one we have found is The Master Builders Association. And spend time learning about Networking For Contractors. This organization is good for all construction and related industries. www.FastEasyAccounting.com/mba Labor - Can include yourself in the beginning, construction workers, subcontractors and labor pools like Madden Industrial Contractors. Subcontractors are specialty trade contractors that you can delegate certain portions of the work you intend to perform. Make sure they have appropriate experience, properly licensed, bonded and insured. It is important in order to maintain future long term relationships that pay dividend to pay your subcontractors on time and treat them well. Employees - Bring lots of flexibility and responsibility. Flexible because you can allocate resources as need and scheduling is in your direct control. Responsibility because someone has too process payroll and the payroll tax returns. You need to manage cash flow to have money for their wages, benefits you offer and any applicable state and federal withholding taxes related to their wages, such as Social Security, income tax withholding, workers Compensation and unemployment insurance. In addition you may be responsible for employee benefits such as vacation pay, health insurance, and contributions to a retirement program. With labor Pools they take care of all of that and you pay a fixed cost per hour or whatever you negotiate with the service. Check with your construction attorney and your liability insurance agent to make certain you are covered. Lessons You Will Learn The Easy Way Or The Hard Way Lesson #01 - A new contractor meets an experienced customer and money changes hands and not the way you expect it The Contract Abuse - This is typical of what happens when you first get started. You bid on a project and you are the low bidder. You are given the client's standard contract, which contains the client's favorite set of commercial terms and conditions, to sign as a condition of getting the project. You close your and sign the contract because you don't want to ask for changes in the terms or consult your construction attorney. You put the signed contract in your bottom desk drawer and pray hard nothing will happen during the course of the project that will cause you to ever have to read the contract again. That Is Not What Happens This Is What Usually Happens: Poorly defined scopes of work create claims and disputes. The completion schedule is too short and exposes you to monetary damages for failure to finish on time. Payment terms put you in never ending negative cash flow by loaning the customer money at 0% and borrowing on your credit cards at 24% The customer keeps 5% to 10% of the contract price as retention for up a year or more after the entire project is finished which could be all your profit in the project. Indemnity clauses could make you financially responsible for bodily injury and property damage claims caused by customer negligence. Indemnity clauses could make you pay the customer's attorney fees and costs. Your insurance company may be required to provide additional insured coverage for the project giving the customer free insurance and full access to the policy coverage and limits. Oftentimes the term and coverage of the warranty is beyond normal industry standards. Dispute resolution clauses that require arbitration first and then litigation, probably the two worst ways ever invented to resolve disputes. The client's pre-printed final waiver of lien document (necessary for contractor to receive final payment) waives all contractor's rights to recover unpaid extra work and to pursue any claims that arose during the course of the project. Your Construction Attorney - Is your friend and ally and can save you a lot of grief. Most contracts are easy to read and understand. Scope of Work - Description in the contract is of key importance and a well-defined scope of work with details that outlines specific work to be performed by you, the contractor.  The scope of work needs to also define work that is excluded and all work to be done by others, including the owner, which may interface with the contractor's scope of work. Never worry about too much detail; that detail will significantly help with the avoidance or resolution of claims and disputes that may arise out of the scope of work.Schedule And Gantt Chart - Make sure you have enough time in the schedule to perform the scope of work. This is where every minute spent developing your Work-Breakdown-Structure (WBS) is worth an hour or more in time needed to do the work. Add Contingency To Your Schedule - Minor delays, weather, equipment problems, etc. always happen and do not expect the customer to be sympathetic and allow more time for delays. This is extremely important if the contract has liquidated money penalty damages for late completion. Payment Terms - Should need to add positive cash flow. Get cash coming in early and often. Paid when paid and paid if paid terms are ridiculous and we recommend not signing them ever! Clients who want these types of payment terms all have access to plenty of money and can pay you. Remember cash is king! Retention - Instead of retention being withheld from your progress payment invoices consider providing a warranty guaranty instead but check with your construction attorney first! Indemnities - Can be an open door to your cash reserves and everything you own, be careful! Indemnities typically cover claims for bodily injury, death of persons and property damage. The broad and intermediate form indemnities may require you to pay for bodily injury, death and property damage claims caused by the client, and you could be liable for the customer's attorney's fees and costs. Indemnity in contracts can be a dangerous risk transfer if enforced in a court of law could possibly bankrupt your company for something you didn't do. Again your construction attorney is the person to ask and don't be afraid to walk away from a project.  Three types of indemnities: Broad Form:  A broad form indemnity contractually obligates you, the contractor, to be responsible for claims arising out of any amount of the client's negligence, including his sole negligence.  The 100% indemnity. Intermediate Form:  An intermediate form indemnity contractually obligates you, the contractor, to be responsible for claims arising out of the client's negligence, excluding only those claims arising out of the client's sole negligence.  The 99.9% indemnity. Limited Form:  A limited form indemnity contractually obligates both the contractor and the client to be responsible only to the extent they are negligent for a claim.Additionally Insured - Is a typical requirement in a contract that means something like: "Contractor will name customer as an additional insured on his General Liability Insurance policy." Understand that when you name your customer as an additional insured to your general liability insurance policy (bodily injury and property damage coverage) he receives full access to the policy monetary limits and coverage provided by the policy at no cost, FREE, $0.00! The customer may also receive the legal defense of a claim because your general liability policy for FREE! Other Things To Be Aware Of: Warranty - Is a good thing because it shows your commitment to stand behind your work and fix or replace defective parts or workmanship. Standing behind your work with a good warranty will give you a very good reputation. However, warranties don't have to go on forever and you don't need to marry the project, one year is about right and perhaps you could offer extended warranties as well. Your warranty should exclude things like normal wear and tear, corrosion, improper usage, etc.  Make sure your warranty is specific as to what it includes and excludes, when it starts and when it ends.Dispute Resolution- Well defined and documented dispute resolution clause in all your contracts that outlines the process to try and resolve disputes with negotiation as the starting place and if negotiation fails, then mediation. If that will not work provide for a senior executive in each organization to try and resolve the dispute. If all else fails arbitration and/or litigation is the end and both parties will lose. Lien Waiver - Do not ever give a lien waiver in advance of the check clearing the bank. All 50 states have lien laws that provide contractors with some limited protection against customers that refuse to pay. Make sure your construction attorney reviews the original contract looking for the customer's final lien wavier that could be hidden deep in the contract documents. Some final lien waivers also waive your rights to collect outstanding change orders and/or bodily injury or property damage claims against your employees or property caused by the negligence of the customer so be careful. Board Of Advisors - Finally one of the best things you can do at very little cost is put together your own Board of Advisors to help guide you. Find A Mentor - Someone who has been were you want to go and can guide you. We would like to be that person for you. Call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com and schedule your no charge one-hour consultation For Construction Company Owners who do not need the full power of QuickBooks for contractors and want 24/7 online access we offer Xero Accounting Online and we have custom setup for construction companies. Click Here For More. This is one more example of how Fast Easy Accounting is helping construction company owners just like you put more money in the bank to operate and grow your construction company. Construction accounting is not rocket science; it is a lot harder than that and a lot more valuable to construction contractors like you so stop missing out and call Sharie 206-361-3950 or email sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com Thinking About Outsourcing Your Contractors Bookkeeping Services? Click On The Link Below: www.FastEasyAccounting.com/hs Need Help Now? Call Sharie 206-361-3950 sharie@fasteasyaccounting.com

A major element of an effective risk and safety process is to reduce the level and the potential for injuries to employees, third-parties (non-employees), and damage to equipment, materials, or facilities. A number of questions need to be asked that include: Does the organization have a substantial history of injury and damage? How does it compare to its industry? What is the workers compensation loss history? What are the types and severity of the losses that are occurring? Which way are losses trending? Have you inherited a process that has loss-producing incidents trending up, down or flat? Based on the loss history, is the organization being targeted by regulators, lawyers and activist? You must have a clear understanding and knowledge of the losses that have or are occurring. While this may appear to be backward looking, your purpose is two fold in the development of a safety process – reduce both current losses and the risk faced by the organization to a level that is acceptable – Acceptable not just to management, but to employees and society in general. Your goal is to clearly identifying the quality of the current safety culture. You have located, hopefully, the loss data, loss analyses, accident investigations, and OSHA logs on day 5. Today, begin an in-depth review of the data. If your company has risk management/insurance personnel, set an appointment with them. If not, identify who handles the insurance program.  Find out as much as possible about the claims history from their perspective. Ask about outstanding/open claims, bad cases, incurred costs, etc.  Even in this era of data driven programs, many safety managers may not be taking full advantage of potential information from the risk/insurance department. Workers’ Compensation data will provide a wealth of information concerning the types of injuries, where they are the injuries occurring, as well as occurrence by time of day, day of week, month, department, by supervisor, incurred costs, etc. depending on the quality of the risk management information system. If your organization has a risk information system, try to get access and learn how to use it to develop special reports especially if it has ad hoc reporting capability. A combination of first reports of injury, accident investigations, loss runs and analysis can assist the targeting of your efforts to specific loss producing situations. The OSHA log and Workers Compensation data will parallel but not be the same. What may not be an OSHA recordable may be a Workers Compensation Claim. General Liability – This may not be a part of your responsibility but can provide further insights on operational risk areas that are harming non-employees. Incidents that harm non-employees may also be setting conditions that harm employees. If non-employees are being harmed by operations, the overall safety culture is weak. Auto Liability - As with General Liability, the same can be said about Auto Liability, except here you get four whacks – auto/vehicle incidents can injury employees and non-employees as well as cause property damage and incur legal expenses. Does your organization have a well managed and thorough fleet safety program? If not, you have another of risk to work on. Property – Another area is to determine if property damage claims are occurring. Who has responsibility for facilities? These reports can give indicators of fire protection and life safety issues and risks. Cost of Risk - Finally, try to find out the organization’s “Cost of Risk”. This is basically the sum total of all claims and insurance costs plus administration costs. It can provide another indicator about the state of the safety culture. If the “COR” is greater that approximately 1% of total revenue, you may have a serious problem – injuries and damage may be having an impact on the financial success of the organization.  Depending on the industry the COR can range widely. The higher the ratio, the less apt the organization is to have an effective safety culture. Presentation - As you develop your information, begin considering how you must structure any reports or presentations. Determine the style, format, types of charts, etc. used by the organization. While you may have a great style of presentation, the organization may have a style it prefers and already understands. Check with the quality control department as a possible source as they may be doing various analyses in formats you can use. Summary of Day 6 – Review and analyze the loss information in detail.   Begin to further define areas that must be prioritized for targeted activities to reduce claims of all types and control risk and hazards.