California voids non-competes almost across the board, but section 16601 carves out one narrow exception that exists only when a business is sold. Here’s what buyers and sellers need to settle before the letter of intent hardens, including where the covenant lives, bulk sales notice, and liabilities that follow the business instead of the seller.
The CSLB exam doesn’t cover the business side of contracting; who the license legally belongs to, whether your first hire is really a 1099, what your contract is legally required to say, and how mechanics lien rights actually work. This piece breaks down the five most common year-one mistakes that cost new license holders the most, in the order they usually show up.
Most California landlords hold rentals the way they bought them; in their own name. It’s easy, until a claim exceeds the insurance policy. Here’s the exact dollar math on what personal-name ownership exposes, what an LLC actually protects (and doesn’t), and the three pitfalls, due-on-sale, Prop 13 reassessment, and out-of-state LLCs, that trip up DIY transfers.
You got licensed, clients are lining up, and forming an LLC feels like the obvious next step — except for most California healing-arts professions, the law generally doesn’t allow it. This guide breaks down what the Moscone-Knox Act actually requires, who can own shares in your practice, and how to set up the right entity the first time.
Planning to sell your California practice, bring in a partner, or prepare for retirement? The legal groundwork for a successful transition begins years before the deal. Learn the key entity, governance, and succession planning steps that help protect your practice’s value and make ownership transfers smoother.
Physicians, therapists, chiropractors, and other licensed professionals in California generally can’t practice through an LLC — no matter what your filing service told you. Here’s what the Moscone-Knox Act requires, who can own shares, and how to fix an entity that was formed wrong.
You can call someone an independent contractor, pay them on a 1099, and both agree in writing that’s what they are. Under California law, none of that decides the question. The state does, using a test that presumes your worker is an employee until you prove otherwise.
Here’s how AB 5 actually works, why creative businesses get caught more than most, and how to check your own exposure before the state does it for you.
Heard from your CPA that an S-Corp election might save you money? In most states, the math is straightforward. In California, it is not. A unique 1.5% franchise tax on S-Corp net income changes the breakeven entirely, and most online calculators ignore it. This post shows you the real numbers, the real compliance costs, and when the election actually makes sense for a California LLC owner.
You filed your LLC. But is it actually protecting you?
Filing your articles of organization is just the first step. The habits you keep after formation are what determine whether your liability shield holds up when it matters most.
After 15 years working with 500+ California businesses, Chris Damelio sees the same five mistakes eroding LLC protection time and again. None of them are dramatic. All of them are fixable.
If you formed your LLC on your own or through an online service, this is worth reading before a problem makes it urgent.
You can file the paperwork to form a California LLC in an afternoon, for $70. Whether that LLC actually protects you — or quietly leaves you exposed — comes down to the parts the filing page never mentions: entity choice, the franchise tax that’s no longer waived, the operating agreement most owners skip, and the compliance habits that keep your liability shield intact.
