Posts

What Flags For Safety Does Your Wine Trail Association Wave?

/0 Comments/in /by

A couple of months ago, I had the wonderful opportunity to speak with Liz Stamp, cmsimg_1218058036bustourowner of Lakewood Vineyards, located in the Finger Lake Region of New York. Liz shared how the wineries in her area had joined together to safely handle guests participating in bus and limousine wine tours. Their goal was to minimize inebriation and inappropriate conduct amongst the tour groups. The Association’s wineries established a Safe Group Wine Tours Program wherein sponsors of the local bus and limousine wine tours are handed a Yellow Card (warning) or Red Card (access denied for the day ) if the winery believes the tour group leader is transporting unruly guests that may have had too much to drink. A Code of Conduct for Group Wine Tasting was created, identifying behaviors that would cause winery staff to raise a flag and refuse service to individuals or groups. These identified behaviors include drunkenness, damage to winery property, theft, rude language, exposure, threatening or aggressive behavior.

The wineries distribute the cards to the tour sponsor and document by way of an incident report, detailed information on the group’s behavior. The winery owner then calls ahead to the next winery on the trail to notify the tasting room staff that the flagged group may be headed their way. This allows the next winery owner on the trail the opportunity to decide whether or not to serve the group.

The Wine Trail Association has found the program to be well received by the local tour group leaders, Too, they have discovered that the practice has been found to be effective in curtailing poor behavior.

With numerous weddings, bachelorette parties and other local events planned throughout the year, this program has been found to be a useful tool in encouraging safe and responsible alcohol consumption.

If your winery participates in a wine trail association, perhaps your association may also want to consider safe measures to protect its establishments and minimize liability as your guests proceed down the wine trail. For more information, on the Wine Trails of the Finger Lakes Region, visit www.groupwinetours.com

Direct Wine Shipment May Soon Come To New Jersey

/0 Comments/in /by

The New Jersey State Senate has recently approved legislation allowing New Jersey residents to receive direct shipments of wine. If this law is enacted, New Jersey would join thirty-five other states that currently have legislation that allow direct wine shipment. For more information read: N.J. Gets Closer To Allowing Direct Wine Shipments With Senate Approval.

Is That Wine Or Hospitality Business Partner Really Your Consultant?

/0 Comments/in , /by

Do you already own your own wine or hospitality business and now want to merge your business expertise with those of another? Have you contemplated a new business venture with another businesshandshakepartnership person that you think offers promise for you both?

Perhaps you’ve identified a potential business partner whose business combined with yours makes practical sense while bringing a new and different business synergy. Maybe you and your new found partner have sketched out a few ideas of what role each of you intends to play in your newly planned business venture.

Conceptually, you may have wisely given consideration to formally executing a written Partnership Agreement. But before proceeding too quickly, you may want to consider another option. Ask yourself, is a Partnership Agreement really what you need?

Maintaining your own business autonomy while still collaborating with your new business partner can be achieved with a different choice. You may want to consider creating a different kind of business marriage by executing a Consulting Agreement.

Let’s say for example, that you’re a wine sommelier. You offer wine knowledge and expertise to a wide range of hospitality and wine business clients for a fee. Your new potential business partner wants to open a new food and wine bar, but lacks your knowledge and expertise of the wine industry. Combined the two of you decide your backgrounds are complimentary and together you can maximize your business opportunities.

However, you may not want to create a business relationship wherein together you share in the profits and losses of the newly conceived food and wine bar. Yet, you want to lend your expertise to the business, get compensated for those efforts, but still maintain your own separate autonomy for your own existing business. In this instance, executing a Consulting Agreement may be the right choice for this kind of business relationship.

Executing a Consulting Agreement allows you to define your terms in advance while assuring the other person that you will provide services to them in a professional manner. In these type of agreements, the responsibilities of the Consultant are defined in writing, identifying the expected work to be performed, anticipated compensation and payment schedules, start and end dates of the work, termination and dispute resolutions for the planned business arrangement.

The Consulting Agreement can set forth whether the Consultant will work exclusively for a single client and in what markets or territories. The Consulting Agreement is also a good vehicle to use to determine whether you and the other party can have a happy business marriage without the financial investment risks that often comes with forming a partnership.

So, when that next proposal for a business marriage with another presents itself, consider whether your winery, wine, event planning or hospitality based business really needs a Partner or a Consultant.

U.S. Wineries Continue to Grow During The Last Year

/0 Comments/in /by

According to Wine Business Monthly, the number of United States Wineries increased in the last year by 122 Wineries. Pennsylvania ranks among those states with more than 100 wineries. Read here for more information on this growth trend: Number of U.S. Wineries Continues to Grow, Reaches 6,223

Bring Your New Year In With The Best Bottles Of Bubbly!

/0 Comments/in /by

As a graduate of Windows of the World Wine School, how excited I was to see that my friend and teacher Kevin Zraly was on the “Early Show” this morning offering tips on champagne. I couldn’t let 2009 go out without sharing this episode with all my friends, legal eagles, followers and fellow bloggers. Season’s Greetings to each of you and have a wonderful prosperous Happy New Year!!  Enjoy!!

Watch CBS News Videos Online

Can A Rose By Any Other Name Still Be A Rose?

/0 Comments/in , /by

You’ve likely heard the saying “a rose by any other name is still a rose”. Well in a way that can be true in thewine and roses2 business world as well. Especially if you are considering giving your business a “fictitious” name.

Before establishing your winery, wine or hospitality based business, you will want to consider what name to use when forming your new Corporation or Limited Liability Company. While many business owners choose to operate their business under the name they put in their state filed Articles of Incorporation, you may choose for marketing purposes to operate your corporate entity under a name that’s different from the formal name listed in your Articles of Incorporation. Perhaps you have a catchy name in mind for marketing purposes. Or your own name is too long or not savvy enough for purposes of building your brand. If so, consider a “fictitious business name”.

For example, your may be planning to operate a wine event planning business under the name “John Rose Wine Events, LLC and subsequently plan to do business under that name. Alternatively, some business owners like to operate their corporations under a name that’s different from their individual name or formal legal entity name identified in their Articles of Incorporation. This is what is known as a “fictitious business name” or “dba” doing business as name.

For marketing purposes you may prefer to identify your business as “My Wine Sommelier”. Thus, you might alternatively establish your business name as “John Rose Wine Events, LLC, dba My Wine Sommelier.” You could then market your business as “My Wine Sommelier”.

In order to do so, most states require your corporate entity to file a “fictitious” or “assumed” business name and pay a fee. This legal filing allows creditors, customers, and vendors to know that your business operates under a “fictitious name” yet they are still able to identify you as the business owner. In order to protect your chosen name and establish exclusivity, you may consider registering your chosen name as a trademark.

So now, can a rose by any other name still be a rose? Well yes it can. Consider a “fictitious business” or “dba” name and you too could be the next “My Wine Sommelier”.

What Wine Or Hospitality Business Are You Creating? Forming A Limited Liability Corporation

/0 Comments/in /by

Do you dream of opening your own winery, vineyard, restaurant, bed and breakfast, catering, wine-based or hospitality business? If so, it is important for you to choose the correct legal structure that’s right for your business.type of business formation

In this series on forming your business entity, we previously considered the “Sole Proprietorship” , “Partnership” and “Corporation” as business entities. Knowing and understanding how each of these legal structures work enables you to carefully decide what legal structure is right for your dream business. In today’s post, we will consider forming the “Limited Liability Corporation”.

Limited Liability Corporation

The Limited Liability Corporation or LLC is a hybrid flexible form of business entity often recommended for a new winery, wine based, or hospitality business. How LLC’s are treated for federal and state tax purposes typically depend on the entity’s classification as either partnership or corporation. The properly structured LLC offers the combined benefit of both the liability protection of a Corporation and the favorable tax treatment of a Partnership. The owners of a LLC can report business income, losses, credits and deductions on their individual income tax return. Thus, the business entity itself does not pay income tax. This can be a tax savings where the owners rates are lower than the corporate income tax rate. Because there is no entity level tax, the LLC owners avoid the double taxation on monies that are distributed to its owners that often occurs with a C-Corporation.

A LLC owner is provided limited liability for its debts and obligations. Much like the Corporation, the LLC owner is generally limited with respect to tort liability. Each member is allowed to manage and control the business without risking loss of the member’s limited liability.

Forming a LLC involves filing Articles of Incorporation with the Corporation Bureau of the Pennsylvania Department of State. A formal written Operating Agreement is recommended which sets forth the LLC’s corporate governance provisions, including but not limited to, voting rights, shares, profit distributions, management structure, ownership and buyout schemes.

As discussed in the earlier posts of this series, different business structures provide different risks, protections, and ease of administration. What wine or hospitality business are you creating?

What Wine Or Hospitality Business Are You Creating? Forming A Corporation

/0 Comments/in /by

Are you considering starting a winery, restaurant, bed and breakfast, catering, wine-based or hospitality business? If so, when forming a business it is important to choose the legal structure that’s right for your type of business formationbusiness circumstances.

In the earlier posts of this series, we considered the “Sole Proprietorship” and the “Partnership” business entities. Knowing and understanding how each of these legal structures work will enable you to decide what legal structure is right for you. In today’s post, we will consider forming the “Corporation”.

Corporations

Incorporating your business can be complex and expensive. Forming a corporation is a way for you to limit your personal liability (with some exceptions) for the debts of your business that you do not personally guarantee. A corporation is a separate entity from the person(s) who own or operate it.  There are two types of corporations that are distinguishable based on federal taxation laws.   A “C-Corporation” is a business entity that is separate from its owners and must pay federal corporate income tax. Conversely, a “S-Corporation” is a business entity that does not pay federal income tax. Taxes for the “S-Corporation are paid by the corporation’s owners.  To form a corporation in Pennsylvania, Articles of Incorporation must be filed with the Corporation Bureau with the Pennsylvania Department of State.

S-Corporation

Electing to establish your business as a S-Corporation allows you to limit your liability as a corporate owner but requires you to pay income taxes the same way one would if they were a Sole Proprietor or Partnership.   For purposes of income tax, the income is considered earned by the corporation but is passed through the corporation to the corporate owners or shareholder’s personal income tax return.   To elect to operate as an S-Corporation, the corporate owner must sign and file IRS Form 2553.  Unlike the C-Corporation, which has a two tier double taxation structure, an S-Corporation tax bill is likely to be less and may therefore be a more suitable option for a start up business entity.   Additional restrictions apply regarding citizenship and shareholder size that may also need to be considered.

C -Corporation

A C-Corporation is a regular for profit entity that is separate from its owners and taxed under IRS corporate income tax rules.   The corporation files its own tax returns and pays corporate taxes on the profits accumulated in the business.   If the profits of the corporation are distributed to its owner(s), then the owners must pay individual taxes on the salary, bonuses, or dividends they receive.   This is known as the C-Corporation’s double taxation structure. When forming a corporation, you must follow certain corporate formalities. You will need to hold annual directors and shareholder meetings.  You will need to keep minutes of your corporate meetings and maintain good record-keeping systems.

As discussed in the earlier posts of this series, different business structures provide different risks, protections, and ease of administration.  In the next post of this series, we’ll consider the Limited Liability Corporation.   What wine or hospitality business are you creating?

Wine, Corn Dogs, and Nachos. Is This A New Way To Reach Wine Drinking Millennials?

/0 Comments/in /by

Value wine is apparently finding a place on the shelves of 7-Eleven stores.  Driven by today’s down economy, 7-Eleven stores is moving into the business of selling bargain wines to go with its new line of food staples.  As a competitor to the “Two Buck Chuck” wine, has 7-Eleven stores found a new way to reach today’s wine drinking millennial’s?  After all, this age-cohort can regularly be seen at 7-Eleven stores with corn dogs and nachos.  For More Details Read: 7-Eleven Plans To Sell Its Own Brand of Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon

What’s Your Plan For Starting A Winery, Wine Or Hospitality Business?

/0 Comments/in , /by

grand-business-planEvery business should have a plan. Too often, new business owners fail to commit their business goals and objectives to writing.   Whether your dream is to start a winery, open a restaurant, buy a bed and breakfast, or to create your own wine based or hospitality business, you need a plan.   A well thought out business plan helps you to determine where you see your business headed in the future.

Do you have a business strategy? Do you know who your customers are and where to find them? How will you try to raise money? What do you want your business to look like five years from now? A good business plan sets out your goals and tactics in a measurable way to guide you in achieving your dreams.

A good business plan at a minimum will address key elements:

Business strategy – What is the nature of your business? How will you describe your products and services? What are the elements that make your business a success? What is your geographical location? How consolidated or fragmented is your customer base geographically? Why and how will your business have a competitive advantage?

Marketing and Sales Planning – What’s your commercialization strategy? Who’s your target market? How do you plan to reach your customers? How will you gain market share? What trends and changes impact your target market?

Financial Information – How much income will you need? What are your sources of financing? Do you turn your inventory quickly or slowly? What are your sales projections? Do you have audited financial statements, profit and loss reports, balance sheets?

Management – What is the legal structure of your business? Are you incorporated? Are you a partnership? How will your business be managed? What is the biographical information for your directors/officers?  What are the details of the ownership or your company? Will your family members work in your business?

Operations – What is your company’s organizational structure? How much personnel will be required to reach your goals? What functions will your business require and how will they relate to the generation of revenue for your business? What facilities, equipment and supplies will you need? How will your operations change as your business grows? How will your business operate day to day?

Milestones – What factors will determine when you’ve reached and achieved your goals and objectives?  Are your milestones measurable? What are your short and long term goals? How will you overcome challenges and gage your accomplishments? How will you determine if you are on track?

As you can see, there are many factors to consider.  A well written business plan is your blueprint for success.  It will serve as your guide for your business vision months and even years later. A solid business plan can be critical to ascertaining funding and investors for your business.  A banker or loan officer will require you to produce a business plan.  Your business plan is your calling card.

Are you ready to start a winery or vineyard?  Are you ready to open your restaurant or wine tasting business? Do you have an existing business you want to grow?    If so, commit to writing your thoughts in a logical, organized way. The U.S. Small Business Administration has a useful guide to writing your business plan and a tutorial to guide your through the process.

Plan for the success of your business.  Create your business plan.

Ready…Set…Go!!