Law Office of Joshua A. Lowenthal, PLC

The Law Office of Joshua A. Lowenthal represents clients from all walks of life throughout the State of Michigan.  My firm has experience in all Estate Planning, Business, Tax, and Tax Controversy matters.  I represent taxpayers in civil litigation against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state taxing authorities.

Owner

myruck

General Counsel

Clark Hill Law

Associate Attorney

KPMG

Associate

Plante Moran

Tax Staff, National Tax Office

WHAT I DO: I help entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, and small business owners protect their brands and businesses, allowing them to protect their business, grow their customer base, and do what they do best. . . run their business. 

HOW I DO IT: I do this by advising my clients on legal structuring, and tax planning and helping my clients form business entities to protect their assets. 

WHY IT WORKS: When a business owner forms their legal entity and has lawyer-approved contracts with their employees, contractors, and vendors, the business can operate with confidence and purpose. In turn, this positions the business as a legitimate company ready to serve its customer base. Separation of personal and business provides authority and legitimacy. 

WHO I WORK WITH: I’ve worked with businesses of all sizes, new start-ups, companies with 5-50 employees, and Fortune 1000 Corporations. I provide clear, actionable ideas using my relatable approach to business formations and tax planning.

READY TO TALK? Reach out to me directly here on LinkedIn or visit my website www.joshualowenthal.com

 Areas of Practice: Business Formations / Tax Controversy / Tax Planning / Tax Structuring / Corporate Governance / Mergers & Acquisitions 

Social Links
•	Website: www.joshualowenthal.com
•	X: www.x.com/joshualowenthal
•	Facebook: www.facebook.com/mivirtualatty

Josh Lowenthal

On Saturday I'm wrapping up my three-part series on entity selection. 

Be sure to get on the list so you don't miss it:

➡️ smb.joshualowenthal.com

Lawyer ⚖️ | 💰Tax Planning | 🚀M&A | Helping you build your business empire by acquiring your next SMB.

Open article: The Law Office of Joshua A. Lowenthal, PLC by smb.joshualowenthal.com

The Law Office of Joshua A. Lowenthal, PLC

Just a friendly reminder that not all tax planning is good tax planning.

Lawyer | Helping entrepreneurs buy, grow, and sell main street businesses | Building a modern law firm at 7th Street Legal

I help acquisition entrepreneurs buy, grow, and sell small businesses.

In the past, you’ve had limited options. Large law firms cost too much money. Small town lawyers lack the experience. 

I founded 7th Street Legal to provide you with an alternative: Premium legal services, predictable pricing, a law firm designed for you.

Before founding 7th Street Legal, I worked in private practice, representing some of the biggest companies in the world. But equally important, I’ve spent years working exclusively with main street entrepreneurs.

Hal Stanton

Everything costs money.
And that includes buying a business.

Put aside your transaction expenses. Let’s just focus on the equity.

You need to put money down. 10% if relying on an SBA loan.

Want to buy a $5MM company? That’s $500,000.

Perhaps you can get the seller to agree to a seller note on standby for 10 years (which will allow you to treat it as equity for SBA purposes). You still need to inject 5%.

Again, want to buy a $5MM company? That’s $250,000.

Many people don’t have that kind of money sitting in a bank account. So they either look for investors or seek out a partner.

And that’s fine. Just make sure you understand what you’re getting into.

Investors are mostly concerned with IRR and a minimum return on invested capital.

They will want some veto rights over major decisions, and may offer relevant expertise, but they will otherwise leave you to run the company.

They are investing, in part, in you and your skills as an operator.

Partners, on the other hand, typically want a greater say in how things are done. They will have their own ideas and will want to implement them.

That’s great if you see eye to eye. But not so great if you have a disagreement.

So choose wisely.

As always:

1. Follow me for more insights into main street M&A.
2. Reach out if you want to discuss working together.

#MergersAndAcquisitions #Entrepreneurship #Legal #Searcher #AcquisitionEntrepreneur #7thStreetLegal

Forgivable seller notes are an essential structuring tool.
But they are not a panacea to all harms.

Why?

Forgivable seller notes reduce the debt you owe; they do not increase your cash reserves.

Let’s use an example:

- You buy a business with high customer concentration. 
- Your largest customer leaves without warning.
- Your revenue drops.
- Forgivability is tied to revenue,
- The amount you owe against the note also drops.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘮𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳.

If the revenue drop is large enough, you may not be able to meet your near-term obligations.

You’ll face a liquidity crunch, irrespective of forgivability.

This is why it is important to think through your mitigation strategies.
 
In the above example, forgivability is important. But equally important is the size of the note. 

Buying a business with high customer concentration requires the largest seller note possible.

You need the seller to have as much skin in the game as possible. She will then do what she can to make sure that no major customer leaves, less she forfeits a substantial portion of her proceeds.

In other words, mitigate with purpose.

As always:

1. Follow me for more insights into main street M&A.
2. Reach out if you want to discuss working together.

#MergersAndAcquisitions #Entrepreneurship #Legal #Searcher #AcquisitionEntrepreneur #7thStreetLegal

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The Battle

Josh Lowenthal

Hal Stanton

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taplio

The Battle

Josh Lowenthal

Hal Stanton

Followers

Posts

Engagements

Likes

Performance Score.css-goub6s{font-size:var(--chakra-fontSizes-md);font-weight:500;color:var(--chakra-colors-gray-600);display:block;margin-top:var(--chakra-space-1);}Josh Lowenthal's LinkedIn Performance

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Performance ScoreJosh Lowenthal's LinkedIn Performance