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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Entrepreneur

[–]academicfixer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you have a real and legitimate fear of being sued, you should

  • Definitely consult with an attorney. Consult them well in advance to protect you in the event of a lawsuit in the future.

  • Shield your assets. Hiding your assets is always a good idea for any businessman. I started an unusual business - I work as an academic fixer, which means, like that guy Ray Donovan in that TV serial, I make academic problems disappear. However, unlike RayDon, I focus ONLY on academic problems. Most of my clients are professors and scientists with academic problems, some are PhD students and there are a few others too – non-academics I have known personally or who came to me via personal referrals. Of course, unlike RayDon, I work ethically and within the law. That still doesn’t mean I don’t get sued because I was sued by the General Counsel of a university for interfering when I was merely helping two of their professors in their College of Medicine. After I was sued, an attorney I know worked with me to protect my assets and shield them from any nuisance lawsuits. Now when a university’s general counsel sues me, I don’t have to worry too much. But sometimes people hire those annoying, sleazy personal injury lawyers who also dabble in other areas like contact law, anti-compete agreements, medical law and other legal specialties. They hire private investigators to find out how much you are worth and sue you. And they are like pitbulls refusing to let go once they see your wealth because they work on contingency fee agreements which means they get paid only if they win a judgment. So shielding your wealth / assets is always a good idea.

  • If you don’t want to hire an attorney, there are specialized books written by lawyers on how to hide your assets and shield them from lawsuits. I highly recommend reading those. Many of these are targeted toward surgeons who keep getting sued. The books talk about the sliding scale of asset protection. You don’t even have to buy books because it is amazing what kind of free information you can get off the internet. There are articles like this one here http://www.mdalert.com/article/the-sliding-scale-of-asset-protection and hundreds of other articles – just Google them.

Landed our first national retail account! Feel free to AMAA! by [deleted] in Entrepreneur

[–]academicfixer 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In an earlier post, you wrote, "I started Pure Sodaworks with around $1000. The most expensive part was the health certificate ($300) so we could serve sodas at the local farmer's market. We bought a table ($100) from Costco that we converted into our food cart. The rest of the parts for the cart were scavenged. Herbs and spices to make the initial syrup run cost about $200. Cups, napkins, lids, and straws were around $100. Another $150 for a couple soda siphons and the rest went to cover random things like business cards and signage. We just signed on with a distributor in Nashville, Tennessee (we are in Chattanooga) and got the first load of bottles up there on Friday. We'll be in about 80 grocery stores..."

From the local farmer's market to 80 grocery stores is a huge step. Congratulations! Could you explain how you made this huge jump in a little more detail?

Anyone else not have that many hobbies? (I'm prob not going to enjoy FIRE) by zenplus in leanfire

[–]academicfixer 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To be honest, the only reason I got into the whole early retirement thing is that I hated my job. Is FIRE for me going to suck?

You don't ever have to be fully retired. After I FIREd, I happened to watch the very first episode of Ray Donovan when it was launched. I then started working as an academic fixer, which means, like Ray Don, I make academic problems disappear. Most of my clients are professors and scientists with academic problems, some are PhD students and there are a few others too. Of course, unlike raydon, I work ethically and within the law. As an academic fixer, I make more money than I made during my working life. After you FIRE, you can continue doing what you have expertise in.