Stubbins Watson Bryan & Witucky Co. - November 2020

Take a look at this month's edition of the Legal Navigator!

THE LEGAL NAVIGATOR NOVEMBER 2020

FROM THE DESK OF Mike Bryan

Make Every Day a Celebration with These Odd Holidays

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

Daylight Savings Time Ends at 2 a.m.

A FRESH PERSPECTIVE

Look for Circles Day

Sandwich Day King Tut Day

Men Make Dinner Day National Nacho Day

Book Lovers Day

Cook Something Bold Day

This year was a mess. Many businesses were not prepared for the roller coaster ride that started in early 2020. By March, most businesses were told to close their doors or restrict access to the general public. As a result, many businesses struggled and some never reopened. There was a lot of bad news. But we’re not here to talk about bad news. We’re here to talk about good news: your goals to kick off the first quarter of 2021! There’s a good chance many of your growth goals for 2020 fell to the wayside. After all, you had more important things to focus on, like keeping your business up and running. No matter, it’s time to look at your goals with a fresh perspective and use the lessons learned from the past year. One of the benefits of steering a business through a pandemic is that you can better identify its pain points. What sort of worked? What didn’t work? What flat-out failed? Turn pain points on their head Start by evaluating your pain points, if you haven’t done so already. Shaping your first- quarter goals around these pain points means you can start the year off by addressing them. For instance, are there parts of your business that you can trim? Are there areas that need a complete overhaul? Maybe in 2020, you were carrying too much baggage. For instance, a lot of businesses were operating under the assumption that employees needed to be on-site to be productive. Because of this, most avoided the work-from-home model. Business owners just didn’t see the benefits or assumed it wouldn’t work for them. But in spring of 2020, many businesses were forced to adapt, and several lessons were learned along the way. One major lesson: Work-from-home is feasible and cost-effective.

9. World Freedom Day 10. Forget-Me-Not-Day 11. Veterans Day 12. Chicken Soup for the Soul Day 13. Friday the 13th 14. Operating Room Nurse Day 15. Clean Your Refrigerator Day 16. National Fast-Food Day 17. Take a Hike Day 18. Homemade Bread Day 19. Have a Party With Your Bear Day 20. World Hello Day 21. Last Saturday Before Thanksgiving 22. Go for a Ride Day

23. National Espresso Day 24. National Cashew Day 25. Day Before Thanksgiving 26. THANKSGIVING 27. Black Friday 28. French Toast Day 29. Square Dance Day 30. Stay at Home Because You Are Well Day

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A lesson in productivity Nicholas Bloom, a professor at Stanford University, researches productivity and has contributed to the body of research that suggests remote employees are, on average, more productive than on-site employees. In 2013, Bloom ran a study on remote workers; it looked at their productivity when they shifted to a four-day workweek while working from home. On average, productivity rose by 13%. Current data follows similar trends. In July 2020, Lenovo published a study on 20,000 workers who had shifted to a remote model in the wake of COVID-19. The study reconfirmed that productivity increased among those workers, with 63% reporting an increase in productivity (this includes completing more tasks on any given day, completing more tasks ahead of schedule, and being less distracted throughout the day). At the same time, many businesses reported that they saved money by shifting part, or all, of their workforce to a remote model. While upfront, short-term costs of this new setup can be substantial, the long-term costs (and savings) may be worth it. Fewer employees on-site may mean a business can consolidate space and save on rent, utilities, and taxes. What’s the final lesson in this example? Many businesses are deciding to go fully remote. Shifting to a remote business model might be one of your first goals for the first quarter of 2021. If you’ve shifted employees to work remotely on a part-time basis, you’re already halfway there. The next

step is to look closely at the numbers (costs, employee metrics, customer metrics, etc.) and work with your team to make it a long-term reality. Your next step What other goals should you be focused on for the first quarter of 2021? Consider how well or how poorly you weathered the last nine months. This is a great time to address any issues that may have come up. I’ll leave you with a few more questions and ideas to help you with first-quarter goals: • Was your cash flow decimated? How did a reduced cash flow impact your business? How can you mitigate this in the future? (Potential goals: increase business savings, find alternative sources of revenue, etc.) • Did you have to suspend products or services? What led to this suspension? Were these products/services useful at bringing in new or recurring business? Did they help your bottom line? (Potential goals: streamline or phase out products/services that no longer serve the same purpose that they once did.) Before you start setting goals, answer the above questions or other questions that the past year has left you with. Home in on your pain points from 2020 and focus on addressing those in the upcoming quarter. Turn those weaknesses into strengths and start 2021 with a fresh perspective and a fresh set of goals.

NO SHAVE NOVEMBER Can You Outgrow the Best Beard in Hollywood?

If you’re a man who’s made it through these last eight months of quarantine without succumbing to the lazy scraggle of an unkempt beard, you’ve got some willpower. But November is here, which means No Shave November is underway. If you decide to participate, you’ll finally have a worthy excuse to stop the upkeep. The goal of No Shave November is to increase cancer awareness by embracing hair — which many cancer patients lose — and by letting it grow wild for the entire month. Men are encouraged to donate the money they would typically spend on shaving and grooming to those causes that provide cancer prevention education and aid those fighting it. The cause has since blossomed into a yearly fashion trend among men and even women who want to participate by letting their leg hair grow free for the month. It’s a popular trend for celebrities to follow too, as their influence can help raise even more awareness than the average Joe’s beard would. Beard-growing has become an increasingly popular trend in the world of male celebrities, encouraging many to follow their lead. This is an especially admirable trend when it comes to November, and we can expect the usual uptick in beard growth. Every effort

that supports the cause is meaningful, but it’ll be hard to beat the current champion of Hollywood’s favorite celebrity beards: Ryan Reynolds. Just as Reynolds’ career has blossomed from raunchy rom-coms to hilariously inappropriate superheroes, his face has matured from approachably clean-shaven cheeks to a full and grizzled jawline. It’s a look that fans

can’t get enough of and proves that growing an eye-catching beard doesn’t need a ton of maintenance. We’re excited to see how far Reynolds lets it fly this year. But when it comes to No Shave November, it’s not the look of the beard that counts — it’s the awareness the beard raises that should take the spotlight. Whether you aim for a beard as enticing as a celebrity’s or just want to grow one for a meaningful cause, your hair helps. So don’t trim it, no matter how itchy it might get.

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Ice, Ice, Lawsuit Woman Sues Starbucks Over ‘Too Much Ice’

Sometimes, there is such a thing as “too much ice.” You’re sipping your cold beverage when suddenly, it’s gone far quicker than you expected. All you’re left with is a cup full of ice. It’s disappointing, for sure, but is it so disappointing that you would want to file a lawsuit against the company that supplied the beverage? That’s exactly what Stacy Pincus did in 2016. She ordered an iced coffee from Starbucks, only to find “too much ice” in her drink. The lawsuit, filed in Chicago, alleged that the drink was advertised as a 24-ounce beverage, but once the ice was factored in, Pincus and her lawyers claimed the drink was really only “14 fluid ounces.” “Starbucks’ advertising practices are clearly meant to mislead consumers when combined with the standard practice of filling a cold drink cup with far less liquid than the cup can

hold,” the suit claimed. NBC News reported that Pincus sought damages to the tune of $5 million against the coffee chain. “The plaintiff would not have paid as much,” her lawyers stated in a court document, “if anything, for the cold drinks had she known that they contained less, and in many cases, nearly half as many, fluid ounces than claimed by Starbucks. As a result, the plaintiff suffered injury in fact and lost money or property.” Starbucks’ response: “Our customers understand and expect that ice is an essential component of any ‘iced’ beverage. If a customer is not satisfied with their beverage preparation, we will gladly remake it.” The company also reaffirmed that you can order any iced beverage with “light ice” and receive half the ice normally included.

Interestingly, a second lawsuit against Starbucks popped up in Los Angeles a few months later, but both cases were thrown out. Pincus never saw a cent of that $5 million, nor did she recoup her attorneys’ fees. The case went on to be called “one of the most frivolous lawsuits of 2016.”

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CINNAMON-SPICED CANDIED SWEET POTATOES

These candied sweet potatoes will make your family beg for more!

Ingredients

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• • • •

4 lbs orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces, then cut lengthwise into 1-inch wedges

1 tbsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed

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4 (2-inch) cinnamon sticks

1 cup light brown sugar, packed

Directions

1. 2.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

sweet potatoes are tender and the liquid is syrupy, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand for 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon sticks and serve.

Place sweet potato wedges in a 4-quart baking dish. Sprinkle sugar, salt, and cloves over sweet potatoes. Dot with butter and place cinnamon sticks around sweet potatoes. Bake, turning every 15 minutes, until

COBBLER CRANBERRY ELECTION FOOTBALL NOVEL SAGITTARIUS

THANKSGIVING TOPAZ TURKEY VETERANS VOTING WINDY

Inspired by FoodAndWine.com

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INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Desk of Mike PAGE 1 Is Your Business Really Ready for Q1 2021? PAGE 1 Celebrity Beards Are Ready for No Shave November PAGE 2 Woman Sues Starbucks Over ‘Too Much Ice’ PAGE 3 Take A Break PAGE 3 Cinnamon-Spiced Candied Sweet Potatoes PAGE 3 Is ‘Glamping’ the Perfect Winter Getaway? PAGE 4

IS ‘GLAMPING’ THE PERFECT WINTER GETAWAY? Cabin Fever has Never Been so Stylish

When COVID-19 struck the U.S., travel restrictions had people canceling their vacation plans left and right. This meant that many would-be vacationers had to find some getaways a little closer to home — namely, camping trips and their fancier cousin, glamping trips. If you haven’t heard of “glamping” before, it’s essentially glamorous camping. You have access to the beautiful, rugged outdoors as well as all the comforts of home. While traditional winter camping certainly wouldn’t be a relaxing getaway for most people, glamping during the winter months can give you access to the peace of the outdoors like you’ve never experienced before without so much as a shiver or sniffle. If you’ve decided to make glamping your go-to method of escape from the cabin fever that besets us all during the cold, dark winter

days, you might be thinking: How can I make sure I have the best glamping experience possible? Luckily, there are a few tips and tricks you can apply to any glamping location to ensure that your time away from home is just as relaxing as that Caribbean cruise would have been. Step 1: Decide which kind of lodging you want. Glamping shelters come in all shapes and sizes depending on the level of comfort you desire on your trip. The most rugged glamping lodgings usually still include a wood-burning stove and a nice comfy bed, whether you opt for a log cabin or a specialized glamping tent (sometimes called a yurt). However, some of the more posh options include amenities like fresh linens, private bathrooms and showers, fully stocked kitchenettes, and even TVs.

Step 2: Decide how you want to spend your time. Obviously, the point of glamping is to spend time in the great outdoors with winter activities, such as snowshoeing, snowmobiling, and other fun snow activities. However, glamping really shines during the frigid evenings. You can retreat indoors, throw some logs in the stove, prepare some hot cocoa or cider, and just watch the snowfall from your window. There’s no right or wrong way to glamp. All that matters is spending time in the wilderness with all the comforts of home — all while feeling refreshed and at peace.