Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with umbrella

I want to incorporate...So what's the deal with holding and shell companies?

emjay — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:11:20 -0800

I want to incorporate...So what's the deal with holding and shell companies? Yes, YANML and YANMA, I have appointments with a lawyer and a new accountant next week as I'm getting ready to incorporate and I want to educate myself before I meet up with them.

A recent Ask Me Fi Post What are the best books to read if I'm interested in incorporating a business? prompted me to consider other options.

A holding company is a bit different from an umbrella company, I understand this, but to what benefit is multiple layers of holding company(s)?

I just heard on the radio some type of public announcement for a radio station that had to declare it's interests (or something to that affect)

Radio Station WXYZ a subsidiary of f company, owner by g company, owned by h company, owned by holding company 1, owned by holding company 2, owned by holding company 3, owned by holding company 4, owned by holding company 5 and John Doe, owned by holding company 6, owned by holding company 7 and Jane Smith

ad infinitum

I eventually heard a total of 30+ holding companies, with occasional singles or groups of names thrown into the mix.

I think I can understand one or two layers for financial or insurance reasons, but What is the point of these layers? Is it very similar or different from a larger corporation breaking down the business into "Divisions" that handle different aspects? (Bob and Tom Corp, Outdoor Widgets Division, vs Bob and Tom Corp, Indoor Widgets Division)?

The main reason I ask is because I now run several small companies(sole proprietor) all doing fairly distinct business/services and all with their own websites and marketing but I'd like to expand a few of them in different ways like additional services or differentiated products based on the target markets. Incorporating everything and then breaking out into divisions was my initial plan. Would keeping them separate under a shell help in any way?

Since I do the majority of work and the people who work for me tend to all get paid from the same operating account, to what benefit is the holding or shell corp? (Everything I've done so far has been kosher for years with my old accountant and the IRS - unfortunately my old accountant is no longer able to perform his duties due to a serious illness) Could holding/shell possibly save me on taxes/insurance/etc?

Any other recommended reading or info?

Where do fly agaric umbrellas exist?

wo — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 13:15:13 -0800

Where can I find a mushroom umbrella for sale on the internets? More specifically, an umbrella that looks like the fly agaric. So it is a rainy day today, and I see a bunch of children with umbrellas. And I think to myself, teehee, they look like little mushrooms! Then a glorious thought occurs: wouldn't a fly agaric umbrella be the coolest thing ever?? So I get home and search the internets for mushroom-themed umbrellas, but they don't seem to exist. Surely someone has had this idea before... I mean, it's brilliant! At the very least, I'm sure Japan has them.

Thus I have come to seek assistance from the hive mind. Has anyone seen such a thing for sale, or is there a place that does custom umbrellas for cheap? Thanks!

Simple solutions include parking in a garage, having a doorman hold it.

subbes — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 02:06:04 -0800

Please teach me how to get into a car, in the rain, with an umbrella, without soaking myself. I can't seem to manage to get both myself and the umbrella into the car without all the water running down the umbrella onto my arm as I'm closing it, which nullifies the whole point of having an umbrella. Unless I close the umbrella before I get in the car, which means I still get rained on. This is more of a problem with larger umbrellas but still an issue even with the compact/tiny models.

Is there some magic trick? Other people don't seem to have this problem, according to Google and informal observation.

Detailed step-by-step solutions preferred, because obviously if I haven't worked this out by now I need a lot of help.

i'm wet, and it's not the good kind of wet

raztaj — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 09:48:36 -0800

So we've had about 6 inches of rain in the past 3 days, and I think I need to buy an umbrella. I've been prone to buying cheap, flimsy, small, black, boring, generally useless umbrellas.

I would really like to buy a sturdy, wind-resistant, attractive, non-boring-black, larger (but not obnoxiously "sidewalk-hog" large), umbrella that keeps me and my bag mostly dry.

There are people I see with AWESOME, cool-looking, gorgeous, fairly strong umbrellas. The times that I've asked them where they got their umbrella from, it was always some obscure store somewhere far away, a long time ago.

I live in the Boston area, and would love to find out if there are any secret cool umbrella-selling stores in the area, or any neato websites that you suggest, or specific umbrellas that you can recommend.

I prefer to *not* buy a compact one (I will forget it somewhere). Or one that is boring and generic looking. Is there such a thing as an aesthetically pleasing, yet wholly functional rain umbrella??

Where to rent beach umbrellas in San Diego?

JDC8 — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 11:57:43 -0800

Where can I rent beach umbrellas in San Diego (in downtown or near Torrey Pines Beach) other than Cheap Rentals in Mission Beach?

Tiny Accident, They're Claiming Injuries, How Screwed Am I?

jimmyjimjim — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 08:38:50 -0800

Tiny Accident, They're Claiming Injuries, How Screwed Am I? Last week, I had an accident. I was waiting to turn right behind a van, also waiting to turn. He went, then jammed on brakes. I braked, but couldn't avoid hitting him. Minimal damage for him, none for me. It was maybe at 5-10 mph. The guys in the van - who spoke no English - kept pointing accusingly at their necks and backs...while walking around freely, comfortably, and without any evident pain (and, no, they didn't need an ambulance). I, stupidly, did not photograph the back of their van, and the police report does not go into any description of how minimal he damage was to their van. I have on my to-do list purchase of an umbrella policy, but currently have $100K in insurance. So....if these guys do a number on their van to blow up the size of the accident, and manage to produce doctor's reports testifying to their utter paralysis, is there a chance this could go over $100K? I'm guessing they'll wind up settling, and that's usually $10-20K, right? I need to note that if there was even the remotest chance they were legitimately injured, I'd be really upset about it. But, no, these guys are just opportunists. I'm expecting a hugely overblown medical report.

Where can I buy a Knirps umbrella in NYC?

mkultra — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 11:17:58 -0800

Where can I buy a Knirps umbrella in NYC? It was another crappy NYC commute this morning. It was raining heavily, and I had my barely-functional $5 deli umbrella, which just really sucks. My friend, who just came back from Germany, arrived with a Knirps X1 umbrella, which opened bigger, collapsed smaller, and had that high level of construction that you find in a lot of German products. I never thought I'd feel something like umbrella envy, but here I am.

Where can I buy these stateside? Preferably in person, in NYC.

Umbrella Insurance

TheRaven — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 09:39:47 -0800

Insurance filter Umbrella insurance - good for them or good for you? My insurance company and, now, other insurance companies keep telling me how wonderful umbrella insurance is and how absolutely essential it is that I buy it. Googling umbrella insurance will get loads of example of insurance companies trying to sell it. But does the average homeowner (no business, no special situation) really need it or is it just another money-making scheme for the boys and girls in Hartford? If you bought it, why and have you benefited?

Please help me find a long-term umbrella

Quietgal — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 13:32:28 -0800

Can anyone recommend a folding umbrella that will last for many years? I'm tired of buying a new folding umbrella every 2 or 3 years because the previous one has kinked, bent, dislocated a joint or otherwise busted itself. It doesn't have to be the fancy spring-opening kind, or super-thin. I just want an umbrella that folds up to fit into a tote bag or backpack, that's capable of long-term relationships.

Brand names, sources, and personal experience (e.g., "my umbrella and I have been together for 9 years now") would be greatly appreciated. Thanks and happy holidays!

Selected Umbrellas

ChrisR — Fri, 20 Jan 2006 08:48:30 -0800

[UmbrellaFilter] I'd like to get one of those snazzy umbrellas as seen in the Windowlicker video (by Aphex Twin). Does anyone know if it's possible, or where? For those who haven't seen the video, it's an old-fashioned-looking umbrella, white, with the logo on the cover of Selected Ambient Works as shown in the link.

What's your favorite urban umbrella?

mkultra — Fri, 01 Apr 2005 09:31:31 -0800

I despise compact umbrellas because they never keep me dry. I also despise those large golf umbrellas people tote around NY, hogging up 3x more sidewalk space than they deserve. I'm willing to invest a bit in a decent umbrella as an incentive not to use it. What's your favorite umbrella, in the range of "better than a standard Totes compact, not as outrageous as a handmade british one"?

Is This Umbrella Fixable?

lychee — Fri, 31 Dec 2004 18:25:28 -0800

I bent my ~~Wookie~~ umbrella! (More has found shelter from the rain inside.) I just opened the package of a vintage umbrella I got on eBay. It's pretty obvious the umbrella was damaged during shipping; the pole is bent at nearly a 45 degree angle! It's a fabulous vintage plastic umbrella, and I would like to keep it, but it's pretty unusable at this point. The pole is metal; the umbrella is probably from the 70s or 80s. The bend is around 2/3rds from the top of the umbrella. Would it be possible for me to hammer the pole back into shape, or should I leave it alone and send it back?

Looking for this song

shotsy — Mon, 26 Apr 2004 15:41:02 -0800

Over the weekend I saw The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. I was particularly taken by the song "I will wait for you", and as I searched for interesting versions of the song I found a reference to one by Scott Walker. (More Inside) Does anybody know if this was ever issued on CD? The only reference I can find to it is on a 1970 Phillips release called The Best of Scott Walker. I can't find it issued on any of the four preceding LPs or Singles and it doesn't seem possible to have come from his pre-Scott Walker days as the song wasn't written until 1964... Any help tracking this down would be greatly appreciated.

Windproof Umbrellas

Vidiot — Wed, 17 Dec 2003 09:39:51 -0800

Do those "windproof" umbrellas actually work?