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MJ & Associates

Business Plan

Megan James

4880 Clark Street

Chicago, IL 65060

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Table of Contents

I. Mission and Vision Statement 3

II. Description of Services 4

III. Strategic Plan 6

IV. Technology Plan 7

V. Management Plan 11

VI. Marketing 14

VII. Financial Plan 18

VIII. Executive Summary 21

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Our Philosophies

Mission Statement:

-Our mission at MJ & Associates is to be your most trusted choice in attorney with the

highest success rate at an affordable, low cost for clients.

Vision Statement:

-Our vision is to be the most respected legal team serving with highest form of legal

representation to every client every day.

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PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

MJ & Associates will work diligently to prepare your case in the event of trial for the most favorable outcome desired. Not every case requires trial, but our phenomenal defense efforts project a clear message that we will not rest until justice for our client is achieved.

Our firm provides defense services for clients arrested for or charged with crimes in the related areas:

Drug Crimeso Charges involving one or more of the following of a controlled

substance/narcotic: 1. Sale 2. Distribution 3. Manufacture/Cultivation Trafficking

Federal Crimeso MJ & Associates has strong knowledge of the federal and state

court system and will work combatively to defend you. Sex Crimes

o Sex crimes are of more serious nature in criminal law and require extreme experience in legal representation of such.

Violent Crimeso Charges involving one or more of the following:

1. Murder 2. Manslaughter 3. Domestic Violence Kidnapping Battery/Assault Arson

We additionally offer services in:

Federal, state, and local charges Investigations once crime is discovered Grand Jury representation

MJ & Associates will strive to analyze the facts and evidence of your case to construct a substantial and forceful defense on your behalf. Our hopes are to completely diminish, or at least significantly reduce the consequences of a conviction.

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If you are questioning whether your specific case fits into one of our offered categories, give our office a call and we will gladly set up a free first consultation with one of our attorney’s to discuss how we can best meet your legal needs.

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STRATEGIC PLAN

STREGNTHS

-Being in an upscale area, the average income of clients consists of $69,565, meaning clients are well off and can afford our firm.-Clark Street is flooded with boutiques, high-end retailers, and many cafes which would be great for marketing our firm.-High student population creates higher property and quality of life crimes which will need representation.-Our attorneys are up to date on law structures, statutes, and software as recent law school graduates.

WEAKNESSES

-Because our firm is located on North Clark Street, we are located on the north end of the city which has less violence then areas in south Chicago.-Being a new firm with not much experience as our attorneys are fresh out of law school.

OPPORTUNITIES

-Being in a great location, MJ & Associates can greatly expand our client base which creates more revenue.-The cafés and retail boutiques surrounding our firm give us opportunities to market to a wide variety of clients in a variety of locations.

THREATS

-Being a new firm, existing firms threaten our success as they have a more extensive and loyal clients.-We are not financially stable enough to survive a drastic business crisis.

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TECHNOLOGY PLAN

I. Technology Mission Statement

-Our firm has many technological needs. In order to be efficient and organized our firm needs to use technology to its fullest ability while making the best out of free or low cost programs. Our firm needs access to Microsoft office to prepare documents and spreadsheets. Our firm also needs a type of database to use in order help with managing information within the firm. In order to help track time, our firm will use time tracking software to help eliminate errors and mistakes. Document management will be a big technology need in our firm because I want our firm to have access to all litigation cases necessary.

-Technology will have a tremendous impact on our firm because with the use of technology our firm can help stay organized and on top of tasks more easily than using less technologically advanced methods.

II. Goals and Objectives

-The goal of having a technologically advanced firm is to meet our client’s needs a little more effortlessly but much more effectively.

-The steps we will take to reach our technology goals are to take much time finding the correct software we will want to use. Sorting through the software to make sure we have chosen the best, most effective one. Then, we will price the software to make sure we are getting the most for our money. Finally, we will learn how to take the most advantage of the technology we have chosen by learning the software inside and out.

III. Resources

A. Existing Technology Resources

-Each employee has their own personal laptop equipped with Microsoft office.

-These resources are helpful because since each person has their own computer, that saves hundreds of dollars which could be spent on types of programming to better our firm. Because each person has their own computer, each person is responsible for knowing how to use theirs. This saves time on training but also should mean each person is equipped to know how to

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handle their computer. Because the computer is their own possession, they are responsible for any problems that go wrong with it, which saves the firm money in repairs.

B. New Technology Resources

-Hardware we will need in the firm consists of:

A) Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax Machine $279.99

B) Phones (4) $276.12

-Software we will need is:

A) Time tracking/Billing software $119.85/yr

B) Calendar System (optional)

C) Case Management Software $3,120/yr

D) Intranet $432/yr

-Specific Software:

A) Chaos Software: Chosen because the contact manager program is actually free, and can be added to the legal billing option. The legal billing option is $39.95 a user, and our firm has three users who will use it. For time tracking and billing software that is $119.85 a year, which is cheap to help us accurately track our time and correctly bill our clients.

B) Producteev Software: Chosen because this software does a variety of task management, and includes calendars for free. In our firm, using an online calendar will be optional. I prefer to use old fashioned pen and paper in an agenda book. But to other employees who prefer an online task management, this software will be used. An unlimited amount of users can use this to set due dates and reminders for tasks and projects.

C) Clio Software: Chosen because the price is relatively low for the amount of things the software does. The software will be used for case management, reporting, online bill payment feature, time sheets, and multi-user access. Total this software will cost $3,120 a year.

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D) Igloo Software: Chosen because Igloo is a modern intranet system our firm can use to stay organized by storing our client’s information that each employee can access. This software has many amenities for a good price. Total this software will cost $432 a year.

IV. Training

-Employees will be trained through a variety of online step by step videos mixed with training from the head attorney who picked the programs and software. Each software has a demo video employees can watch to help them catch on to how to use the products and features.

-Employees will be responsible for training themselves on necessary software for the most part. The software chosen is fairly simple to use. However, for the intranet within our firm because the software is more difficult and crucial to understand, a representative from Igloo company will come to our office and train the head attorney and associate attorney on how to use the intranet software. Training will be done by the office manager, associate attorney, and any training conflicts or questions should be directed to them.

V. Maintenance

-Our technological resources will be maintained through a company called GeeksonSite. Our firm has chosen GeeksonSite for a few significant reasons. The first reason we chose this particular technology maintenance business is because of the variety of options and services they provide.

Flat Fee Tune-up Geeks for Life Standard Hourly Rate$149 $24.95/month

$299.40/yr$99.00/hr

-File clean up-Virus scan/protection-Adware/spyware clean up

-Preventive maintenance-Call as often as needed-Support on peripherals

-Techs come to you-Support for any computer

In our firm, we will become a Geek for Life member so our firm has access to technology support as often as needed for only $24.95 a month, and we will also take advantage of the companies Flat Fee Tune-Up once every year, after the first year, totaling $149. Another reason MJ & Associates chose GeeksonSite is because of how convenient they are. All an employee

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must do is contact the head attorney who will contact the company directly by phone and within 24 hours an experienced, certified GeeksonSite staff member will arrive.

-The firm’s leading attorney will be responsible for handling who to contact when proper maintenance is needed. Employees will be required to inform the leading attorney, and the leading attorney will contact the proper tech team. The firm will have a small tech team of its own to handle small day to day issues while also helping the firm run smoothly.

VI. Costs & Funding

-Our technology resources cost in total is $4,527.36

-The money from our startup budget will be used leaving $5,372.64 left.

VII. Assessment

-The effectiveness of the firm’s technology resources will be measured by a one on one sitting with the paralegal and legal assistant in charge of using the technology every three months. In the meeting the effectiveness, quality, and overall satisfaction of the technology will be assessed. If negative results about certain technology resources appear, they will be handled accordingly until the issue is resolved and a new technological strategy will be set in place.

-The person in charge of measuring the effectiveness is the senior paralegal.

-The assessment will take place every 90 days, unless otherwise necessary to proceed earlier.

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MANAGEMENT PLAN

I. Management Mission Statement

-Our firm will effectively meet all needs of clients by ensuring every employee is the best, most qualified professional for the job. We will fulfill our client’s needs by being prepared, professional, and prompt in dealing with client’s cases.

-The type of management structure used in our firm will tremendously influence our profits, organization, and overall being of the practice. An autocratic form of management is in place, and will help to positively impact the practice.

-Our firm’s has chosen to function as a partnership and will follow a managing partner style of management. These decisions will help in the success of the day to day culture of the firm while managing the overall business of the firm effectively and efficiently.

II. Goals and Objectives

-The goals of MJ and Associates functioning as a limited liability company partnership:

We aspire to run the business using two attorneys as managers. We aspire to help one another out when necessary. We aspire to split the workload fairly.

-The objectives of MJ & Associates in achieving those goals are:

Our firm will divide the managing duties between a managing partner and an office manager.

Joining in a partnership means the attorneys can help each other out and give each other advice when necessary that will be adequate and knowledgeable. The attorneys will have an “open door” policy when it comes to helping one another out.

The workload will be split every other case unless there is a question of which attorney is more qualified for a specific case or if a very large,

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complex case is accepted. In which case, the attorneys will hold a conference and decide what to do.

-The goals of participating in a managing partner style are:

Managing duties are split with the head attorney as the managing partner and the associate attorney as the office manager.

The business will be run successfully without overloading one person.

-Objectives of using a managing partner managing style:

The head attorney will spend 60% of their time practicing law and 40% of their time managing the office. The associate attorney will spend 50% of their time managing the firm and 50% of their time practicing law.

The managing partner will oversee the financial responsibilities and hiring/firing. The office manager will be responsible for training employees, day to day management functions, and tasking employees.

III. Description of Legal Structure

-Our firm is functioning under a LLC partnership.

-We chose a partnership because in our opinion, “two heads are better than one.” Being in partnership means increased revenue because two attorneys will be handling cases and clients, wider variety of knowledge that will be helpful during a variety of cases, and help more work can get completed more quickly as it is divided between two attorneys.

-Paperwork (attached)

Partnership Agreement LLC Agreement Articles of Incorporation Certificate of Assumed Name Employer Identification Number Licenses

o Local, Sales Tax, State/Federal Permits

o Permit to sell

IV. Description of Management System

-MJ & Associates will function under a managing partner style.

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-This style was chosen in order for the firm to run effectively and efficiently without putting too much work on one person. In a managing partner style, the managing duties will be assigned to both a managing partner and an office manager.

-Roles and Descriptions of Personnel

Head Attorney/Managing Partner: Responsible for financial managing duties and oversees issues the office manager cannot handle. Responsible for hiring/firing employees. Splits time 60% practicing law and 40% managing the office.

Associate Attorney/Office Manager: Responsible for the day to day office operations. The office manager reports directly to the managing partner and will handle all employee questions, complaints, and conflicts unless the managing partner must be involved. Responsible for training new employees, scheduling, and tasking. Splits time 50% practicing law and 50% managing the office.

Senior Paralegal: Is responsible for meeting with clients to collect necessary information and will also help attorneys conduct the appropriate legal research. Responds to the office manager first.

Legal Secretary: Is responsible for answering phone calls, scheduling client appointments, filing necessary documents, other similar office duties. Responds to the office manager first.

-Employees will be recruited when necessary but because our firm is small and new we will not be recruiting employees in the near future. When recruitment is necessary, the open position will be posted online, in the newspaper, and in a variety of public places. Interviews will be conducted in office first by our office manager and then a second interview with the managing partner will be held declaring verdict on offer of employment. Training will be conducted by our office manager who is highly experienced with all software programs used.

-All employees are nonexempt and must be paid compensation for overtime.

V. Technology Use

-The software used for managing the day-to-day operations of the firm as well as case management is the software Clio.

-Clio was chosen because for the price, it does a tremendous amount. Clio will help our firm stay organized by allowing multi-user access so all employees can use the software for reporting, client management, timesheets, performance analysis, and the online billing feature.

VI. Assessment

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-Our technology resources will be measured by overall effectiveness of each software and ability to keep our firm organized efficiently.

-The office manager will conduct the assessment.

-The assessment will take place every six months, unless otherwise specified.

MARKETING PLAN

I. Marketing Mission Statement

-Whether we are providing legal advice to our clients, collecting the necessary data for the success of your case or simply just doing our best to reduce the charges against our clients, we at MJ & Associates strive to always keep our clients best interest in mind while trying to achieve justice.

-Our marketing decisions will strongly impact our practice as a whole by assuring clients and future clients of how knowledgeable, hard-working, and goal oriented we are at our firm in getting each client the best outcome possible. Our firm is aware of some of our client’s circumstances and will in return target clients who need the most help, for the best price.

II. Goals and Objectives

-MJ & Associates has three main goals when it comes to marketing. Our main goal is to be the absolute best expert in criminal defense law. Another significant goal within our firm is to raise an increase in profits each year our firm is operating. Finally, as a new firm, our practice will work to reach and pass competition.

-Our objectives are focused on expanding our practice and profits. One objective is to demonstrate expert knowledge in our area of law by giving clients many options to help best suite them. A second objective is to win more cases for more clients in order to outreach and attract a bigger client base who will need/purchase our services. A third objective of MJ & Associates is by taking our expanded, new client base to make our practice more credible to reach and pass competition of longer-existing firms.

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-Our firm hopes to gain a big enough increase in profits within the first few years of operation to expand our firm with more professionals to help adequately serve our new, more demanding clients.

III. Market Research and Analysis

-The current legal industry has taken some interesting trends; law is straying away from the old, traditional business strategies to new effective and efficient models, instead of coming up with completely new strategies law firms need to reanalyze the most cost effective way of doing things, and firms need to reorganize their decisions to make themselves more competitive.

-The overall economic environment of the legal industry shows that clients are interested in receiving more legal representation for their money. With our current economy and the winter months approaching, many people experience a shortage of money due to the holidays, poor weather conditions, and lack of outdoor jobs available causing much stress. Americans are continuing to rise from the recession, yet job participation has remained low meaning many Americans are still out of work. This raises questions of client’s reliability to pay. Currently in Chicago, overall consumer spending is rising which positively affects business in the sense clients have money to spend. The oncoming rough winter months of the Windy City may impact business.

-In order to analyze the current legal market our will take a variety of approaches to stay as up to date and informed as possible. Two main strategies MJ & Associates will demonstrate are “SWOT” analysis and “PEST” analysis. SWOT analysis will analyze our firm’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in regards to the legal market. PEST analysis differs because it dictates and shows the market’s growth or decline. Our firm will also take part in a more “customer-oriented” approach by distributing short surveys to each client asking general questions about our practice, pricing, and employees in response to client’s economic circumstances. This will give our firm a better idea of what our client’s needs are.

-MJ & Associates targets a wide variety of clients needing legal advice or representation in criminal defense law. Our clients include people needing assistance in areas of (but not limited to); drug crimes, sex crimes, violent crimes, and criminal appeals.

-The demand for our firm’s legal services is extremely high due to factors such as location, necessity, and practice area. For example, our firm sits on the north end of Chicago, just outside the city limits. This location is keen due to the high crime rates in and around Chicago. Clients demand our services because any, single person accused of a criminal charge has a constitutional right to be represented. Our expertise in criminal law is another factor to why our services are demanded. Many people every day are accused of criminal crimes, both large and small, and therefore need someone who understands how criminal law works on their side.

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-Overall, the legal market can be analyzed as swiftly changing from traditional law firm ideas to new, technologically advanced firms. It appears new firms have the upper hand of new adaptation than old firms who are struggling to embrace the change. Some older law firms believe these new technology and service changes are only temporary, and firms with that mind-set will be left behind. New firms should work on not the most complex ways to solve problems, but most focus on the most cost and time effective ways of operating a firm.

IV. Marketing Strategy

-MJ & Associates will market clients in both traditional approaches as well as new, immersive tactics as well. For example, our practice will have a very prominent and professional website. Our firm’s website will be user friendly for our variety of clients while being very informative in our services offered and background of our employees and business. The website will give us a chance to outreach to a larger span of clients while giving them the opportunity to become familiar with our practice and goals before calling to make a decision on an attorney. A second way our firm will target clients is by giving current clients discounted services for referring family or friends. This compensates current clients and entices them to want to continue referring more clients for more discounts. Our firm will use word of mouth as one of the best approach. Our firm will place ads in surrounding newspapers aimed at our older client base. Finally, our firm will take advantage of every networking opportunity available in order to expose our practice while also forming relations with attorneys in other practice areas of law in hopes of them using MJ & Associates as a recommendation.

-The media our firm will use for marketing purposes are print media and web media.

-Our thorough marketing strategies will significantly increase business as well as our desired market share because our entire marketing tactics are aimed at drawing potential clients into a new, upcoming, successful firm. Our choice in marketing gives clients direct power to grow our business by forms of verbal communication. If we can please our current clients, they will recommend us to any other person in need of criminal defense work. Our image will grow alongside our clients, profit, and cases. Through references and recommendations our firm will stand alongside long-existing, established firms.

V. Technology Use

-The technology our firm will use to analyze the market stems from computer, web-based research as well as research conducted using legal database software such as Lexis Nexis.

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-The internet will be used as a technology marketing technique in which our website will be designed. Microsoft office will be used in producing ads that will be posted in newspapers and then the firm’s fax machine will be used in sending the ad to the appropriate newspaper.

- These technology decisions are simple yet effective. The internet and Microsoft Office are cost effective ways of creating our ideas and relaying them to clients and future clients in a clear and concise manner.

VI. Assessment

-The effectiveness of our marketing plan will be assessed through the client surveys given. The results of the client surveys will be reviewed and created in a spreadsheet depicting our client’s opinions and suggestions.

-The legal secretary and head attorney are both in part responsible for completing the marketing assessment.

-The assessment will take place at the end of every month and must be completed by the first of the following month.

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FINANCIAL PLAN

I. Financial Plan Mission Statement

-Our mission at MJ & Associates is to provide the best possible legal representation at a financially manageable cost.

-Our financial plan impacts our firm tremendously because MJ & Associates understands our client’s concerns about the expense of hiring an attorney. MJ & Associates continues to make improvements within our financial plan to better help and suit our clients.

II. Goals and Objectives

-The goals of our financial plan consist of; using the best resources available, saving our client’s their hard earned money, and expanding our business in terms of revenue and profit.

-MJ & Associates will use a variety of objectives in order to fulfill our firm’s goals. One objective is to choose our practice’s software very carefully. This ensures we are getting the best software for the best price saving us money in the long run. A second objective our company will use is to help save our client’s money. MJ & Associates understands both the extreme competition in the legal industry as well as the economic conditions clients face. By keeping our fees low and by achieving justice, our clients will save and will continue coming back for all of their needs. Finally, our last objective is to attract enough new clients and cases to drastically expand profit and revenues. This over time will give our firm the opportunity to grow in size, giving us more assistance in helping our clients.

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III. Start-Up Budget

-MJ & Associates has a beginning budget of $9,900.

-To begin operating our firm, we must account for the necessary costs for getting the firm up and running. In order to do this we must list our expenses:

-Running the office: $1,745.62/month

$20,947.44/yr

Rent: $1,450.67/month Utilities: (On Average)

o Water: $35.00/montho Electricity: $120.00/montho Internet/Phone: $139.95/month (Comcast Business)

-Payroll: $15,000/month

$270,000/yr

Head Attorney (Full-Time): $60,000/yr $31.25/hr

Associate Attorney (Full-Time): $55,000/yr $28.65/hr

Senior Paralegal (Full-Time): $50,000/yr $26.04/hr

Legal Secretary (Part-Time, 25 hrs/wk): $15,000/yr $15.50/hr

-Taxes:

Unemployment: $1,736/yr

-Insurance:

Workers Compensation: $4,365.95/yr

-Supplies: $218.11

Pens (60) $6.00 Printer Paper: $45.99 Staplers (2) $33.98 Folders (250) $20.00

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File (3) $32.97 Calendar (3) $79.17

-Marketing:

Business Cards (VistaPrint) $20 -1,000 cards

-Technology: $305.99/month

$3671.85/yr

Time/Billing Software: $10.00/montho $119.85/yr

Intranet Software: $36.00/montho $432.00/yr

Maintenance: $24.95/montho $299.40/yro Annual Tune-up (June) $149.00

V. Fee Arrangements and Billing Schedule

-MJ & Associates bills by the hour and will bill clients every two weeks, which will stagger out income. We prefer to have our fees set up this way to ensure we always have money coming in. In the off chance a client cannot pay us, we will have extra money coming in after that to help us from that loss.

-Half of our clients will be billed the second and last Friday of every month, and the other half of our clients will be billed the opposite weeks. This is to ensure our firm will have enough income to cover our bills each month in case a client does not pay and we are short.

VI. Technology Use

-Our firm will use excel and Microsoft office in order to budget and account our finances.

-We are choosing these as they are cheap and efficient.

VII. Assessment

-The marketing plan will be overall measured by the firm as a whole.

-The head attorney will conduct this assessment.

-The assessment will take place every six months.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

MJ & Associates is located at 4880 N. Clark Street in Chicago, Illinois. Our firm sits in the Lincoln Park, upscale north side of Chicago. We are located in the midst of many cafes and high end boutiques.

MJ & Associates understands the justice system and the need for defense attorneys to ensure fairness. Being in Chicago, the crime rates are extraordinarily high and without proper legal representation how this can hurt a community. Because of law firm is new, we can ensure that our expert knowledge on criminal defense issues such as; violent crimes, sex crimes, drug crimes, and federal crimes is up to date and accurate. Our legal team is trained on a variety of legal software which will ultimately benefit our clients by keeping our records organized and well maintained.

MJ & Associates understands that there is a crucial need for legal representation in this area and we understand our client’s needs. Every person deserves someone who works for them and has their back in legal matters. MJ & Associates does exactly that but at an unbeatable price. MJ & Associates understands the circumstances which bring our clients in and in return sympathizes and believes that our clients deserve the best defense possible with as little inconvenience to them as possible.

Our management team consists of; our head attorney Megan James and our associate attorney Riley Sanders. Megan and Riley both graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 2014 with honors. Both have made criminal defense work their passions and they are dedicated to serving their community. Megan is the firm’s managing partner while Riley is the office manager. Our staff also has a senior paralegal, Lynda Vain, who has over ten years working as a paralegal and completing legal research. Our team works diligently to effective and efficient.

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MJ & Associates operates as a partnership in order to best suit our client’s needs. With two working attorneys caseload can be split while still receiving the best outcome. Our clients vary from upper class to lower class citizens. Our prices reflect this and our clients are given the opportunity to fill out a survey once we have finished our work with them.

Being a new firm, we understand our competition is strong. However, other existing firms have been around years and are likely not current with the new trends of law firms. MJ & Associates reaches out to new clients as well as clients of existing firms. We challenge clients to give MJ & Associates a chance as they will not be disappointed.

As a startup business, we are requesting a loan in the amount of $150,000. We plan to repay this loan in three years or less. This loan will cover the cost of our office operation as well as our employee’s salaries for the first year. Our first year we will have little but MJ & Associates has high hopes to expand tremendously within the three years of business.