Terms of Use

Last updated: October 3, 2026

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of ownbiz.org and any related pages, newsletters, and services (together, the “Website”), operated by OwnBiz (“OwnBiz,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

Please read these Terms carefully. Section 14 contains a binding arbitration agreement and a class action waiver that affect how disputes between you and us are resolved. You may opt out of arbitration as described in Section 14.

1. Acceptance of these Terms

By accessing or using the Website, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and our Disclaimer, which are part of these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Website.

2. Eligibility

The Website is intended for adults. You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live, to use the Website or subscribe to our newsletter. The Website is not directed to children under 13.

3. Informational purposes only

All content on the Website, including articles, guides, checklists, tables, worked examples, cost estimates, FAQs, and newsletters, is provided for general informational and educational purposes only. It is not legal, tax, accounting, financial, investment, insurance, medical, or other professional advice, and it is not an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any security or investment.

Laws, regulations, taxes, fees, and licensing requirements vary by state and locality and change over time. Content reflects information as of the date shown on each page and may not reflect later changes. You are responsible for confirming current requirements with the appropriate government agencies and for consulting qualified professionals before making legal, tax, financial, or business decisions. See our Disclaimer for more detail.

4. No professional relationship

OwnBiz is not a law firm, accounting firm, financial adviser, investment adviser, broker-dealer, insurance agency, or healthcare provider. Your use of the Website, your subscription to our newsletter, or your communication with us does not create an attorney-client, accountant-client, adviser-client, fiduciary, or any other professional relationship. Do not send us confidential or sensitive information.

5. Changes to the Website and these Terms

We may change, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Website at any time without notice.

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will change the “Last updated” date above. Changes take effect when posted, except that changes to Section 14 will not apply to any dispute of which we had notice before the change. Your continued use of the Website after changes are posted means you accept the updated Terms.

6. Intellectual property

The Website and its content, including text, graphics, tables, checklists, page design, logos, and the OwnBiz name, are owned by or licensed to OwnBiz and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws.

Subject to these Terms, we grant you a limited, revocable, nonexclusive, nontransferable license to access and view the Website for your personal, noncommercial use. You may:

• share links to pages on the Website;
• quote brief excerpts with clear attribution to OwnBiz and a link to the original page;
• print or save individual pages for your own personal reference.

All other rights are reserved. You may not reproduce, republish, distribute, sell, modify, or create derivative works from the Website or its content without our prior written permission.

7. Prohibited uses

You agree not to:

1. Use the Website in violation of any law or regulation.
2. Copy, scrape, crawl, or harvest content or data from the Website by automated means, except as allowed for general-purpose search engines by our robots.txt file.
3. Use content from the Website to train, fine-tune, or build artificial intelligence or machine learning models, or to create a competing product or database, without our prior written permission.
4. Republish or frame the Website or its content on another website or service.
5. Interfere with or disrupt the Website, its servers, or its security, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of it.
6. Introduce viruses, malware, or other harmful code.
7. Impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or organization.
8. Use the Website to send spam or unsolicited messages.
9. Remove or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary notice.

8. Feedback and submissions

If you send us comments, suggestions, corrections, or other feedback, you grant us a worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable license to use, reproduce, modify, and publish that feedback for any purpose, without compensation or attribution to you. You confirm that you have the right to provide anything you send us and that it does not violate anyone else’s rights.

9. Newsletter

If you subscribe to our newsletter, you agree to receive emails from us. You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in any newsletter email. Our use of your email address is described in our Privacy Policy.

10. Third-party links and advertising

The Website may contain links to third-party websites, including government agencies, associations, and other resources, and may display advertisements served by third parties. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party websites, content, products, services, or privacy practices. A link or an advertisement does not mean we endorse the third party or what it offers. Your dealings with any third party are solely between you and that third party.

11. Disclaimer of warranties

THE WEBSITE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, AND TIMELINESS.

WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, THAT CONTENT IS CURRENT OR APPLIES TO YOUR SITUATION, OR THAT USING ANY INFORMATION ON THE WEBSITE WILL PRODUCE ANY PARTICULAR RESULT, INCLUDING ANY BUSINESS, FINANCIAL, OR LEGAL OUTCOME.

12. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OWNBIZ AND ITS OWNERS, OPERATORS, CONTRIBUTORS, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, BUSINESS, INVESTMENT, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE WEBSITE OR ITS CONTENT, WHETHER BASED ON CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STATUTE, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE WEBSITE OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain warranties or damages. In those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the smallest extent permitted by law.

13. Indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless OwnBiz and its owners, operators, contributors, and service providers from any claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising out of or related to your use of the Website, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of any third party.

14. Dispute resolution and arbitration

14.1. Informal resolution first

Before starting arbitration or a court case, you and we agree to try to resolve any dispute informally. Send a written notice describing the dispute and the relief you want to [email protected]. If the dispute is not resolved within 60 days after the notice is received, either party may start arbitration.

14.2. Binding individual arbitration

Except as provided in Section 14.4, you and we agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to the Website or these Terms will be resolved by final and binding arbitration on an individual basis. The Federal Arbitration Act governs this arbitration agreement.

The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules in effect when the arbitration is filed. The arbitrator decides all issues, except that a court decides questions about the scope, enforceability, and validity of the class action waiver in Section 14.3. Unless you and we agree otherwise, the arbitration will be conducted by videoconference or, if an in-person hearing is required, in the county where you live. Fees are allocated as provided in the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules.

14.3. Class action and jury trial waiver

YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. YOU AND WE WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.

If the class action waiver is found unenforceable as to any claim, that claim must be severed and decided in court, and the rest of this Section 14 still applies to all other claims.

14.4. Exceptions

Either party may bring an individual claim in small claims court if it qualifies. Either party may seek injunctive relief in court to stop infringement or misuse of intellectual property or unauthorized access to the Website.

14.5. Your right to opt out

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing [email protected] with the subject line “Arbitration Opt-Out” within 30 days after you first use the Website. Include your name and the email address you use with us, if any. Opting out does not affect any other part of these Terms.

15. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the Federal Arbitration Act, applicable U.S. federal law, and, to the extent state law applies, the laws of the state in which OwnBiz is organized or operates, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Any claim not subject to arbitration must be brought in a court of competent jurisdiction.

16. Time limit for claims

To the extent permitted by law, any claim arising out of or related to the Website or these Terms must be brought within one year after the claim arises. Otherwise, the claim is permanently barred.

17. Termination

We may restrict, suspend, or end your access to the Website at any time, without notice, if we believe you have violated these Terms or the law. Sections 6, 8, and 11 to 18 survive any termination.

18. General terms

• Entire agreement. These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and Disclaimer, are the entire agreement between you and us about the Website.
• Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions stay in full effect.
• No waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to enforce it later.
• Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms. We may assign them without restriction.
• Copyright complaints. If you believe content on the Website infringes your copyright, send a notice to [email protected] that identifies the work, the material you believe infringes it, your contact information, and a statement that you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to [email protected].