{"id":24808,"date":"2016-11-07T13:45:31","date_gmt":"2016-11-07T17:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.andysowards.com\/blog\/?p=24808"},"modified":"2016-11-07T13:48:18","modified_gmt":"2016-11-07T17:48:18","slug":"legal-mistakes-business-cant-afford","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/andysowards.com\/blog\/2016\/legal-mistakes-business-cant-afford\/","title":{"rendered":"Legal Mistakes Your Business Can’t Afford"},"content":{"rendered":"

When you first set out and start your business, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re likely to have all kinds of things on your mind. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be bursting with creative ideas for your branding, visions of how you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to make a splash in your industry, and probably more than a few plans for what you want your executive office to look like! One thing which countless new entrepreneurs manage to neglect is the various legal concerns which come with running a business. If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t spend enough time chewing over the legalese applying to your business, it can really come back to bite you, and sink your whole operation before it gets started. To make sure you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t shoot yourself in the foot, here are some of the biggest legal mistakes you have to avoid in those early stages.<\/p>\n

Find The Right Legal Structure<\/h3>\n

First of all, a lack of incorporation. It would be pretty near impossible to count the number of entrepreneurs who have failed to establish the correct legal structure for their businesses. This can cause major issues when you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re trying to bring in outside investors, one of the founders leaves, or even worse when you get sued by an employee or customer. When you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t established the correct legal structure, you open yourself, and possibly a lot of your upper management, up to personal liability. This can mean all kinds of damaging legal issues, so make sure you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not putting this important process off! Read up on incorporation<\/a>, and determine whether your best legal structure is an LLC, C or S corporation.<\/p>\n

\"the-details-behind-starting-an-llc-for-your-small-business-part-1\"<\/a>
\nThe Details Behind Starting an LLC For Your Small Business \u00e2\u20ac\u201c Part 1<\/em><\/p>\n

Another huge blunder is operating without an official shareholder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s agreement. You\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve obviously got a grand vision for the future of your business. However, you still need to consider the possibility that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll eventually want to sell the business, or that one of the founders will leave. When either of these things happen, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll need a shareholder\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s agreement. This will guide everyone\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s actions, and avoid any tumultuous disagreements or other confusion. Before you stimulate any more rapid growth, sit down with a good commercial lawyer<\/a> and draft one of these agreements. Make sure the documents cover how any issues between shareholders will be settled, and what will happen should one of them leave, die, or get divorced.<\/p>\n

\"big-legal-mistakes-made-by-start-ups\"<\/a>
\n10 Big Legal Mistakes Made By Startups<\/em><\/p>\n

Another legal mistake which you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford to make is operating with no HR guidelines. At any business, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll have certain things which you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll expect your employees to do and not to do. Some of these might seem obvious to you and your management. However, in the eyes of the law, if you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t set it all out in writing you might as well have not set it out at all! There are countless cases of young businesses being bankrupted after an unfair dismissal case. If you terminate an employee for breaching a rule you have, but that rule isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t set out in writing, then you could end up living through this kind of nightmare as well! Employment law and HR<\/a> are pretty complex topics, so bring in a professional, or invest in some well-reputed HR software. This will help you to formulate airtight, codified HR policies<\/a> which work well for the company.<\/p>\n

Cover Your Assets<\/h3>\n

Libeling the competition is another serious blunder which every business needs to steer clear of. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not saying you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t say that you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re better than your closest competitors. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just saying you have to be careful about the way you do it. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s obviously going to be very tempting to talk some trash about your closest competitors, whether in your marketing materials, on social media, or through any other communication channel. However, doing this can often bring you dangerously close to breaking the law. The legislation surrounding libel and slander<\/a> can be hard to understand, so the best way to cover yourself is talking to the lawyers. Whenever you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re planning to say something public that may cross the line, be sure to talk to a corporate lawyer. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be able to explain what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s libel and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

\"Lawsuit<\/a>
\nWhat I Learned from Fighting a 12-Month-Long Lawsuit<\/em><\/p>\n

Neglecting copyright, trademarks or patents will also drive your business into the ground if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re not careful to avoid it. Every minute that goes by where your intellectual property is unprotected, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re running the risk of another, less creative business owner stealing it. Well, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153stealing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t the right word, because them taking your idea will be totally legal! A lot of different things come under the category of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153intellectual property\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, and you may be finding it difficult to keep track of it all. If this is the case, talk to an experienced lawyer and seek their help in taking inventory of the business\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s intellectual property.<\/p>\n