Have you ever felt like you’re steering a ship straight into uncharted waters? If you’re a small business owner, like us, chances are you know the feeling. Unfortunately, many small businesses tend to react to changing tides instead of preparing for them. And seeking out solid legal support is no exception.
We’ve found that most new businesses don’t end up asking for help until they’re confronted, often when it’s too late, with a legal problem.
We don’t want this for you. As the team that swoops in to help in these situations, it’s hard for us to see how some of these issues could have been easily avoided, by simply consulting a trusted support earlier.
We blame the legal industry as a whole for this phenomenon. With out of control pricing and a god-like mentality, it’s understandable why hiring legal help in the early stages of your small business journey would seem overwhelming, like overkill (and just plain bad for your bottom line).
But actually, having a guide on your team to consult with can often save you loads of money in the long run, not to mention makes those murky waters a little more manageable.
Allow us to break down a few ways legal counsel is an indispensable asset for any budding business:
Getting Started
Do you need permits, licenses, or other legal documents to get the necessary permission to start your business? Sometimes, it’s unclear what paperwork we actually need to do things the right way. Cue your legal guide.
Hiring legal help at this stage can be a great investment because they can break down the basics, from which business structure would work best for your goals to drafting and filing the permissions you need to reach them.
Contracts
Having a guiding light when it comes to preparing employment agreements, non-compete agreements, vendor contracts, lease agreements etc. is a must have, not a luxury, in our books.
Making sure your legal language is airtight when it comes to these agreements can truly save you loads of grief on the backend.
Intellectual Property
We’re talking trademarks, copyrights and patents. Protecting this type of intellectual property is where building the value of your business begins (and sometimes ends). Having someone file the proper paperwork, the first time around, can really make the difference between a small mom and pop set-up and an intergenerational legacy.
Compliance
It’s not glamorous. But coloring inside the lines, if you will, can help you steer clear of so many road bumps in your early years of business. A legal mentor can show you the ins and outs of the ever-changing regulations around employment laws, tax laws, and environmental laws, as they pertain to your business.
And while we’re on the riveting subject of taxes, let us just say, hiring the right kind of help when it comes to filing can save you tens of thousands of dollars over the life of your business.
Onward and Upward
When it comes time to grow, having help in the world of franchising, mergers and acquisitions not only maximizes rewards, but drastically reduces risks. Bouncing ideas off of someone who has been there, when it comes to both the legal and financial aspects of these deals really changes the game.
And the List Goes On…
In addition to the needs we’ve touched on above, strong legal support can help you with:
- Entity formation & governance
- Risk avoidance and management
- Business viability assessment
- Business planning and succession
And of course, if your business ends up on trial, the right kind of legal support can save you your shirt.
Truly, doesn’t every small business deserve a sharp, reliable confidant in their corner to help navigate legal matters, from day one?
We’re working on providing entrepreneurs access to insightful, savvy business leaders and problem solvers that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg. Because equal access creates big change. And every small business deserves a fair shot at success.
Are you the next one looking for your fair shot? Get in touch and let’s see how we can help you dot your I’s and cross your Ts from the get go.