The Legal Side Of Your Business Isn’t Something You Can Afford To Stumble Over

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You might think that the main challenge with any small business is trying to continually find new customers so that they can grow their revenues and profits. It’s true that it is a big challenge, but it isn’t the only one.

There are also a lot of legal loopholes that you will need to understand and learn how to deal with them when it comes to your business. If you don’t, then you might end up unintentionally in a pretty sticky situation, and no lawyer, no matter how much you spend on one, will be able to help you out of it.

So, once you set up your new company, it really is important that you don’t stumble over any problematic legal issues. Here are some of the best legal tips that any new CEO or business owner needs to know to ensure that this doesn’t happen to them.

 

Always Budget For Legal

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You should always remember to save some of your budgets to cover the various legal costs of your business.

The legal side of the business has a reputation for being very expensive, so it really is necessary that you have plenty of money to cover any unexpected bills and invoices that might come your way.

Having this extra budget set to one side just for any legal expenses that you might incur can really help you financially in the future.

 

Look Into Your Business Name

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Before you settle on a company name, you will need to research your choice well. Make sure that there is no other company that has the same name.

It’s critical that you research this otherwise, you could end up naming your business something that is already copyrighted.

And that could put you in some big trouble! If this happens, then the company that has already copyrighted the name will be within their right to sue you, and you could end up having to pay a hefty fine.

Once you find a name that you are sure hasn’t been copyrighted, you should make sure that you file a copyright for it so that no one copies you.

 

Store Digital Legal Documents Safely

These days, there is no longer any need to keep paper copies of all your legal contracts and documents. It’s much safer to sign any such documents with a digital signature and then store them in the cloud.

This will keep them safe from being physically destroyed as they might be when you store them in physical form. For instance, paper copies are at risk of getting damaged by floods or fires.

But you do need to make sure that your digital copies are as secure as can be. When you sign up for a cloud service, choose a reputable one that you know can be trusted with all of your sensitive data and information.

 

Get To Know Different Attorneys

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It’s always a good idea to find an attorney who you can add to your phone book and who won’t mind you calling them up whenever you have a legal question or need some advice.

But rather than just sticking with one attorney, it’s really important that you try and find a few different ones that each have their own niche.

The world of law is wide and varied and lawyers and attorneys don’t all cover the same ground. So, the one that you already have listed in your phone book might not be able to help you with your specific query.

You might want to ask your business connections if they can recommend any attorneys. Ideally, you should get to know ones who specialize in financial law, business law, and criminal law at the very least.

 

Always Apply For Permits And Licenses

Once you set up your company, there will be a whole load of different licenses and permits that you might be required to apply for.

Sure, this will seem like a lot of paperwork, but that is no excuse to try and skip getting a license or permit.

The majority of the time, these important documents are legal necessities and if you are found to be trading or doing business without them, you could end up on the wrong side of the law!

 

Protect All Of Your Intellectual Property

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Remember that anything you or your business creates is your intellectual property. No matter what type of business you run, you will have some intellectual property.

For instance, a bakery’s recipes are its creations. Branding and logos are also classed as intellectual property as well.

So, you should correctly protect this creative property so that no one else can steal it. You can do this by copywriting it, as mentioned in an above point about company names.

 

Look After Your Employees

When you do open your business, you will need to decide whether or not to employ some employees. If you do decide to do this, it’s really important that you look after them well.

Otherwise, you might have to face an employment tribunal and could end up getting sued for misconduct or the unlawful termination of a contract. The first thing you need to do before you start recruiting anyone is to brush up on all the employment laws that are relevant to your sector.

It’s worth consulting an employment lawyer about this as they will be able to tell you everything you need to know.  It’s also important to comply with all employment laws.  The last thing you want to do is face a legal inquiry when you could have avoided it in the first place.

It’s also essential that you find out what all the correct processes are when it comes to terminating someone’s contract, as getting this wrong could end up with you being sued. You also need to set up a fair recruitment process that doesn’t discriminate against anyone.

It is also essential that everyone in your company is paid a fair wage and given all the statutory time off that they are entitled to.

Getting involved in some legal problems could spell the end for your company. So in order to stay on the right side of the law, always be mindful of the above tips for your small business!

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