Entrepreneur and Business Startup Law Blog

So You Want to Start Your Own Business! Congratulations!

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Congratulations!  Deciding to tackle such a endeavor is half the battle. Now for the other half of the battle. This article provides some helpful tips for starting a business. 

In addition to the basics, such as educating yourself in the field or industry of interest and creating a business plan, there are several legal issues that should be addressed when starting a business. 

• If there is more than one person starting the business, a well-drafted Joint Venture Agreement is essential for success and avoidance of misunderstandings.  Your Joint Venture Agreement should clearly set forth each participant's role, expectations, duties and responsibilities.  The JV Agreement should also set forth what will happen if a participant no longer complies with the JV Agreement, voluntariliy or involuntarily (e.g., disability or death).

• Next, establish a separate legal entity, such as a Limited Liability Company [LLC], to protect the personal assets of the participants from activities of the business.  Open a separate bank account for the LLC and make sure you do not co-mingle personal funds with LLC funds, as this is a means for dissolving the LLC protection. 

• All contracts should be entered into by the LLC and not you personally, to avoid personal liability.  In addition, you must sign all contracts in your capacity as a Manager or Officer of the LLC, e.g, "John Doe, as Manager of ABC, LLC," otherwise, you could be personally liable for the contract.

• If you have employees, make sure you have all employer posters required by the Federal and State government. Also, hiring a payroll service to do your payroll, may be a good idea.  Note, if only the owners are working for the LLC, you may not be required to run payroll.

• Register your Trademark to protect use of your mark by others.  Register the copyrights to your web site and other marketing material for the same reason.

• Make sure you have proper web site content, to reduce the risk of liability.

• Make sure you are in compliance with all laws, including, obtaining all applicable licenses and record keeping related to immigration law compliance. 

• Protect your business interests by utilizing comprehensive confidentiality agreements, non-circumvention agreements, non-compete agreements, employee agreement, independent contractor agreements, and other well drafted comprehensive agreements specific to your business.

Congratulations again; you are on your way! 

You will only pass this way once . . . do it right!

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