After months of thinking about it, you finally decided to start a business. You’ve been employed with different companies for years now, and you believe that your experiences will be enough for you to run a business on your own. And while that might be true, you don’t have to solely think about your business’ operations and how you can earn a profit. On the other side of the coin, you have to consider the legalities required in your business as these can make or break you. To help you determine what these are, consider the list below:
- Make sure you’re legally permitted to use a business name.
Trademark infringement cases are expensive and require too much of your time. If you want to save your business from being in that kind of situation, take the time to research the names of other businesses in different parts of the world. You can do this by doing your own online search. This will help you determine which business names are already used so you can’t copy any. You can streamline which business names you can and can’t use. And no, using a business name that “only sounds like” the name of an existing business will not save you from trademark infringement.
- Always include non-disclosure agreements in your contracts.
Your business can’t possibly run without the help of other people. You need other shareholders to aid you in some of your transactions and employees to serve your customers. When you’re dealing with different people on business matters, prepare a written contract and make sure that a non-disclosure agreement clause is included in the document. When you work with other people, you’re actually letting them inside your business, which means that they’ll know how your business operates and your business’ trade secrets. If this information is spread to the outside world, your business might suffer.
- Learn about employment laws.
As mentioned, you’ll be hiring human resources to do this job on your behalf – your business isn’t a one-man show, right? And since you’ll be working with your employees, you should have sufficient knowledge on employment laws. When you’re a business owner, you should know when to terminate an employee, or what employment discrimination is. Being uninformed about employee laws can increase your chances of being involved in business litigations.
- Obtain all the necessary business permits and licenses.
The business permits and licenses required for your business will depend on the industry in which you’re operating. For instance, if your business involves a construction site, you should comply with the permits and licenses required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. These will serve as your manual on how you and your employees can be safe while working, which can also help create your business’ reputation and credibility in the long run.
Starting a business isn’t just about providing goods and services to your customers. If you want your business to operate and grow in the coming years, you should also consider all of the legalities involved as early as day one. Yes, this might be tedious, but you don’t have to do all of this alone – a lawyer with adept knowledge on business law like this one here can help you. They have years of experience handling businesses like yours so you’ll only get the best legal service from them.
If you’ve finally decided to start a business, you should be willing to take all the necessary precautions so your business can operate successfully for as long as possible. You shouldn’t only think about your staff, your services, and your store, because starting a business involves much more than that. There are legalities involved with which business owners should comply. There might be a lot to consider, but if you use this article as your resource, you’ll be guided on what to do. This will give you an idea of how you should prepare legally.
