I often hear people talking about going out on their own and starting a new business- they want to be their own boss, pick their own hours, make the final decisions. The trick is in business, it all comes down to money. A recent study by the Small Business Development Center at the University of Tennessee found that when a new business fails 46% of the times it is because of incompetence by the owner. Typically, financial incompetence.
I’m not a businessman- not by any stretch of the imagination- but I have one piece of advice that I give all new business owners who randomly ask me for legal advice. Don’t rely on someone else to tell you what to do when it comes to legal issues. Be your own best friend when it comes to the law. Now, that doesn’t mean you should never use a lawyer, just that you should use one judiciously. Why spend most of your start-up capital on legal fees if you don’t have to?
I know, everyone thinks I’m crazy, there’s a reason lawyers pay schools lots of money to teach before taking some insanely hard test. But the goal of a business owner isn’t to be a lawyer, it is to understand before they ever talk to a lawyer what they need help with and what they think the solution is. There is a lot of information available if you are willing to read it. (Personally, I’m a fan of the Nolo books but to each their own.) Make a list of your questions, your problems, your concerns and before you go see an attorney find a book about about starting a business in your area (yes, this is important- I don’t suggest reading a book about starting a business in California if you live in Louisiana. It would be bad.)
Once you’ve done that you are ready to meet with an attorney. You can review what you’ve learned, ask new questions, answer any they have. And most importantly, you have hopefully learned why you made each decision.