As a new business
owner, you need to be wary of the common pitfalls that startups can fall into.
It can be a major struggle for business’ in their early days to get up and
running with a long term future of success. In particular, legal problems tend
to be a frequent reason why small businesses become unsuccessful. Legal cases
can practically put you out of business and completely detriment your
reputation.
Considering this,
it’s important that you’re able to legally protect yourself and your business
as a new startup. Here are 4 ways you can help to do this.
Ensure
online protection
Without an online
presence, you can be practically non-existent in today’s society. Most users
tend to look for services or products that they need online. This means you
should have a responsive website that’s easy to use on all devices.
Having a presence
online will always make you vulnerable to several laws that are in place to
protect users that browse the internet. This is why it’s important that you
protect yourself online from a legal perspective. Examples of these could be
creating a privacy policy, providing terms and
conditions, displaying disclaimers etc. on your website.
Contracts
for employees
Contracts need to
be created for any people that you’re looking to employ for your business. This
contract will include sufficient terms and conditions that the employees need
to follow whilst under your employment. It will also include elements such as
working hours, salary terms, duties etc.
Contracts provide
written evidence and proof of what your employees should be adhering to. If
there was a case when you’ve needed to fire employees or discipline them, your
contract will be proof of why you’ve had to do it. This can be used if you’re
having to deal with a legal case where dispute resolutions solicitors Manchester
based have to be used.
Keeping
timesheets
If you work in a
client business, similar to how you create contracts for employees you’ll need
to do the same for clients that you work with. The contract will provide
guidelines for the terms of the contract and how it will work - this will
include how payment structures will work. This is crucial to be legally
protected to make sure that you’re given the money that you’re owed. You’ll
need all the money you can get early doors with your business.
Partnership
Agreement
It’s common for
businesses to begin through a partnership with another party. This makes it far
easier to run the business and build capital, as it will be coming from 2
entities. If this is the case with your business, be sure to set up a
partnership agreement. This provides legal protection on how the business will
be run, each partner's roles in the business and how profit will be shared
between both.
Further down the
line changes can occur with partnership and disagreements can be made. This is
why having a mediation solicitors for such matters is
important as they’ll be able to support and advise you during legal proceedings
where you have a dispute with your partner.
Final
Thoughts
There we have it, 4
things to consider to ensure that your business is protected from a legal point
of view. However, be aware that this isn’t an extensive list and there are
several aspects of your business that you need to consider. Some businesses are
unique and may require specific legal requirements. If so, be sure to look up
on these matters.
