| As the title of this article suggests, getting legal advice | | | | however giving away even a small piece of the |
| related to your home business is not an 'if', but rather a | | | | company (perhaps 1 or 2 percent) will be well worth it |
| 'when'. Among other things, having a lawyer review | | | | if it buys you legal expertise from the outset. |
| any legal documents or contracts you may draft or | | | | If you neglect to consult a lawyer at the beginning and |
| sign, while expensive, will more than pay for itself if you | | | | even decide to draw up your own contracts and |
| should ever run into problems down the road. Think of | | | | foundational documents without a lawyer, if someone |
| it as homeowner's insurance for your home business; | | | | decides to take legal action against you and your |
| hopefully you'll never have to defend a patent or | | | | company, this is where you will absolutely need to |
| dispute a contract, but if someday you do, you'll want | | | | seek the help of a lawyer. Depending on how you |
| to know that you have an airtight case legally. | | | | incorporated your small business, you may have left |
| The typical approach for most first time entrepreneurs | | | | yourself liable personally, and if you neglected to |
| is to only bring a lawyer into the situation when they | | | | properly patent any technologies you are selling in your |
| feel it is getting out of hand, however much of the | | | | business, it may be a game ender for your business. |
| work a lawyer can do for your small business will | | | | The moral of the story is, find a way to get legal |
| preempt problems that may arise down the road. It is | | | | counsel at the outset of your business, if you can't |
| not uncommon for a small business to work regularly | | | | afford it when you're starting out, reach out to a |
| with a lawyer and in many cases, bringing a lawyer | | | | relative or friend who is a lawyer and simply asking |
| onto the team can be a great idea to keep you legal | | | | their advice on which type of corporation to form will |
| from the beginning and every step along the way. This | | | | help protect you personally if you run into trouble down |
| is often cost-prohibitive for new small businesses, | | | | the road. |