Starting a New Business: Can You Do it on Your Own?

To the State of Florida’s credit, the state makes it pretty easy to start your new business. Go online, fill out some forms, answer some questions, and magically, you have a new legal entity with the state.

But is that the right thing to do? Can it really be that easy? Well, it is that easy to just start a business. But that doesn’t mean you’re starting it the right way.

Of course, every business attorney in the world will advise you to get an attorney, and consult with one, when starting your business. Is that real advice? Or just an attorney trying to sell you on his or her services?

Choosing Your Legal Entity

The first problem with starting a business without an attorney, is that you may form your business as the wrong legal entity.

Many business owners are destined to fail because they didn’t select the correct corporate structure from the outset.

The differences between C corps, S Corps, LLC, LLLCs, Partnerships, and many other forms of corporate structures, can make differences in:

• The powers, rights and duties of owners or shareholders
• How disputes within the company get worked out
• Taxation
• Who controls your business
• What happens to your business when you are gone or don’t want it anymore

Contracts and Agreements

When you start your business, you may have a number of contracts that need to be signed. From equipment leasing, to rental agreements, to purchases of materials or inventory—these are all legal agreements which can harm your business, if they don’t have terms that you and your business can live with.

Additional Corporate Documents

Starting a business is one thing. But there are many additional documents that your company may need, to properly and safely do business.

For example, numerous policies and procedures should be in order, before starting your business. Do you have harassment and grievance policies, shareholders agreements, confidentiality or trade secret agreements, remote work policies, emergency policies, employee handbooks, or corporate referenda?

These are just the start of the numerous corporate documents you should have, to safely do business. And when you just start a business with the state, they neither mention, nor assist you, with any of these.

Navigating Employment Laws

There is a complex web of state and federal labor and employment laws—do you know what they are and how to stay compliant with them? In many cases, disclosures, or notices must be posted, or employees need to be paid a certain amount or in a certain way. Do you know what and what kind of paid leave employees are entitled to have? Or when you may, or may not, be subject to any of these federal laws at all?

In other cases, government regulations may require that you manage your business a certain way.

Everything from workers compensation to OSHA regulations to local licensing laws—these are the kinds of things an attorney can do for you, when you are starting a brand new business.

Starting a new business? Get help from the beginning. Call our Fort Lauderdale business lawyers at Sweeney Law P.A. at 954-440-3993 for help.

Source:

zenbusiness.com/do-you-need-a-lawyer-to-incorporate/