Starting your own business is a huge accomplishment whether it is a success or not. The first thing that you will want to do when getting your business off the ground is that of protecting what you have built. Far too many business owners do not think certain scenarios will happen to them like a disgruntled employee suing only to have cash flow dried up due to a lawsuit. The best thing that you can do is to make a checklist of the different areas that you will need to protect yourself. The following are ways that you can protect your business legally and continue to thrive.
Workplace Accidents
Workplace accidents can happen even if all of the proper precautions have been followed. Having insurance for these situations can make these accidents have much less of an impact on the business. Your employee will be taken care of without hurting the business. These insurance policies will require you to regularly drug test your employees to help reduce accidents. Having regular safety training will help reduce accidents as sometimes staff will have to be reminded of the proper way of doing things.
Hiring and Firing
The hiring and firing of people can lead to lawsuits especially if a person does not think that they should have lost their job. The right business attorney in Portland OR can help defend your business. Most of the time people are disgruntled as losing their job put them in a bad place financially. Another way that you can reduce risk is by outsourcing HR to a company that handles all of the hiring and firing. This less personal approach to HR can help reduce favoritism and people being afraid to go to HR as they are personal friends with a boss or coworker. These outsourced teams are usually more affordable than staffing an entire HR department.
Contract Disputes
There will come a time in most businesses lifespan that they have a problem collecting payment from a client. This could be due to lack of funds or the client does not think you held up your side of the contract. Having a legal team draw up contracts that protect your business is paramount. Ambiguous language can lead to a contract being voided if it is taken to court. Payment terms should be talked about up front as you cannot trust everyone in the business world on their word.
Always Consult Legal Help When Needed
Far too many business owners think that they can handle any legal issue that they come across. Simply by keeping a lawyer on retainer you can translate what a lawsuit or paper really means. There are too many things for a business owner to take care of in the first place so having a legal team even if it is just one person is necessary. Do not allow yourself to be intimidated by legal talk when you can have your team member deal with it.
These are just a few of the many areas that you will be able to protect your business legally. Be proactive about legal problems as they could compound.
