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Think and create a business plan. A business plan doesn’t have to be fancy, and it doesn’t necessarily have to conform to any particular form that you might find online.
A good business plan answers the questions…
Having these questions answered before you start can help the rest of your business journey run much smoother.
The decisions set out in a business plan are important not only for the business owner, but also for the accountants and the lawyers who assist you in setting your business up.
A good business plan isn’t only about what your business looks like today but rather what your business might look like 12, 18, or 24 months down the road.
No successful business grows and succeeds flying by the seat of its pants. You have to have, from the outset, a vision of where you want your business to go, and a well-thought-out business plan does just that.
More often than not, this question comes down to money. If you’re a small startup and your business is financed by yourself, a short-term lease of space may make more sense.
Renting is obviously cheaper, but under some circumstances, ownership does have its advantages as well. To this end, Donnelly Law LLC can review your business plan with you, understand your individual financial position, and work with you to determine the best solution.
Every single business owner should have at least a general liability policy. Assuming that you are incorporated or organized as an LLC, the policy should be in the name of the LLC or the corporation.
Beyond the general liability, any additional insurance would be dictated by the nature of your business and the liabilities that you might incur.
Further, depending on the nature of the business and the number of members or shareholders involved, directors and officers’ insurance might be prudent. Depending on your business type, we can work with you to determine the best kind of insurance coverage to have for your needs and protection.
Attorney Craig Donnelly is a forward-thinking, accomplished business attorney serving Illinois. For over 20 years, he’s helped clients just like you start their own businesses, grow, and avoid costly mistakes down the road.
Have questions about starting your own business? Need quality legal advice to do things right the first time? Reach out to Donnelly Law LLC at (630) 608-2124 for a free initial consultation today!
Not having good legal and accounting advice from the start is among the most critical mistakes that we see. There are many serviceable websites out there that can provide you with certain basic legal forms.
However, those forms frequently use a one-size fits-all approach, and you should always consult with an accountant and with an attorney about what the future plans for your business.
If the appropriate initial steps are taken and the appropriate entity structure is established, difficulties and hurdles can frequently be prevented down the road. Although there is an upfront cost to involving an attorney, doing so is generally cheaper than trying to fix the issues created by legal mistakes during formation.
The primary perceived drawback for many business people is the initial cost. Professionals, including accountants and lawyers, don’t work for free. But Donnelly Law LLC frequently operates on a flat fee basis and can work with you for the first year of their business on a fee plan that fits your needs.
The benefits of hiring a business attorney far outweigh that nominal cost, helping you to set things up legally and securely the first time, and avoiding far more expensive errors that need to be corrected in the future.
I was hired once by someone who had started up a company based on a form that they found online. This person hadn’t hired a lawyer to help start the business, and as it turned out, this document covered only the very basics. What’s more, it wasn’t even the right form for the entity that was created. Two years later, the business owner was sued which prompted him to hire me.
What we found out relatively quickly was that the legal structure and documents that were set up from an online source provided virtually no protection from liability. Not only did the client have the incorrect form, but the form lacked some of the key language that needed to be in there. Additionally, the client hadn’t followed through on some of the needed formalities of entity formation after the initial filings.
The lesson from this case that I have taken forward is that doing things correctly from the very start is vital. The added cost of hiring a lawyer to start a business is far less expensive than the cost of being sued down the road and trying to clean up that mess after the fact.
We encourage our clients to not be pennywise and pound foolish; allow an attorney to review your business plan from the start and guide you in making sound, long-term decisions to set your new venture up for success.
For more information on Top 6 Things You Need To Know When You’re Starting A Business, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (630) 608-2124 today.
Attorney Craig Donnelly is a forward-thinking, accomplished business attorney serving Illinois. For over 20 years, he’s helped clients just like you start their own businesses, grow, and avoid costly mistakes down the road.
Have questions about starting your own business? Need quality legal advice to do things right the first time? Reach out to Donnelly Law LLC at (630) 608-2124 for a free initial consultation today!
