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The Legal Protection You Need As An Entrepreneur or Small Business Owner
When Starting a Business, You Need Legal Protection to No Only Legally Protect Your Business, but Yourself Too.
About Cheri Andrews
Cheri is a small business attorney, licensed in Pennsylvania who works with small business owners and entrepreneurs. She helps them set up legal protection to ensure they are legally protected. Cheri helps business owners so that they can grow their businesses with the confidence of knowing it is being done right.
After being laid off in late 2019, Cheri decided that it was time to give back and make a difference. She decided that the best thing she could do was take all of the legal knowledge and skills she built over the past 30-years and help those who need help the most, the small business owners. Cheri’s goal is to make legal protections accessible before business owners get into trouble.
Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs Need Legal Protection TooIf you can prevent a lawsuit in the future, why wouldn’t you want to? You can do things upfront to protect yourself from future lawsuits.
Choice of Business Entity for Legal Protection- Sole Proprietor - You are the only one in your business
- Partnership - You and a friend or partner.
In both cases, there is no separate entity to protect you. That means you are personally liable for any of the debts and obligations of your company. By personably liable it means that if someone were to sue you, your bank accounts, your home, your cars, basically anything you own is up for grabs in a lawsuit. The first thing to do is set up a business entity.
The LLC for Legal Protection as a Small Business Owner or EntrepreneurThe best way to protect yourself and your business is by becoming an LLC. This includes if you are in any kind of business where you are providing advice or services. Likewise, if you are operating a storefront where someone could slip and fall. Basically, an LLC will protect you from anything you do or say that could affect someone financially or from a health perspective.
The LLC provides a separate legal entity so that you are not personally liable for the debts and obligations of your business. However, there is a caveat to that. Even with an LLC, you are liable for taxes or criminal actions and gross negligence.
The second thing you need to do is create contracts. Contracts for Legal Protection as a Small Business Owner or EntrepreneurWe live in a world where it’s easy to say you will do something and expect people to pay you. But it isn’t always about just getting your money. It’s a matter of what if they pay you, or pay you only in part, and they aren’t happy with what you did for them. If they are unhappy they could sue you. You don’t want to have to spend time and energy dealing with that.
Fortunately, if you have a contract, you can establish your refund policy, termination policy, lawsuit specifications such as arbitration, etc. upfront. Contracts give you the opportunity to make it difficult to file a lawsuit against you. Similarly, with contracts, you have the opportunity to prevent lawsuits before they even happen.
Be sure your contract says that if your client lives in another state, that they have to sue you in the state you practice in.
Website and Content Privacy PolicyYes, you need a privacy policy. If you have Google Analytics or a contact form, you need a privacy policy. The reason you need a privacy policy is that there are a number of regulations, such as GDPR, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations. You can’t stop people from the European Union from submitting your contact form or downloading your free offer. Another such regulation is the California Consumer Privacy Act, the CCPA.
Violations of the CCPA are up to $2500 to $7500 in fines. The cost of putting a privacy policy on your website will only be a couple of hundred dollars, therefore is worth saving you the cost of fines from the CCPA.
Terms of UseThe terms of use policy is not legally required but allows you to have an agreement with your website visitors. It's important to establish how visitors can use your website, what they cannot do with your website, and where they can reach you should they have a problem with your website. The terms of use policy also maps out details should a visitor want to sue you because of the content of your website.
If you have any type of subscription on your website where people have to log in, you definitely want a terms of use policy on your website.
DisclaimersIf you are working in the health, financial, or any professional advice you want to have a disclaimer that says that your website is for information purposes only, it is not meant to be specific medical, legal, or financial advice and recommend that people contact their own advisors for specific information.
If you are offering advice, you want to tell people that your advice doesn’t guarantee results.
ImagesTake note that ff you did not take the image or buy the rights to an image do not put them on your website or social media. A lawsuit for copyright infringement can cost you up to $150,000 for a single photo.
It is really easy with artificial intelligence to be caught for using copyrighted material.
There are companies that have the sole purpose of protecting photographers. They crawl the internet looking for unauthorized use of their client’s images. The letters look like spam but are not and are requesting payment for use of the image of $800 to $1200 to $2000 dollars for the use of that image.
It is better to pay to license the photo you want to use as opposed to breaching copyright. Read the terms of use for royalty-free use. If using for personal purposes, the images may be free, but if used for commercial purposes, they may not be free.
Smooth Sailing, a Practical Guide to Protecting Your BusinessCheri’s book is a resource for solopreneurs, creatives, and small business owners to get educated and understand the legal aspects of your business. Cheri covers copyright, policies and so much more so that you can be compliant in your business. The book is not written like a legal textbook but is easy to read and provides questions that you should be aware of when meeting with your business attorney.
Cheri wants every small business owner to have the legal protection they need. A simple legal mistake can cost you your business. Most of these mistakes are unavoidable and Cheri is on a mission to help people stay in business safely and successfully.
Small businesses are the backbone of our country and even though many had to close in 2020, there will be more small businesses coming and Cheri wants them to be protected for long-term success.
Purchase Cheri’s book to be sure you the legal protection you need.
Learn More About Your Host, Robyn Graham, Click HERE.
To learn about The Brand Marketing Insider by Robyn Graham, click HERE.
Join the Female Entrepreneur Insider Facebook Group HERE.
Book a Brand Marketing Strategy Session HERE.
Ask Me Anything HERE.
Connect with me, Robyn Graham:
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest
Learn More About Legal Protection and Connect with Cheri:Website: https://www.cheriandrews.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheri-andrews
https://www.facebook.com/yoursmallbusinessattorney
View all episodes
By Dr. Robyn Graham - Parenting and Life Coach for Women in Leadership
5
162162 ratings
When Starting a Business, You Need Legal Protection to No Only Legally Protect Your Business, but Yourself Too.
About Cheri Andrews
Cheri is a small business attorney, licensed in Pennsylvania who works with small business owners and entrepreneurs. She helps them set up legal protection to ensure they are legally protected. Cheri helps business owners so that they can grow their businesses with the confidence of knowing it is being done right.
After being laid off in late 2019, Cheri decided that it was time to give back and make a difference. She decided that the best thing she could do was take all of the legal knowledge and skills she built over the past 30-years and help those who need help the most, the small business owners. Cheri’s goal is to make legal protections accessible before business owners get into trouble.
Small Business Owners and Entrepreneurs Need Legal Protection TooIf you can prevent a lawsuit in the future, why wouldn’t you want to? You can do things upfront to protect yourself from future lawsuits.
Choice of Business Entity for Legal Protection- Sole Proprietor - You are the only one in your business
- Partnership - You and a friend or partner.
In both cases, there is no separate entity to protect you. That means you are personally liable for any of the debts and obligations of your company. By personably liable it means that if someone were to sue you, your bank accounts, your home, your cars, basically anything you own is up for grabs in a lawsuit. The first thing to do is set up a business entity.
The LLC for Legal Protection as a Small Business Owner or EntrepreneurThe best way to protect yourself and your business is by becoming an LLC. This includes if you are in any kind of business where you are providing advice or services. Likewise, if you are operating a storefront where someone could slip and fall. Basically, an LLC will protect you from anything you do or say that could affect someone financially or from a health perspective.
The LLC provides a separate legal entity so that you are not personally liable for the debts and obligations of your business. However, there is a caveat to that. Even with an LLC, you are liable for taxes or criminal actions and gross negligence.
The second thing you need to do is create contracts. Contracts for Legal Protection as a Small Business Owner or EntrepreneurWe live in a world where it’s easy to say you will do something and expect people to pay you. But it isn’t always about just getting your money. It’s a matter of what if they pay you, or pay you only in part, and they aren’t happy with what you did for them. If they are unhappy they could sue you. You don’t want to have to spend time and energy dealing with that.
Fortunately, if you have a contract, you can establish your refund policy, termination policy, lawsuit specifications such as arbitration, etc. upfront. Contracts give you the opportunity to make it difficult to file a lawsuit against you. Similarly, with contracts, you have the opportunity to prevent lawsuits before they even happen.
Be sure your contract says that if your client lives in another state, that they have to sue you in the state you practice in.
Website and Content Privacy PolicyYes, you need a privacy policy. If you have Google Analytics or a contact form, you need a privacy policy. The reason you need a privacy policy is that there are a number of regulations, such as GDPR, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulations. You can’t stop people from the European Union from submitting your contact form or downloading your free offer. Another such regulation is the California Consumer Privacy Act, the CCPA.
Violations of the CCPA are up to $2500 to $7500 in fines. The cost of putting a privacy policy on your website will only be a couple of hundred dollars, therefore is worth saving you the cost of fines from the CCPA.
Terms of UseThe terms of use policy is not legally required but allows you to have an agreement with your website visitors. It's important to establish how visitors can use your website, what they cannot do with your website, and where they can reach you should they have a problem with your website. The terms of use policy also maps out details should a visitor want to sue you because of the content of your website.
If you have any type of subscription on your website where people have to log in, you definitely want a terms of use policy on your website.
DisclaimersIf you are working in the health, financial, or any professional advice you want to have a disclaimer that says that your website is for information purposes only, it is not meant to be specific medical, legal, or financial advice and recommend that people contact their own advisors for specific information.
If you are offering advice, you want to tell people that your advice doesn’t guarantee results.
ImagesTake note that ff you did not take the image or buy the rights to an image do not put them on your website or social media. A lawsuit for copyright infringement can cost you up to $150,000 for a single photo.
It is really easy with artificial intelligence to be caught for using copyrighted material.
There are companies that have the sole purpose of protecting photographers. They crawl the internet looking for unauthorized use of their client’s images. The letters look like spam but are not and are requesting payment for use of the image of $800 to $1200 to $2000 dollars for the use of that image.
It is better to pay to license the photo you want to use as opposed to breaching copyright. Read the terms of use for royalty-free use. If using for personal purposes, the images may be free, but if used for commercial purposes, they may not be free.
Smooth Sailing, a Practical Guide to Protecting Your BusinessCheri’s book is a resource for solopreneurs, creatives, and small business owners to get educated and understand the legal aspects of your business. Cheri covers copyright, policies and so much more so that you can be compliant in your business. The book is not written like a legal textbook but is easy to read and provides questions that you should be aware of when meeting with your business attorney.
Cheri wants every small business owner to have the legal protection they need. A simple legal mistake can cost you your business. Most of these mistakes are unavoidable and Cheri is on a mission to help people stay in business safely and successfully.
Small businesses are the backbone of our country and even though many had to close in 2020, there will be more small businesses coming and Cheri wants them to be protected for long-term success.
Purchase Cheri’s book to be sure you the legal protection you need.
Learn More About Your Host, Robyn Graham, Click HERE.
To learn about The Brand Marketing Insider by Robyn Graham, click HERE.
Join the Female Entrepreneur Insider Facebook Group HERE.
Book a Brand Marketing Strategy Session HERE.
Ask Me Anything HERE.
Connect with me, Robyn Graham:
Website | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube | Pinterest
Learn More About Legal Protection and Connect with Cheri:Website: https://www.cheriandrews.com
https://www.linkedin.com/in/cheri-andrews
https://www.facebook.com/yoursmallbusinessattorney
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