Don’t Let Legal Issues Derail Your New Consulting or Professional Services Business
What is Top Priority for Your New Consulting Startup?
You’ve worked at an accounting firm for 12 years, and you’re thinking about starting your own accounting consultancy.
What’s top-of-mind for you at this point?
Competitor and audience research?
That’s great. Competitor research is critical for vetting your business idea, defining the unique value proposition that you’ll need to stand out, and gaining traction with a specific audience segment.
Business plan?
Once you’ve vetted your business idea, a business plan can help you nail down some of the whats, hows, and whose for the operation of your new venture.
Funding?
Critical, of course.
Marketing? Website? Content production?
For sure. You can’t sell your services without first raising awareness, projecting a professional image, and generating interest.
What about legal?
Legal Considerations for Your New Consulting Startup
Legal considerations may not be the first thing that entrepreneurs think of, but from the earliest stages of your venture, it’s critical to find a good lawyer. While you may regard lawyers as an unwelcome expense for your cash-strapped startup, skipping the legal guidance can result in the costly and even business-fatal errors outlined in the article linked below. (The same can basically be said for accounting support…not necessarily fun, but certainly a necessary investment).
Of the legal omissions outlined in the article, those that may be most pertinent to a new consulting or professional services venture include:
- Not having the right legal counsel (to begin with).
- Not establishing a clear agreement with partners/co founders.
- Not drafting a good contract.
Read the full article here:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2020/02/01/legal-mistakes-made-by-startups/
