Atlanta Business Law Blog

As someone looking to establish your own business, you would be wise to figure out where your liabilities are so that you can determine how to best protect yourself and your personal assets. Some entrepreneurs mistakenly believe that they face few risks with regard to liability because of the nature of their businesses, but in truth, virtually every type of business has at least some areas where someone could attempt to hold them liable.

If limiting personal liability is one of your priorities when establishing your business, you may want to consider creating one of two types of business structures: either the limited liability company or the S corporation.

The best defense against business disputes is having strong legal documents in place. One of these you need for your business is a buy-sell agreement, which outlines what happens to an owner's share in the event that something happens to the owner, whether that is leaving the company or leaving earth.

Before you draft the contract, it is important to know some of the terms to include in it to ensure it is thorough. Make sure you have the following provisions for a solid agreement.

One of the priorities for many new businesses is finding ways to run lean. After all, capital is probably low, and income and profits have yet to come in.

However, a focus on saving money can lead to mistakes that prove costly. Look at the following errors and see if you have managed to avoid them. If not, now is a good time to adjust course. 

As a small business owner, you may understand the importance of a clear, concise and fair contract. In fact, you use contracts for nearly every business transaction, from hiring new employees to making sales and purchases. However, like most Georgia residents, you are also a friendly person and you prefer to keep your transactions as hassle-free as possible. You might have working arrangements with some of your associates without relying on a written contract.

So far, this has served you well. However, what happens if there is a business disagreement? Can you uphold the terms of a verbal contract in court? For example, you may have agreed over the phone to make an equipment trade with an associate you have done business with in the past. However, after the trade, you found out the equipment was defective, but the associate denies anything was wrong with it. You might want to take him to court but worry that you have no proof of an agreement between the two of you. Unfortunately, you might be correct. It would be difficult for a judge to uphold the terms of your verbal contract when it is your word against your associate’s.