Skip to content
Holmes Business Law
Holmes Business Law
215-482-0285
  • Home
  • Attorney’s & Areas of Law
    • Business Entities
      • Corporations
      • Limited Liability Company (LLC)
    • Business Purchase or Sale
    • Raising Capital & Investor Agreements
      • Promissory Notes and Debt Financing
      • Private Placement and Equity Financing
    • Business Contracts
      • Consulting Agreement
      • Employment Contracts
      • Independent Contractor (1099) Agreements
      • Website Terms and Privacy Policies
    • Copyright & Trademark
    • Hiring Employees/NDA/Non Compete
    • Succession Planning
    • Commercial Lease
    • The Right Start Program
  • About
    • Speaking & Events
    • Webinars
    • Client Testimonials
    • Privacy Policy/Terms of Use
    • Contact
  • Business Success Tips
  • Flat Fee Services
    • New Businesses
    • Existing Businesses
    • Dispute Resolution
    • Trademarks & Copyright
    • Succession Planning
  • 215-482-0285

Three Biggest Mistakes in Starting A Business

11/2/2014
 

In the course of any given week, I speak to a large number of people that want to start a business, or have recently started a business. Recently, there have been three distinct trends I find pretty disturbing and what I think are terrible mistakes.

1. My accountant/brother-in-law/father/garbage man told me I didn’t need to, or shouldn’t form an LLC for my business. This one gets me every time. So you asked everyone around you, except for an ACTUAL LAWYER, what kind of business entity you should set up? If I want advice about a medical condition, do I ask my local bartender? Do I ask my accountant if my car needs repairs? No. Why not? Because those people are not in that field. So why take legal advice from a laundry list of people who aren’t lawyers?

Why does it matter? It matters because you could be exposing yourself to serious liability. I see a number of folks every week who have been in business for a year or more as a sole proprietorship. Many of them own homes (sometimes also vacation homes), cars, bank accounts and have a list of decent assets. They might also have business liability insurance, but if you are sued, you will be named personally in that suit. If there is a settlement or verdict above your policy limits, your personal assets are exposed. What if the lawsuit pertains to something that’s not actually covered under your policy? You’re out of luck, Chuck. It costs a few hundred dollars to set up an LLC. Why would you not spend a little bit of money to protect assets like your home, your cars, your investments and your business?

2. I’m already in business with several partners and we don’t have an operating agreement and we don’t want to spend the money right now to establish one. This is insane to me. I don’t care if your business partners are your mother, your brother and your three best friends. Money does crazy things to people. People disagree. An operating agreement gives your business a road map as to how to do business together. It’ll set out who is responsible for what, who owns what, what happens if you don’t agree. When something comes up, as it inevitably will, all you do is turn to the operating agreement to figure out how to handle it. No guess work, no angry partners and no wasted time. Most banks will not open a business account without an operating agreement. Why? So they know who has authority to sign the checks or withdraw money.

A number of people tell me they already have the LLC set up but not the operating agreement and don’t want to spend the money until they are bringing more money in. Well, if you don’t have the money to spend on a basic operating agreement, it’s highly likely your business is severely under-capitalized. Why is that a problem? There is a legal doctrine called “piercing the corporate veil.” It’s a way to get around the protection of an LLC and reach someone’s personal assets. There are a number of factors that go into a piercing analysis, but under-capitalization is one. If you don’t have the funds in your business to protect yourself properly, I think you need to re-consider being in business. How much is it going to cost you when you get into a dispute with one of your partners that can’t be resolved because you don’t have an operating agreement? A whole lot more than spending the money on that operating agreement, that’s for sure.

3. I’m raising money for my business by giving out equity to investors, but I’m not going to consult a lawyer about how to do this. I’ll just use some contract I found on the internet to present to investors.

WHOA WHOA WHOA. Hold the phone. You are going to do what? Quite honestly, this is probably one of the more disturbing scenarios I’ve heard. Why is this so bad? I mean, I see it happen on Shark Tank every week, right?

Soliciting investors for your business by agreeing to give away equity in your company involves securities laws. Securities laws are regulated by a federal agency, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission). You need to be extremely careful to not run afoul of the SEC, as the penalties are stiff. This is a complex area of law best left to an attorney. Many times a business looking to raise money through investors will fall under an exemption and not have terribly burdensome paperwork or filing requirements, but you really need a qualified attorney to make that determination. You will need to provide investors with certain statements and disclaimers. And please, for the love of all that is good in this world, do not rely on Google to tell you how to do this.

So people, please, I beg you, consult an attorney in any of these situations. I know it’s expensive and money is tight when you first start a business, but you really need to protect yourself, your assets and your business properly. I can’t tell you how many people call me every week that didn’t do one of these things and are now in a huge messy situation that I can’t get them out of.

I was a litigator for six years and what I really disliked was that when people came to me, they were angry and pissed off that they were getting sued. So many times, had they just gotten the proper advice ahead of time, they would not be in their current litigation situation. My mission when I started this law firm was to give small business people the proper tools and protections so that they wouldn’t become one of those angry litigants, or at least had peace of mind that all of their worldly property was not at risk. What I did not anticipate is how hard it is sometimes to convince people that these legal services are really very necessary for their own protection. It’s easy to understand why you need a lawyer when you’re getting sued. What you need to realize is that to prevent being sued or in order to make it much less painful, is that a lawyer is most necessary at the very beginning. Prevention is the best medicine.


Author

Sarah E. Holmes is a Philadelphia business attorney and strategist that helps start ups and established businesses looking to expand, protect their assets and increase their profits in an approachable, down-to-earth way. When you're looking for a business lawyer in Philadelphia, the Main Line or New Jersey, we can help.

Categories

  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013

HOLMES BUSINESS LAW, P.C.

​1515 Market Street, Suite 1200,
Philadelphia, PA 19102
___________________________
40 E. Montgomery Avenue
4th Floor, Ardmore, PA 19003
​

​© 2022 by Holmes Business Law P.C.
All rights reserved.

  • ATTORNEYS & AREAS OF LAW 
  • Business Entities
  • Business Purchase or Sale
  • Raising Capital & Investor Agreements
  • Business Contracts
  • Copyright & Trademark
  • Hiring Employees/NDA/Non Compete
  • Succession Planning
  • Commercial Lease
  • The Right Start Program
  • BUSINESS SUCCESS TIPS

  • ABOUT 
  • Speaking and Events
  • Webinars
  • Client Testimonials
  • Privacy Policy/Terms of Use
  • Contact
  • FLAT FEE PACKAGES 
  • New Businesses
  • Existing Businesses
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Trademarks & Copyright
  • Succession Planning

  • REVIEWS

​All site content is subject to copyright 2021 by Holmes Business Law P.C.
This website and its content herein constitutes attorney advertising.  Any content on this website should be construed as informational, not legal advice.  No information on this website is intended to create an attorney-client relationship.  Only a signed fee agreement between Sarah E. Holmes and the client will establish an attorney-client relationship.  Use of any information on this site is provided “AS IS” with no warranty of any kind, either express or implied.  Always consult with a licensed attorney in your own state for legal advice.