Making It Legal:

Gotta toot my horn on this one:  Making It Legal made SheTakesOnTheWorld’s list of the Top 30 Business and Entrepreneurship Blogs by Women!  I’m joining illustrious company such as Escape from Cubicle Nation, Sparkplugging, Ali Brown’s Blog and Diva Marketing.

Now you’ll excuse me while I go do my “happy dance” in the living room. 

“Can I? Can I?” I hear you asking. Well, you’re asking the wrong question. The issue is not whether you can download your client contracts from the internet, it’s whether you should.  And once you do (because you know you’re going to do it, right?), how can you get the best use out of doing so?

Downloading agreements from the internet is good for starting to educate yourself about the kinds of terms you might want to include in agreements with your clients. But here are two significant things the online agreements (even the ones you pay for) can’t tell you:

• They can’t tell you whether there are any provisions in the contract that could hurt you.
• They can’t tell you whether there are any provisions that are missing that could help you.

Poke around the internet all you like; but in the end, only you can decide which business terms are best for you. What specific products or services will you provide to your clients? Within what time frame do you want to be paid? What happens if you’re not paid in a timely manner? Have a look at my program, How to Train Your Clients to Pay You, to get the lowdown on the important decisions you’ll need to make. And once you’ve made those decisions, have your attorney wrap them up in a nice, neat legal bow to protect you properly.

You may have plenty of opportunities to get it (legally) right . . . but not as many to hear me speak on the subject! 

For those of you near Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 15, stop by the Brooklyn Creative League, where I’ll be talking about everything you need to know about business law in 90 minutes.  (Well, not quite . . . but close!)  In this entertaining and lively session, I’ll provide entrepreneurs with an overview of the most common legal issues they will face as they start and build their businesses.  I’ll touch on:

• How to choose the right form of business
• Working with business partners
• What to look out for in your commercial leases
• How clear contracts make for happy clients/customers
• Intellectual property: what to protect and how to protect it
• Choosing the right attorney/advisory team

RSVP: Contact the Brooklyn Creative League at info@BrooklynCreativeLeague.com or (718) 576-2104.

Date:  Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Time:  9:30 to 11 a.m.
Location: Brooklyn Creative League, 540 President Street (between 3rd and 4th avenues)
(Take N/R Subway to Union Street)
Price:  Free for members; $10 non-members

Ready to chase your dreams of being an entrepreneur? Yes, I mean you. Why not you?

Listen in to this lively and informative interview of Robert Tuchman, author of YOUNG GUNS: The Fearless Entrepreneur’s Guide to Chasing Your Dreams and Breaking Out on Your Own. Robert talks about why the theme of “why not you?” has to resonate powerfully for budding business owners. He shares war stories (mistakes), lessons learned and benefits gleaned from having a solid professional team behind him . . .  even from the get-go.

For more information about Robert and the book, visit his website at www.YoungBusinessExecutives.com.

What are the odds?  Is your business primed for success, financially?

If you’d like to know (and “knowledge is good“), then check out StartUp Nation’s “Success Calculator.”  Perhaps the most important question is “timeframe.”  It gets you to think about your real goals for your company and where you want to be in one to five years’ time.

Remember, the results don’t have to be a predictor–if you don’t like what you see, now’s the time to tweak to ensure you’ll reach your goals!

Got 10 minutes?

For anyone starting and running a business, making sure that clients pay you on a timely basis is a huge consideration.  Check out this StartUp Nation podcast, “Training Your Clients to Pay You.” I’m interviewed by Rich Sloan, the co-founder and Chief Startupologist of StartUpNation.  The site also has a lot of handy information and step-by-step advice on starting a business, so be sure to visit.

I mentioned it last week, but now there’s a new reason to attend NYC StartUp on June 24: I’m one of the panelists at the conference.

I’ll be speaking on the legal side of “Do you have what it takes to get started?” identifying the major issues that entrepreneurs face when getting started.

The one-day conference is ideal for NYC-based corporate professionals looking to create a new business as wel as for existing business owners looking for greater levels of success.  Attendees will enjoy:

• Stories of successful NYC entrepreneurs

• Presentations by heads of all the NYC agencies providing funding and resources for new businesses

• The Next Big Idea Business Contest, where a panel of VCs and industry experts will review business plans

• Lunchtime table networking with VCs and industry experts from the green, media, technology and healthcare industries

• Practical experts giving hands-on guidance

Space is limited, so register today at westcoastgroupny.com!

Do you know corporate professionals (working or laid off) in the New York City area who are considering creating a new business? Do you know existing business owners ready to go to the next level?

Then read on for this not-to-miss opportunity!

The NY Post is sponsoring NYC StartUp–a one-day event on June 24 featuring the stories of successful NYC entrepreneurs as well as presentations by heads of all the NYC agencies providing funding and resources for new businesses. There will also be a Next Big Idea Business Contest, where attendees will have their business plans reviewed by a panel of venture capitalists and industry experts.

Highlights of the day will include:

• NYC Economic Development Corp. and Deputy Mayor Robert Lieber on resources the city wants to provide
• Presentations by the CEOs of Clickable.com and Vault.com, the founder of DoubleClick, Joy Bauer of the Today show, the head of the Entrepreneurs Organization and many other successful entrepreneurs sharing their successes and mistakes
• Lunchtime table networking with venture capitalists and industry experts from the green, media, technology and health-care industries. Get ideas and find partners to join in business.
• Experts helping you think through “Do you have what it takes” to go out on your own?
• Don’t miss my colleague Sharon Melnick, Ph.D., a dynamic speaker and expert on helping busy and talented professionals get out of their own way.
• And much more guidance on how to get started and grow!

Space is limited, so register today at westcoastgroupny.com!

Yes, it comes from a competitor, but money is money, right?

Forbes, in conjunction with The Venture Alliance, is launching a survey of America’s Most Promising Companies.  It’s an opportunity for small business owners to evaluate their chances of getting investment capital funding.  They’ll look not just at growth in sales, but a whole range of other intangible factors, too, like the strength of the management team, the commitment of the owners and the intellectual property they’ve developed.  Don’t hold me to it, but I’m told there’s a money prize for the winner . . .  and publicity for the finalists (and you know investors will be checking out that list, too).  Enter today to get on their radar!

Wells Fargo just released the latest in its series of webcasts for small business owners.  Titled “Cost Saving Real Estate Strategies for Your Business,” it features moi, in a scintillating, not-to-be-missed discussion of how tenants can reduce their lease expenses.  I’m joined by co-panelists Brad Blackwell and Jagdeep Dayal of Wells Fargo, Emily Fu of ReMax of Greater Atlanta, and moderator Rich Sloan, chief startupologist at Startup Nation.

As those of us employees-turned-entrepreneurs know, life is full of risk. Yes, we could have stayed at our (theoretically) secure jobs, continued to make predictable sums of money (again, theoretically) and known what was expected of us. The risk, though, was that we would stagnate–as workers, people, souls. Or get laid off and thrown back into a predictable world.

So we took the leap of faith and started our own companies. We faced more risk–financial risks, legal risks–but we felt the trade-off was worth it. As we make changes to our business, different risks will arise. Some we can anticipate. Some we’ll evaluate as too remote to worry about. When you start to expand your business–such as with strategic alliances–new issues will arise. Can you withstand the risk?

As in the Three Little Pigs fable, you want to be sure your business has a strong legal foundation so that if a “wolf” (disgruntled customer, irate business partner) huffs and puffs, your house won’t blow in. What are some of the things that could blow your “house” in, if not handled properly?

• Operating as sole proprietor in the face of a lawsuit
• Not having a written agreement with your business partners–whether in your company or in an alliance
• Doing business on a handshake
• Inadequately protecting your company information or intellectual property
• Insufficient insurance (especially if you have employees)

There are many areas that can leave your company vulnerable . . . many of which can be easily rectified. For more guidance on the potential risks to keep an eye on, I’ve created a handy tool, Is Your Business Legally Healthy?, available through my GreatBusinessLawResources.com site. It’s an easy-to-follow questionnaire. Because it’s self-scoring, you’ll know right away if your company is thriving or slowly succumbing to an unidentified illness.

I wish I knew the answer.

That’s why I’m attending the Fourth Annual Small Business Summit on Feb. 3 in New York City–”the only small business summit BY small business FOR small business.”  Exchange ideas with experts and peers; connect with potential new alliances; find the resources and customers you’re seeking.  Visit the Small Business Summit site for more information and registration.  I hope to see you there.