SET UP YOUR BUSINESS BEFORE YOU CALL ME?

There is a lot to worry about when setting up a new business. Of course, how to make money. But there’s marketing, sourcing, finding a lease or property, buying equipment. It goes on.

SET UP TASKS TO DISCUSS WITH YOUR PARTNERS

But when it comes to setting up the *legal* part of your business, you still have a lot of work to do. Work that I can’t do for you because you have to make decisions about how your shop will be run.

When you consult with me on starting a new, multi-owner business, I can draft the mumbo-jumbo part of the bylaws or operating agreement easy-peasy. In fact most of it I drafted years ago. It’s the moving parts that you’re paying me to not only draft, but guide you through and consult with on getting them right.

HERE’S A LIST

Here’s some things to talk about with your partners when starting your business but before you call me to get it drafted, from the legal side of things (bullet points because people like bullet points):

  • How will the profits be split
  • More important, how will we define “profits”
  • What salary will we all take
  • What work, money, equipment, and/or other resources will each owner contribute
  • How will the entity make major decisions on spending, asset allocation, bringing in new investors or taking out loans
  • What if one owner wants to sell his share, how does that work
  • What if one owner dies or gets incapacitated
  • What happens if an owner fails to contribute the pledged labor, money, equipment, etc.
  • How to resolve disputes among owners about running the business
  • How to sell the business
  • Who will make the major decisions in the event of an owner stalemate
  • How will the proceeds from a sale or liquidation of the business be split
business set up
Western North Carolina Business Lawyer

HOW I HELP YOU SET UP A BUSINESS

When I help people form a new venture, I’ll send out a questionnaire with these and other points that the owners need to discuss *before* starting the business and *before* there’s a dispute. Everyone wants to be nice and split the profits equally, until there’s $1,000,000 on the table and one partner has spent the past year on his couch doing nothing. Then you’ve got yourself a failed business and maybe a lawsuit.

My basic, two-person business startup package costs $750 (plus you pay the filing fees), but it doesn’t include all of the above. Much of what’s listed can take some detailed custom drafting. However you’ll get the basic documents to get started, and down the road you can add or change your bylaws/operating agreement when the business starts to grow.

For businesses of more than two people, call me for rates and an estimate.

If you’re starting a new business in western North Carolina, call me at (312) 671-6453 or email me at palermo@palermolaw.com for guidance in getting it done.

Check out some of my other business start-up posts Why Online Legal Documents Are Useless for Business (Part 1) and Business Succession Planning: Why You Need It