Starting a business can be scary. Most of us didn’t have formula business training or education, and we are figuring things out as we go. I can say I made a lot of mistakes along the way. I like to share my mistakes so you can hopefully learn from me, avoid the same mistakes, and quickly grow your business!
One of the biggest topics I am asked about is legal, so I am bringing in a legal expert to answer all yoru burning questions.
Before I tell you about the training, here are some of the legal mistakes I made when starting:
1. Not using any contract at all with my first several clients. (Thankfully, I had no issues with payment or anything else but still, not wise!)
2. Not understanding the difference between an independent contractor and an employee and letting my clients use me as an employee. (Disclaimer – they likely didn’t realize this, AND so many businesses still do this, so it’s best to educate yourself on the topic.)
3. Not knowing I needed a business banking account and business credit card versus just a regular checking and credit card account.
4. I was losing out on money by paying higher taxes since I didn’t know about certain expenses I could claim as business expenses rather than personal.
Thankfully I did learn along the way and consult with lawyers and other experts. There were no major consequences, but I now have peace of mind (which is priceless) since I am more knowledgeable than 10+ years ago when starting. And I’ve learned even more about best practices when it comes to legal and know who I can go to when I need answers because, in our world, legal is constantly changing. It’s not a one-time thing you learn; then, you are good forever.
For example, two recent changes (in the last year) had to do with recurring billing for membership and the ADA for websites, resulting in many lawsuits for online businesses that were unaware.
Because I know this issue is so important and you have questions, I want to invite you to a free training with Amber Gilormo, a business and trademark attorney. You can learn more about her here on her website: https://theboutiquelawyer.com/. And her free guide for forming an LLC is amazing. I’d suggest getting on her list to stay current with everything legal. And I don’t recommend just anyone!
If you’d like to attend the free training with me and Amber called, Legal 101: Start and Protect Your Virtual Assistant Business, you can sign up here. Once you register, you will receive the Zoom link to join the call. The event is on Thursday, May 4th, at 12 pm Central. If you cannot attend live, sign up to receive the replay via email.
And if you are reading this after the event happened, no worries. Sign up, and you will be emailed the replay; we’ve got you covered either way!
Feel free to comment below with the biggest challenges you have with legal! We can get those answered on a future call with Amber.