If you have a small business one misconception people have is that the laws and regulations that larger companies and corporations are held to adhere to don’t apply to them. This is unfortunately not the case which is why it’s so important to familiarise yourself with legal case studies and legal terms. This will help you to better understand which laws your business is required to adhere to.
Advertising and marketing
Advertising and marketing may seem pretty straight forward; however there are certain things that you must adhere to. Firstly you are not allowed by law to exaggerate claims of your product or service and even labelling of products and services are subject to the law. Email and telemarketing campaigns are also subject to the law in addition to advertisements aimed at children. Specific businesses are held by certain laws so ensure you check the laws that apply to your type of business as it’s not a one size fits all.
Employment laws
If you have other people working for you then you will have to ensure you follow the right employment laws or you could be faced with a lawsuit that financially damages your business. The laws include providing specific safety equipment where necessary, providing leave and breaks at specific time periods for health and safety reasons. Laws can vary depending on the area so it’s best to familiarise yourself with not only the laws that apply to your business, but also ensuring they are geographically correct. Look at prior legal case studies to see where other businesses have gone wrong so that you can avoid making the same mistakes.
Finance
The ultimate aim of starting a business is to create income and for this reason whether you are providing products or a service transactions are likely to take place. Learning the financial laws and legal terms can help you to not only avoid a lawsuit from customers and investors but also help you to protect your business.
Property law
If you offer a service or product you should ensure that you register a trademark or copyright to stop your great ideas being stolen. The property law can help protect you from this and ensure anyone using your registered ideas can be brought to task in a court of law. Check out recent legal case studies to find out how the property law has helped other businesses to bring others with copyright infringement to task.
Online businesses
Whether or not you have a physical company, if you trade online there are still laws that you are bound to. You will still have to pay sales tax and abide to certain other trading laws. It’s extremely important to familiarise yourself with them to avoid getting into trouble in the future.
Environmental
There have been many environmental legal case studies of late, especially with the general public being more informed over environmental issues. There are specific environmental regulations in place to protect those within the area both now and in the future so before starting up any type of business do check the laws beforehand to ensure you fully comply with them. Always look up any legal terms that you don’t understand rather than skipping over them as this could save you getting pulled into court at a later date or ruining the reputation of your business.
Financial contracts
All financial contracts are regulated and the chances are you already know this but what many small business owners don’t know is that the financial contract laws differ from state to state. With more companies doing business online it’s important to check that any financial papers are within that states law. Check the legal terms for the uniform commercial code so that you don’t get caught out later down the line.