Common Business Laws And How A Business Lawyer Can Help

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Business Law|Common Business Laws And How A Business Lawyer Can HelpEvery business needs two professionals right from the very start. One is an accountant, for apparent reasons. And the other one is a business lawyer.

Now, you need an accountant for bookkeeping and filing taxes. But why an attorney?

Simply put, a business attorney handles no single task. Indeed, a business attorney will be responsible for providing advice at every step, from zoning compliance to hiring, recruiting, and even finalizing a deal.

Besides, a business attorney will also represent your business in case of any litigation or lawsuits.

In short, a business attorney is more like an advisor for your business, regardless of its size.

Are you still confused?

Read more about the standard laws that your attorney would help you navigate through.

Intellectual Property

Intellectual properties are exclusive entities that belong to a business or an individual. For instance, a trade name or trademark, a logo, or a patented product design, are all intellectual properties.

For businesses, these properties are crucial to mark their brand identity in the market.

And therefore, it is essential to protect these identities against theft or infringement.

To your surprise, there are numerous disputes about intellectual properties. And most of them involve litigation.

Now, a reasonable attorney would assist you in starting the lawsuit. They would also be helping you gather all the evidence and investigation needed against the party in breach.

In short, they’ll protect your business and brand identity. And would also help recover monetary or other losses.

Breach of Contract

There are usually several types of contracts that your business may be involved in. For example, there could be a vendor agreement or an employment contract, to name the least.

Typically, contracts are signed off to maintain a binding agreement between two parties. And they are crucial for protecting your business in a variety of situations.

To be precise, a contract would also entail specific dos and don’ts for both parties involved in the agreement. And any breach of the contract by any party can easily trigger a dispute.

Besides, several laws govern business contracts. So, having an attorney who understands business law and can help you stay clear of contractual disputes can help your business stay ahead of troubles. And not to mention, they would also help with the litigation process against the party at fault for breaching the contract.

Moreover, the lawyer would also play defence if the other party files a lawsuit for breach of contract.

So, it’s a two-way street, and your business will surely be on the safer side in both cases.

Mediation Outside the Courts

It is noteworthy that not all business or corporate litigations end with a courtroom trial. Instead, to your surprise, most business disputes are usually settled outside the court.

Now, you may think that there are not many legalities involved if the dispute is settled outside the court.

Allow us to correct you here.

Even in out-of-court settlements, the other party can breach the mutual agreement. And it may further escalate the issue into other disputes.

Having an experienced business attorney can prevent further escalation and also help with the mediation process.

Your business attorney would help with the agreement’s drafting and negotiate the compensations to be paid or received.

In short, a business attorney will also help your business stay healthy if any dispute does not reach the courts.

Disputes with Employees

As a business owner, you may use different contracts or establish a code of conduct for your employees. For example, you may oblige your employees to maintain an NDA to protect the company’s crucial data and information.

Likewise, you may also use a minimum work term contract with your employee.

And as such, there may arise situations when the contract may need to be terminated early. For instance, if an employee needs to quit the job for any valid reason.

In such situations, it would be beneficial for your business to establish a rule book—the dos and don’ts of terminating contracts before the term ends.

And that’s precisely what your business attorney would help you with.

Wait, did we mention NDAs? Any breach of an NDA would also implicate legal action against the employee. And you may very well need to file a litigation procedure against the employee.

Disputes with employees may arise because of other reasons too. For example, workplace discrimination, harassment, and wrongful termination are also common reasons for disputes with employees.

Disputes between Partners

If you own a business in partnership with someone, then skipping on a business lawyer is not an option.

Consider this; partnership firms usually operate on shared ideas and profits for both partners. Likewise, both partners also share the workload and responsibilities.

And to your notice, all these shared profits and roles are documented.

Partners can quickly end up in disputes concerning any change in operations or standard procedures. It may even be because of differences in perception.

But, there’s one thing for sure: the business would bear the loss amidst all the internal disputes.

And you wouldn’t want that.

So, involving a business lawyer who can intervene and settle disputes can be an easy way out. And perhaps, it would also protect your business from potential losses.

Consumer Disputes

Another possible legal trouble for your business could be product liability lawsuits.

Suppose a customer or a consumer is injured while using your products. In that case, your business is at risk of losing its reputation. And not to forget the monetary expenses paid in compensation to the injured.

Nonetheless, consumer disputes are pretty standard, especially when you are a manufacturer or deal in products and not services.

A business lawyer would investigate and establish your defence’s facts to protect against both- monetary losses and reputation damage.

Or, the least they can do is cut the compensations that your business would need to pay if found guilty.

The Takeaway

A business lawyer may need to work on more than one aspect of your business. Depending upon the situation and the case at hand, they may also need to perform several tasks.

However, in all their goodness, they will only be assisting and protecting your business to clear through the legal troubles and disputes.

Is Your Store Looking a Little Run-Down? Here Are Some Great Ways To Make It Look New Again

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |make your store look brand-new again|Is Your Store Looking a Little Run-Down? Here Are Some Great Ways To Make It Look New AgainDepending on how long you’ve had your store open and whoever previously occupied the space, your store could end up looking a little run-down at times. There are a number of reasons for this. For instance, it could be because of general wear and tear, or it could be because your customers aren’t treating your premises with the most respect. Depending on the type of demographic you attract and the type of business you run, your store could go from looking brand-new to run-down in just a few weeks.

So what are some of the best ways to make your store look brand-new again? Here are a couple of great suggestions to get you started.

Revise the floor plan of your store

If you want to make your store look completely new then it’s worth taking a look at the floor plan. You could rearrange a lot of the display furniture to create an entirely different design. You could even throw out old displays and try out some new shelves to make things look a bit different. Your store might even benefit from a more open floor plan where you give your customers more space to browse instead of cramming all of your products into a small space. This can make your customers feel a lot more comfortable in your store and it can be a nice change of pace from what your store currently looks like. This can also make your store much easier to clean and maintain in the future.

Clean up the floors of your store

One of the most common areas of your store that might make it look run-down is the floor. You, your staff, and your customers walk all over the floor every single day, so it makes sense that it’s one area of your store that suffers the most general wear and tear. This is why it helps to invest in floor burnishers and cleaning services to make the floors shine and look brand-new again. You don’t need to do this very often, but it can make a huge difference in the overall appearance of your store. Alternatively, you might find it easier to hire a cleaning service every month.

Change the decor and try some new designs

It’s a great idea to change the decor and utilize a few new designs whenever you can. It doesn’t take a lot of money to change things like the colour of your walls or the paintings that you’re displaying. It’s a great investment to shift around furniture as well as long as it doesn’t reduce seating capacity in your store or restaurant. Try some new things and you’ll be surprised at just how different your store can look.

The idea of preparing your store for a renovation might sound really expensive, but it’s an absolute must if you want to make your store look brand-new again. Even if you have to invest a bit of time and money into it, it’s well worth it for the results.

What Size Business Needs an Answering Service

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article | What Size Business Needs an Answering ServiceConventional wisdom states you must have a medium to large size business in order to justify having an answering service. This truism arises primarily from the dated idea that those who answer the phone late are employees or are contracted to the company. While growing businesses with 50 employees or more by default really need to have a manned after-hours line, it is worth taking a look at the assumption that smaller businesses cannot afford an answering service. Of course, every industry is unique and no two companies within one industry are exactly the same. Despite this, you can still make some general inquiries into the need for and the cost of an answering service. The results might surprise you.

Small Business Is Helped Most by an Answering Service

Expanding large and medium businesses, as noted, seem to grasp the reality that having a real person answer the phone at all hours is not a luxury but a necessity. Research indicates, however, that the outfits which benefit most from a phone answering service are small businesses. Part of the dynamic has to do with the depersonalized manner in which business-to-consumer contact is initiated in the digital age. Statistically, most consumers believe their better chance of hearing back from a business when they have a question or an issue is by sending an email. Further, when a customer does call your business and gets an after-hours voicemail, only 20% of the time does that person leave a message. Unfortunately, studies reveal that many voicemails from customers linger for three days without being heard. Up to one in five customer voicemails are not responded to at all. The antidote for these ills is a virtual receptionist, an answering service that fosters an immediate connection between the customer and your business.

There Is a Difference Between a Call Center and Answering Service

Many business owners make no distinction between an answering service and a call center. A call center is a network of telephone agents that both receive and make calls primarily for marketing companies. Their work by definition is extremely high volume and impersonal. Should you ever reach the same person at the call center twice, it is strictly by chance. An answering service differs in that it is not a high-volume attempt to make sales on behalf of a number of businesses. The primary purpose of the answering service is to enable communication between a business and its customers as well as within the firm itself. This means the service often provides critical information that allows a sale or a business deal to be consummated. However, the answering service is not a pressurized sales unit, but rather a communication link.

Answering Services Can Offer Lots of Options

Another distinction between call centers and answering services has to do with options. Businesses that use call centers tend to be locked into a service that has limited flexibility in what it offers. A professionally managed phone answering service, on the other hand, offers a number of adaptable alternatives to its clients.

  • Payment options. The better services may give you the option of paying for their work by the individual phone call or the length of time the customer is on the phone. Since you know how long an informational call for your business usually lasts, you will immediately know which of these options is better for you.
  • Point of origin. Another plus that addresses a long-time concern of business owners is the origin point of the service. Some of the finest after-hours answering firms are based in the U.S.
  • Testing the waters. Finally, before locking your company into a contract without knowing how functional the service will be, you may want to find a service that allows a brief trial period.

An Answering Service Takes Your Business Global

Speaking of being U.S based, some businesses are concerned that an answering service will not be able to deal with international calls. After all, having 24/7 live voice support automatically suggests that people from different parts of the globe can do business with you. It is important to recognize that customers who call you will expect to be conducting business in English, which is universally regarded as the international business language.

Cutting Expenses: Why Wholesale Solar Panels Are For You

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |wholesale solar panels|Cutting Expenses: Why Wholesale Solar Panels Are For YouWe all want to save money and if we can help the environment, then even better. Wholesale solar panels are a great way to decrease your overall electrical costs and help reduce your carbon footprint. Power plants use non-renewable energy sources such as coal and natural gas to generate the bulk of electricity.

Solar panels reduce the dependence on these fossil fuels and can decrease your electric bill in the process. Solar energy has come a long way through the decades and is more efficient than ever. This guide explains the benefits of solar panels and solar panel installation.

Wholesale Solar Panels Have Great Efficiency

Solar energy has been around for a long time. The earliest solar panels had little efficiency and weren’t capable of generating enough electricity to power a home. It wasn’t until the 1970’s that research into solar energy took off thanks to a push by the federal government.

As the efficiency improved, businesses used the technology to create electricity, but it was out of reach for residential applications. The last couple decades have seen great strides and the price of solar panels for residences has decreased significantly.

It’s not not only a viable option, but the government offers tax benefits for people who install solar panels.

Decrease Electrical Costs

The upfront of solar panel installation is high, but over time it saves you money. Solar panels, if taken care of, can last decades and provide most of the power for your home. Instead of relying on the power grid, you make your own.

Photons emitted from the sun hit the photovoltaic cells on the panel and create electricity. As long as the sun shines, they generate electricity. We’re surprised you’re not already looking for a “solar company near me.”

If you have a battery connected to the solar panels, then energy is stored and used throughout the day and night. You can have electricity even when the sun isn’t out.

Solar Installation and Care

It’s important to choose the correct solar company to install the panels. If you want to save money, then you need to have maximum output. You need installers that specialize in solar panel installation,

Purchasing wholesale solar panels means you’re cutting out the middleman and getting them at the least expensive rate. You can’t beat that.

Once your panels are installed, they need to be maintained. The installers should tell you what needs to be done and when. If the solar panels get dirty or broken, then their efficiency decreases as does their lifespan.

You can have years of inexpensive electricity by choosing the proper installers with a great reputation and taking care of the panels through the years.

Get Your Solar Panels Today

Wholesale solar panels are a great investment for your home and it helps the environment. You get them at the least expensive price and generate pollution free electricity from your home.

If you want to learn more about solar energy or going green, then please explore our site.

6 Steps to Scale Your Small Business

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StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article |Scale your business|6 Steps to Scale Your Small BusinessScaling should be a primary objective for all business owners. Scaling up your business will improve efficiency, boost productivity, and increase your bottom line. Scaling your business might seem like a difficult or impossible task, especially in today’s economy. However, you can achieve sustainable growth with careful business planning and determination.

Here are some steps you should follow to scale your business and increase profits:

Step 1: Evaluate your business

You need to evaluate your business and check that you are ready to grow. Scaling a business requires investment and you must make sure that it’s the right step for your company. Take a good look at your business and identify what you need to do to increase sales and profits.

Planning is a crucial part of scaling a business and you should take the time to write a detailed expansion plan. Consider your growth objectives and what action you will need to take to achieve each goal. For instance, you may need to hire more skilled staff to handle larger order volumes and increase sales revenue. According to business.com, your growth plan should include information on business expansion opportunities, financial goals, and a growth marketing strategy. You can download a template online to help you write a detailed business growth plan.

Step 2: Calculate the cost

Scaling a business usually costs money. You may need to hire new staff, purchase technology and equipment for your business, or invest in your marketing campaigns to achieve growth. You should calculate how much money you will need to scale your business and decide where you are going to find the funds.

If you have profits built up, then you could use this capital to invest in your growth strategy. You could also take out a business loan or look for investment to boost your business. Take a look at this article by Fundbox for 10 different business financing options. Weigh up your funding options carefully and choose the best option for your business needs.

Step 3: Start outsourcing

Outsourcing is one of the most effective ways to scale up a business. When you outsource, you will have more time and resources to invest in growing the core areas of your business. You can outsource various business activities including recruitment, marketing, customer support, and human resources. Experts at HR Dept explain how they help Matlock businesses by handling their HR needs so the businesses can focus on the most important aspects of their business.

Think carefully about what business activities you could outsource and form partnerships with skilled professionals and companies. Outsourcing will help you grow your business and it is also cheaper than hiring more permanent staff.

Step 4: Invest in technology

Modern technology will make it easier to scale your business and increase profits while conserving valuable resources. There is a wide variety of technology that can streamline your business operations and boost efficiency. For instance, automation technology can improve productivity, reduce labor costs, and lower operational expenses.

Evaluate your existing systems and consider what technology could improve your business. You could install chatbots to enhance the customer experience or invest in communication software to improve collaboration between your team members. Make sure that you invest in technology that will give the best returns.

Step 5: Expand your team

If you are planning on scaling up your business, then it is likely that you will need to hire new staff to accommodate growth in your company. Invest in your recruitment strategy and take the time to attract and hire skilled employees who will support your expansion plans. According to uschamber.com, you can hire quickly by leveraging recruitment software and automating interview scheduling.

If you have an urgent need for skilled employees while you are scaling your business, then you should consider hiring freelancers or outsourcing to specialists. This approach is often more cost-effective, especially if you’re unsure whether you will require permanent staff long-term.

Step 6: Increase sales

Increasing sales is essential and you must create a strong sales strategy that will help you boost revenue and profits. There are dozens of ways to increase sales e.g. by offering loyalty programs to improve customer retention rates or selling your products to international customers. Think about which sales tactics will be most effective in your business.

Summary

Scaling up a business can be a challenge, but it might be easier than you think. Above, are six essential steps that you should take to scale your business and increase revenue. These powerful growth strategies will help you scale your company and meet your strategic goals.