Many aspiring entrepreneurs seek lawyers who can help make their dream come to life. But the reality is most lawyers never make it easy for small businesses and start-ups. It’s no surprise that many ask for exorbitantly high legal fees, but what’s even more frustrating is their use of legal jargon. This only adds to the confusion, or perhaps it’s a tactic to make you avail of legal services because you don’t understand anything the lawyer says. In any case, you’d be better off changing the way you think about legal matters and taking a more proactive role to boost growth.
1) Use the most cost-effective resources
Will you go to a dermatologist after sustaining a small scratch? Probably not. The same applies to hiring lawyers. Many business owners think that when it comes to any sort of legal matter, working with a lawyer is always the best route to take. But there are cases in which you can do things on your own such as drafting contracts for employees and creating agreements with suppliers. For instance, Net Lawman provides a wealth of legal forms and document templates which should guide you in deciding what terms to include in the agreements you create yourself.
Calling an expensive specialist all the time may not be doing your business any favors. Aside from depleting your budget for legal expenses, it can prove to be a complete waste of time. Your in-house lawyer can deal with most of your day-to-day legal matters. It is only when you find yourself dealing with complex projects or needing niche advice that you should seek the services of a specialist.
2) Fix small problems as soon as you find them
That small leak in your roof can cause the ceiling to crash if you choose to ignore it. Start-ups usually stumble upon many small issues, sometimes in the very foundation of their business. It’s a good idea to patch them up right away, but it’s even better to take on a proactive approach to minimize problems in the future.
Go through all your business functions and watch out for red flags. Are you constantly taking on risky deals? Do projects fall by the wayside abruptly? Do you keep falling short of your expectations? Getting answers to these questions allows you to assess what kind of risk these problems present to your business. From there, come up with a concrete action plan on how to fix the issues which might be preventing your business from scaling and growing.
3) Don’t over-lawyer
As noted above, working with lawyers that try to impress you with legal jargon can be terribly frustrating. This applies in particular if their actions cause delays in closing deals just because they focus too much on overcomplicating things. The last thing you want is to waste precious time, as it means paying the lawyer a higher fee and increasing the likelihood of the other party finding a different business to work with. Over-lawyering should be avoided at all costs, even if it means cutting ties with your current legal team.