Last week in the Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter we began a new series, the 10 Steps to Starting a Small Business in 2022, and we covered the first step, which is to develop a business plan.  Having a business plan is very important before you do anything else, especially the second step which we are going to talk about in today's blog and email newsletter.  In today's Freedom Friday blog and email newsletter, we're going to talk about the second step in starting a small business in 2022, and that's to gather your team.

So, what kind of team do I need to gather if I'm starting a new small business this year?  Your “team” consists of the people who will provide you the necessary support, advice, and guidance you need while you start your new small business.  Your team might include an accountant or tax professional, an attorney, and even a business coach.  Now, you might be asking, “Should I have LegalZoom or another DIY resource as part of my team?”  LegalZoom and DIY resources are sometimes a good service, for some people, some of the time.  However, as an attorney, I always counsel my clients to be very careful when using LegalZoom or another DIY legal resource to avoid future issues.  An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  Some of the documents you can get from some of these services and websites might be just fine for some kinds of people, in certain kinds of situations, to meet certain types of needs.  For some people, its just okay to use a boilerplate template document for an operating agreement or a simple contract.  However, when it comes to your new small business, sometimes just being “okay” is not good enough for what you really need.

Here's the deal.  LegalZoom and other DIY resources are not attorneys; they are not licensed to practice law and they do not give legal advice to their “clients.”  While they do provide a service like document drafting they cannot give you as a client the legal judgment which only an attorney can offer you.  For example, you can give LegalZoom the information it needs to draft a document, but it might not ask you the pertinent questions which an attorney might ask you regarding your situation.  For instance, if you're starting a new small business, you might be able to use some boilerplate documents, but if you have business partners (you're forming a multi-member LLC), the DIY legal resources might not pick up on very important legal issues which you and your business partners really need to discuss with an attorney and get some real legal advice regarding those issues.  Even if you end up using a boilerplate document for your LLC operating agreement, you might have some very small errors or problems which might seem insignificant to you now, but they can lead to major issues later on.  By consulting with an actual attorney, these major issues could be completely avoided, saving you as a small business owner a ton of money and time.

There's a big advantage for you as a new small business owner which you get when you consult with a real attorney instead of using LegalZoom or another DIY resource.  That advantage is you will have the peace of mind that your attorney is giving you solid legal advice and legal judgment.  An attorney is licensed to practice law, and he or she is expected to zealously advocate for his or her clients and look out for their best interests.  If you're getting anything less than that from your attorney, then that attorney is simply not being ethical.  Attorneys are actually bound to practice law within the rules of ethics and provide you with their legal judgment.  This involves asking pertinent questions about your situation, picking up on the details, and customizing their services to meet your individual and unique needs as a client.  Unfortunately, LegalZoom and DIY resources don't work that way, as they're not actual attorneys.  There is an advantage in consulting with a real attorney and getting real results.

If you are interested in starting a small business in 2022, or you have any business law or business litigation need anywhere in the State of Oklahoma, please contact me at [email protected] to schedule a FREE strategy session.

For more information about Liberty Legal Solutions, LLC, please visit our website at http://www.libertylegalok.com/