Commercial attorneys (or more simply, business lawyers) are in the business of helping your business.
Business owners are always thinking of how to grow their business. The obvious answer is get more business from bigger clients, or get more sales volume from more clients, but how do you build the engine that produces that for you? What structure, what framework does it need? That's where having a commercial attorney in your circle of advisors will help.
Commercial attorneys are in the business of helping your business.
What does this mean?
Let's use my favourite analogy, drawn from one of my favourite business books - The Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. DeMarco. * I'll put a distinctly South African tongue-in-cheek twist on it, too.
In this analogy, your business is a car.
Destination - your goals for the business - the reason you started it in the first place - is the destination. Ballito, perhaps? Ballito is quite far away, because you're probably reading this from somewhere in Gauteng. What vehicle will you choose to get you there reliably, and on time?
Vehicle - the vehicle you choose represents the business you run. Is it a bicycle, or an armoured SUV? How fast can it get you to your destination? How reliable is it?
Route - the route you take to your destination represents the choices you make. Will you take the advice of the regular travelers, who recommend you stick to the highway, avoiding the lanes with potholes, noting the speed cameras and roadblocks?
Or will you wing it, figuring you know best, and just start driving south through the small towns, tackling the sand roads, potholes and livestock crossing as you go?
Here are the ways you can improve your vehicle and choose the right route.
Improve your vehicle
There's no harm in starting out on a bicycle; many of us do. But it's better to upgrade to something faster, with armour plating. You want to get to your destination as fast as possible, and safely. Here's how we can help you upgrade your business vehicle:
We can implement custom Contracts, Operations Documents and Policies for all levels of the business.
Better employment contracts and performance standards will get more performance out of your staff - helping increase productivity and profitability.
Comprehensive Terms and Conditions of Service for your website, quotations and agreements with all clients - to ensure you get paid, keep the scope of your services defined and minimise disputes with clients.
We've seen every type of commercial contract and every trick hidden in the small print. When you are entering into a contract with a service provider - for example, a digital marketing service - we'll use our experience in contract review and negotiation to advise you whether to accept their terms, which to negotiate, and which terms are complete deal-breakers representing a risk to your business. We'll also help you negotiate to ensure clear performance standards (KPIs) are enforced.
Choose the right route
It's critical to choose the right route, and stay on it. Many new business owners don't realise the sheer number of legal potholes to navigate, and sadly, they usually only ask our advice when they've already hit one (which is more expensive to fix).
Some common legal aspects on which we regularly guide clients:
Risk of not receiving payment for your work - there are many reasons why you might be struggling to collect debts owed to your business.
The terms in your Service Level Agreement may not be comprehensive enough, leaving a loophole for your client to delay or avoid payment.
You might not have done proper Due Diligence on your client - or neglected to conduct a credit check - with the result that you've done work for an insolvent or struggling client. That client is staring down a business rescue or liquidation scenario, and you're going down with them.
Risk of non-compliance and penalties - people often don't realise that the amount of State oversight, and the number of Acts and regulations which apply to any business (to say nothing of specific regulations governing your industry) is enormous.
Labour - failing to follow proper legal procedure in dismissing a bad employee can result in a CCMA award of up to 24 months of that employee's salary.
Compliance - failing to follow the law in the realms of personal privacy (POPIA, PAIA, ECT, ECTA), competition (Competition Act), credit (National Credit Act), can result in penalties or even imprisonment.
Litigation - failing to follow your duties and performance standards (or on the other side, failing to enforce performance standards expected of your service provider) can result in breach of contract, expensive litigation and loss of income.
Smart preparation doesn't have to break the bank
Having an experienced commercial advisor in your circle doesn't have to be out of reach. We've challenged the perception that attorneys are too expensive with our Business Protect retainer for businesses. Business Protect is an affordable monthly retainer that helps you:
grow your business faster, with less frustration
stress less, knowing any legal challenges are being handled by experienced advisors
avoid financial loss through CCMA fines, regulatory penalties, debts written off
avoid expensive legal fees by helping you avoid breaches of contract and other litigation
get bigger business and make more money through better contracts and processes
focus on growth knowing that the other parts of your business are being run better.
Read more about Business Protect here, or contact us.
* If you haven't read The Millionaire Fastlane by M.J. DeMarco, I highly recommend you do. We don't endorse other companies or products, and don't receive any commissions from recommending this book - we just do so because it's good, and can help your business. Go find it on Amazon or Takealot or something. While we're on the subject of good business books, another great one is The E-Myth Revisited by Michael E. Gerber.
Kommentare