At the same time, if your operation isn’t scaled properly, rapid growth can cause your costs and workload to quickly reach unmanageable levels, making growth unsustainable and even causing your company to implode. Fortunately, using a combination of outsourcing, processes, and technology, even the smallest operation can maximize growth while keeping costs and workload at sustainable levels.

As your Family Business Lawyer™, we support you to incorporate the systems, processes, and technology to ensure your business is positioned properly for rapid, sustainable growth. To get your growth started off on the right track, consider implementing the following strategies related to outsourcing, systems, and technology.

The shift to remote work has transformed the way the American workforce operates, and even now that vaccines are widely available, many companies are choosing to keep a large number of their workers at home. At the same time, other businesses are taking a hybrid approach, where employees work both from home and in the office.

Remote Work Is Here to Stay

In fact, more than 80% of company leaders said they plan to allow their employees to continue working remotely at least some of the time after the full reopening from the pandemic, according to a survey by research firm Gartner. The survey found that 47% of respondents said they intend to allow employees to work remotely on a full-time basis, while 43% would grant flex days, and 42% would provide flex hours.

This is true not only in terms of productivity and your bottom line, but misclassifying your workers can also cost you big-time in penalties, including fines, back taxes, and unpaid benefits. What’s more, the Department of Labor (DOL) recently rescinded a Trump-era rule that would have made it easier for employers to designate workers as independent contractors, rather than employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

This move likely signals that the Biden administration will be more carefully scrutinizing independent contractor relationships with an eye toward classifying more workers as employees rather than contractors. In fact, as a candidate for president in 2020, Biden pledged to establish a federal standard for worker classification similar to the "ABC test, which was recently adopted in California. While we’ll cover the changes in legislation regarding worker classification in more detail in a future post, for now, you should make certain that you are taking every precaution to ensure correct classification.

There are numerous types of business insurance available, and some insurance policies are a must-have for nearly every business, while others you might not need. The type of insurance you require will ultimately depend on the specific risks your company faces as well as its assets, so you should meet with us, your Family Business Lawyer™, to identify the coverage your particular business should have in place.

In addition to not having the right types and levels of coverage, business owners make a number of common mistakes when purchasing business insurance. While we can help you determine the appropriate coverage for your company, here are a few frequently made errors to avoid when investing in business insurance.

When you purchase a franchise, you get an already proven business model and brand, which can make the startup phase significantly easier. In addition to getting a reputable brand, most franchises also come with turnkey operating systems, extensive training programs, and ongoing support from the franchisor.

That said, while franchises come with several advantages, they also have their own unique downsides, such as requiring you to abide by strict operational guidelines and pay ongoing royalty fees, so they aren’t the right fit for everyone. To determine whether investing in a franchise is the right move for you, do your homework and thoroughly research the franchise before signing on the dotted line.

ADR refers to a variety of processes, such as mediation and arbitration, that help disagreeing parties resolve a dispute without resorting to litigation, and it is becoming increasingly popular with both business owners and the judicial system. Some courts even require you to use ADR before you can bring a case to trial, and it’s standard practice for big businesses to include a clause requiring ADR before litigation in their agreements. 

Indeed, whether you know it or not, if you use Facebook, Amazon, or Netflix, you’ve agreed to participate in ADR when you agreed to the company’s Terms Of Service. You might want to consider adding an ADR clause to your agreements, and if so, we can help with that.

Also known as “Terms and Conditions” or “Terms of Service,” your Terms of Use function as a legally binding agreement between your business and those who use your website. As such, your Terms of Use protect your company from liability by formally notifying users of the rules of your website and how your website’s content may, and may not, be used by others.

While you should work with us as your Family Business Lawyer™ to help create your Terms of Use, here we’ll discuss the basics of what these agreements should include and why they are so important. Keep in mind that depending on your specific business and whether or not you sell products or services online, your Terms of Use agreement may need to include much more expansive provisions than those covered here.

With so much riding on your decision, you should be careful to avoid these three common mistakes business owners often make when naming successors. Such missteps can cloud your objectivity and diminish your chosen candidate's ability to effectively take control of your company.  

1. Attempting To Clone Yourself

When selecting your successor, it can be tempting to look for someone who thinks and acts just like you. But choosing a successor isn't about cloning yourself—it's about finding someone to build upon what you've already accomplished and take your business to the next level.

That said, the rules for deducting startup expenses are a bit different from those for writing off general business expenses incurred by an existing company. For example, most startup expenses are considered capital investments and cannot be written off in the same year they are incurred, but instead, it needs to be “amortized” (meaning stretched out and deducted over a longer period) over 15 years. Let’s say, for example, that you have $15,000 in qualified startup expenses. Instead of deducting all of those expenses against your first-year income, you would receive a deduction of $1,000 per year for 15 years. However, there are some exceptions to this, as you’ll read below.

If you are like most business owners, you've likely presented with legal documents that contained terms you didn't fully understand. You may have even signed documents that you didn't completely read because you were intimidated by the confusing legalese. Surely there were times when a client or team member signed a legal document that you presented to them even without fully read or comprehending the documents they were signing.

Unfortunately, such scenarios are far too common. But it doesn't have to be, rather than creating confusion and anxiety, the agreement process should do the exact opposite.

Indeed, the agreement process is your opportunity to create clarity on your relationships, policies, procedures, and delivery of your product or service. Take it from us, as your Family Business Lawyer ™, if you avoid reviewing, rethinking, and revamping your agreement process, you are not only putting your assets and business at risk, but also short-changing yourself, your work, and your relationships.