Exavier Pope is the principal owner of 528 Media Group, a multi-platform content production company, The Pope Law Firm, P.C., a boutique sports, entertainment, and corporate law firm, and Zen and Juice, a hip-hop yoga studio and events company. Pope is a media personality, sports legal analyst, content creator, award-winning attorney, Fortune 500 speaker and peak performance strategist. He is also a licensed yoga instructor. Pope runs, manages, and sets the vision for his businesses, and aims to communicate information and inspiration to the world.
Pope talks about five valuable ways small business owners can avoid legal issues and get their company off to a great start.
Establish policy and procedures
Businesses must have an effective policy and procedures manual for their organization. It gives employees a clear roadmap of their rights and responsibilities, and helps them buy into the corporate vision.
Don’t try to take legal matters into your own hands
Businesses must not try the DIY approach to protecting the business or accumulating the various types of routine contracts in the line of the work of the business. I got my name getting businesses out of trouble who tried to handle legal matters on their owned and got burned. They wound up paying far more than they would if they just engaged our firm at the beginning of the process.
Do your due diligence
Businesses have to be diligent in starting new businesses with potential suppliers and vendors. The organization must protect its business with confidentiality agreements and take the extra step to vet the past business and legal affairs of potential partners — and be open about asking for them.
Be aware of conflicts of interest
Businesses should be aware of the conflicts of interest that may arise doing business with family and friends. Not only in being as efficient, but being transparent to other employees and other aspects of the business.
Monitor your social media accounts
Businesses are all over social media now. The business has to monitor the social media activities in regard to customer engagement and use the legal process to vet communications with the general public. The right message can either save or lose customers and partners in the digital era.
This article was written by Michelle M. Guilbeau for Small Business Pulse