What about the legal stuff????

[kgkissam]

How do I go about with all the legal stuff?
IE finding a lawyer, insurance agent, accountant?
How much insurance do I need?
What should a lawyer cost? How about the accountant and others?

Kgkissam

 

[FXAdam]

How do I go about with all the legal stuff?
IE finding a lawyer, insurance agent, accountant?

Talk to people you know. One of them will know a lawyer. Go talk to the lawyer. If they are someone you think you can work with then go for it. Don't let them talk down to you and treat you like a moron. They work for you an do what you tell them. They give advice, they recommend, but you tell them to do what you want.

Accountants are pretty much the same. If you know any small business owners in your locality find out who they use. Bookeeping isn't as hard as it looks and you might be able to handle it yourself if you get someone to set up a system for you.

Insurance again is pretty much the same. Find someone that people you know trust and see how you like them.

How much insurance do I need?

That is a tough question for me to answer. I am in Canada and our personal damage liability awards are much less ridiculous than they are in the US. This is something your lawyer can help you with, and asking them will be a good check on whatever your Insurance agent suggests (they make more the more you buy right)?

At a minimum you will want to insure the value of your equipment and some amount of inventory. Ideally this will have a big enough extra payout that you can payoff any lease or loan commitments you might still owe. You are most likely contractually obligated to pay those amounts whether you have a business or not, so if you can make those debts go away in the event of a fire or something so much the better.

You will also need liability insurance in case someone comes into your shop, slips on the floor and paralyzes themselves or some other injury. You are in the US and it is pretty much guaranteed they are going to sue you. You are going to need enough coverage to compensate them for their lost earning potential for the rest of their life plus, plus, plus etc. In other word you probably want a lot.

What should a lawyer cost? How about the accountant and others?

Kgkissam

This can range from not that much to offensively ridiculous. If it is someone a friend of yours recommended you might catch a bit of a break.

Stay away from big firms because the kind of legal work you need can be done by one guy working out of his basement, and that guy will charge way less than a large firm. This applies to accountnants as well.

Hope that helps some.

 

[equus007]

legal stuff

Lawyer=probably don't need one. I never had a lawyer on retainer and did just fine

Insurance=liability is required and see the post above. Also you may want to contact your personal insurer they can help as well. Also fire insurance will be needed. For businesses they usually come down and do an evaluation to let you know what the value is.

Accountant=learn to love Quickbooks or hire someone that does. You can do all your books pretty easily and it helps you mentaly to do it yourself. Year end taxes go find a good CPA. There is a reason they exist...they can save you alot of money.

 

[mimimikikiki]

I can advise you just the most magnificent lawyer who "saved" more than once human lives, including mine. When the time came for a divorce and I did not dare to do it, he pushed me to do it and in the end now I do not even a drop about it I do not regret. I travel, I have many friends and I do not spend money, time and nerves on my family

 

[briannocramming]

This is a complex question that doesn’t have an easy answer :images: