Start-Up/Small Business Advice
BUSINESS START UP SOLICITORS MERTON & SMALL BUSINESS LAWYERS MERTON
Starting a business is an exciting yet challenging chapter in anyone’s life. Creating good workable ideas can be challenging. Jumping through the right legal channels is another challenge. Whilst complex, the law can be made easy where you provided with specialist legal advice for tailored for business start-ups.
Structuring the business
So you have a good idea, but don’t know how to legally structure your business. Depending on the size and nature of the business you intend to start, you have several options. If you work in trade, you could start a sole tradership, colloquially referred to as a ‘one man band’. If you are starting the business up with others, you could start a partnership or a company.
Different legal ways of structuring a business naturally have different benefits and draw-backs.
A one man band is extremely easy to set up. There are no formal legal requirements and secure capital for the business against your own assets. However, as a one man band, you will be personally liable for any losses the business making, putting your home and personal assets at risk.
A partnership shares similar characteristics. Legally, there are few formal requirements. However, partners will be personally liable for businesses, although this is shared. The share of losses and rights can also be modified by a partnership agreement and this is something we are happy to assist with.
Companies are legally the most difficult to setup and operate. Formal procedures have to be followed and financial records have to be made publicly available at Companies House, making professional and accurate accounting essential. However, shareholders and directors of a company are not personally liable for losses, so long as the business is not run recklessly. Like partnerships, the way the company is run can be modified through shareholder agreements and articles of association and, again, we are more than happy to draft and advise on these documents.
Running the business
After selecting the appropriate way to structure your business, depending on the nature of the business, you will have to consider numerous other things. You might need business premises. You might want to take on employers. We take into account all these issues and provide a full range of services for start-ups, including advice with regards to:
- Commercial leases and general commercial conveyancing
- General employment law
- Employment contracts
- Terms and conditions of trading
- General business and company law compliance
Put your business in safe hands
To find out what we can do to help your start up in Merton, contact our start up team to find out what we can do to help.