5 Common Legal Mistakes That Businesses Make

Running a business is a huge juggling act. Many people will put off thinking about the legal side of things to focus on other aspects. However, neglecting legal precautions could be costly as it could open you up to lawsuits. Not implementing certain legal requirements may even get you fined. Here are five mistakes to avoid in order to keep your company legally tight.

Choosing the wrong business structure

There are lots of different business structures to consider from sole proprietorships to partnerships to LLCs and corporations. All of these structures can have different benefits and drawbacks, so it’s worth doing your research before picking one. For example, if you’re a sole proprietor, you’ll have more control over the running of your business and won’t have to pay corporate taxes, however your personal assets could be at risk if you’re sued.

Not having a solicitor on call

There are a lot of rules and regulations that businesses have to abide by. Hiring a solicitor can be useful to help guide you through these regulations and ensure that you’re doing everything above board. Corporate lawyers can also help handle lawsuits. Shop around for solicitors with a good reputation that have worked in your field before.

Writing contracts yourself

Every business needs legally-binding contracts. These could be terms and conditions for clients or contracts for new employees. Whilst you can write these yourself, it’s worth getting contracts professionally written so that there aren’t any loopholes. Legal contract writing is a fine art and wording is very important – it could help defend you against lawsuits in the future or allow you stable ground to sue others who have done wrong to you.

Failing to have a privacy policy

A privacy policy is essential for any company that markets its services. This policy ensures that clients’ private details aren’t given out to other people without their permission. Every business needs a privacy policy in place as data that has been passed on without permission could result in you being sued by a client.

Neglecting non-compulsory insurance

There are lots of insurance schemes out there for business owners. Many will only take out employer’s liability insurance as this is generally the only one that is compulsory. However, there are lots of non-compulsory schemes that could also be of benefit to your business such as product liability insurance and professional liability insurance. These can help to cover other common claims made against businesses such as faulty products, malpractice or negligence. Often you can save costs by taking out a general business insurance scheme. Whilst not all trades may benefit from these insurance schemes, others could find that they are very useful for deflecting big lawsuit costs.

Smart Steps To The Employee You Really Want

Are you looking for an employee to rock your world (in a professional way)? Then you need to make sure you’re taking the smart steps to find the employee that you really want. If you know something is missing in terms of staff when it comes to your team, you must do something about it ASAP. Here are the smart steps to find that rockstar employee of your dreams:

Outline Exactly What You’d Like

The first thing you need to do is outline exactly what you’d like in an employee. It’s a good idea to prioritise what the employee must come already equipped with in terms of skills and qualifications, and what they can learn on the job.

Make sure you then sell the position with your job post. This is the best way to attract talent. You want them to want to apply and work at your company by making it sound like a wonderful opportunity. Don’t write a boilerplate job advertisement! Know what makes your company great and unique and talk about that.

Get A Little Help

It’s OK to get a little help when you need it. One way of doing this is by asking for leads from people you’ve already hired. Go to employees that are exactly who you wanted them to be, and ask who their favourite colleagues were and why. Tell them about the position becoming available. They might just be able to bring someone great to the team.  

Another way of getting help is by using a headhunting service like http://www.eagleheadhunters.co.uk/. You let the company know what you want and they basically do the hard work for you, which can take a lot of the stress out of it and save you time.

Think Of Past People You Didn’t Hire But Considered

Maybe you’ve had a ton of amazing candidates in the past. You can only choose one, though, right? Make sure you stay in touch with these people via email marketing. This way, you can let them know that another position has become available.  

Use Facebook To Advertise

Facebook is not just for socialising or selling your products. You can use Facebook ads to target people who may be looking for work in your industry. You can even create a post and make it easy for employee shares to take place, so that as many people see the job ad as possible. Facebook is a wonderful tool for a multitude of reasons!

Make Sure The Interview Process Is Perfect

Now, all you need to do is make sure the interview process is perfect. How will you ensure that you’re hiring the right person for your team? Make sure you ask the right questions, introduce them to the rest of the team to get feedback from them, and maybe even present them with a task to see how they handle it.

These smart steps will help you to hire the employee you really want on your team. Good luck!

How To Reduce Shipping Costs!

An entrepreneur hates the idea of spending money on shipping. They just want to get into a Longship and cut out the middleman! Sadly, this isn’t an option in the 21st century because it has something to do with E.U regulations. Still, fear not as there are ways for businesses to cut the cost of shipping to a bare minimum. Hold onto your horned helmets because this is the Viking Wanderer way to organise the delivery process.

Think About Goldilocks

Apart from her flowing blond hair, it’s her story which makes her a shining example. What’s the first way to save money? It’s to find a supplier who doesn’t cost as much. It’s great logic until you think about the reasons why. Why are they cheaper than their competitors? Why are they hiding something? Why does it give you an uneasy feeling? The answer tends to be that it’s a sign of incompetency as they can’t match their rivals for quality. So, that means they are out, as are the costliest services. The middle ground is without a doubt is the best place to be because it ticks all the boxes. The cost is neither cheap nor expensive, and the service is dependable. Often, the most affordable option costs more in the long run.

Rent To Buy

In simple terms, a rent to buy scheme is where you pay off the amount until you own the product. You can find out more by clicking the link but just think of it as a car finance deal. Businesses who want to save money can use this service to their advantage. Another way to cut out the middleman is to start operating a similar service. Businesses hate this idea because shipping expenses are high, yet this is where renting to buy comes in handy. By paying a minimum amount monthly, there is no reason to splash out a fortune. Instead, you can use the rent side of things to keep the cost low until the trucks are a business asset. It can cost a little extra in the beginning, but it pays off in the long-term when you can run a decent shipping outfit.

Put Tech To Work

Even if you bring shipping in-house, there is going to be a large cost. Thankfully, technology is on hand to reduce the firm’s expenses. Take tracking packages and parcels as an example. With a tracking service, it is possible to forecast daily workloads or to introduce new items to salespeople. You can also use the info for customer service purposes to appease customers. Simply put, a tracking service allows you to reorganise the entire supply chain for the company’s benefit. Once there are a couple of changes, the productivity levels will begin to increase, as will efficiency. These are the two leading factors in any business because they save the most money.

Shipping is a notable expense for any organisation. But your company can reduce the cost by a significant amount.