Page 61 - 597 Business Ideas You can Start from Home - doing what you LOVE! (Beginner Internet Marketing Series)
P. 61
•
unders tand l egal issues
The trouble with law is lawyers.
- C LA R ENCE DARROW
Don't worry; I'm not going to throw a bunch of legal mumbo-jumbo
at you so your eyes glaze over. (There is a reason that I did not
attend law school!) But a budding entrepreneur does need to know
a bare minimum about the legal issues of entrepreneurship.
First, all entrepreneurs should know the basics of "intellectual
property" law as it relates to protecting their product idea. Your
intellectual property (IP) attorney can explain the details pertain
ing to your situation, but I will touch on the basics . Second, you
should become familiar with the most common forms of business
ownership. You'll undoubtedly encounter other legal issues such as
business insurance, taxes, and employee relations further down the
road.
Just to touch on product liability insurance, you'll want to look
into liability insurance before your product is available to the pub
lic. Your current homeowner's or renter's insurance agent should be
able to help you secure a reasonable business liability insurance pol
icy. Think about all the potential injuries or harm that your product
could conceivably cause. The "danger or harm" level of your product
will dictate the amount of liability you will need. For example if you
are selling something with small parts that a child could choke on
and the product is for the children's market, you will need a higher
51