Entrepreneurs and New Businesses Lawyer Dallas, TX
If you are thinking about starting a new business or founding a startup, you will need to choose a legal structure for your enterprise before you can legally operate your business in most states. There are four primary legal structures to choose from and each has potential benefits and drawbacks. Therefore, it is generally a good idea to speak with an experienced Dallas, Texas entrepreneurs and new businesses lawyer about your business model, your startup financing situation and your vision for your business before committing to one structure over the others. After the experienced legal team at Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC learns about your needs and priorities, we can advise you of your legal options and help you to select the legal structure that will work best for your new business.
Choosing a Legal Structure for Your New Business
There are four primary legal structures to choose from when forming a new business. An experienced Dallas, TX entrepreneurs and new businesses lawyer can advise you of the potential pros and cons of each option as applied to your specific business model. These structures include: sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations. In a nutshell, corporation structures are used most often by larger enterprises focused on broad growth and fundraising through the sale of securities. Corporations have a strict management structure and are beholden to stock holders. On the opposite end of the spectrum are sole proprietorships (run by single owners) and partnerships (run by more than one owner). These structures have a very flexible management structure and are taxed on the personal returns of their owners. The “middle ground” of legal structures are LLCs. Limited liability companies have a relatively flexible management structure and may be run by one or many owners (called members). The major benefit associated with choosing an LLC structure is that this model gives members a personal liability shield. That shield keeps business-related creditors from coming after the personal wealth of the company’s members in the event that the business cannot meet its debts, government fines, taxes, legal judgments, etc.
An entrepreneurs and new businesses lawyer in Dallas, TX at Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC knows that the prospect of starting a business with a partner can be exciting. When two people have a business idea that they would like to execute, it’s common to encroach upon this process together. Much of the time, entrepreneurs may look to close friends or family to share in the hard work and risks that can come with owning a business.
The idea of working with someone whom you are close to can be fun and come with a number of benefits. However, as you probably know, it will be necessary to put a lot of hard work into ensuring the success of your small business. While there are a variety of benefits, you may have concern over what may happen should things go south. Developing a clear partnership agreement with assistance from a Texas entrepreneurs and new businesses lawyer at Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC can help to ensure that there is nothing left out.
Working closely with our law firm can not only help to answer the questions you and your business partner have, but help to safeguard the both of you, and your small business.
Benefits of Having a Business Partner
When establishing a business with a partner, it’s beneficial that you have a clear plan for how you will partner with each other during your business venture. There are a number of benefits to going into business with another person, such as:
- You can divide and conquer. Meaning, you have the ability to focus on the areas where each of you have more experience and skill.
- You can equally share the workload.
- You can make big decisions together, and ensure that small details are not left out.
- You can share in the financial cost of starting and owning a small business.
While there are a number of benefits, problems may arise if you and your business partner do not take the time to develop agreements when faced with everyday decision making and disagreements. It’s important to note that this risk can be easily mitigated with support from a Dallas, Texas entrepreneurs and new businesses lawyer.
Developing a Partnership Agreement
When starting a business with another person, it’s important that you have a clear, well-formulated partnership agreement that outlines each aspect to the partnership. We can assist you in developing a partnership agreement that may include:
- Outline the purpose of your business
- Name your business
- Describe the contribution of each partner, this can include:
- Financial Contribution
- Property
- Real Estate
- Intellectual Property
- Distribution of Profits and Losses
- Plans for Decision Making
- Dispute Resolution
- Dissolution of the Partnership
A partnership agreement should leave nothing to the imagination to ensure that you both know what to do when running the business and making key decisions that come along with it. Contacting a new business lawyer in Dallas for entrepreneurs can prove beneficial to helping the both of you in developing a partnership agreement that is clear and mitigates the risk of conflict down the road.
Types of Business Partnerships
There are primarily three types of business partnerships that you may choose from when you are starting a small business with another person. These include:
- General Partnership
- Limited Partnership
- Limited Liability Partnership
It’s important that you and your business partner consult with us when forming your business partnership to ensure that you are both able to benefit positively from the partnership. Speaking with our team may prove helpful when and your business partner are ready to move forward with forming a partnership.
Starting a business will require a lot of hard work. It can be helpful to know that you have a business partner that can share in this and stand by you throughout successes and challenges. However, it’s important that you have planned properly for the formation of your business partnership, and clearly outlined how situations will be managed to mitigate the risk of conflict. It’s important that you contact a TX entrepreneurs and new businesses lawyer at Brandy Austin Law Firm, PLLC for help when developing a business partnership.
Legal Guidance Is Available
If you are starting a new business, please consider scheduling a consultation with an experienced Dallas, TX entrepreneurs and new businesses lawyer today. In order to ensure that you have met all legal requirements for the formation and registration of your business, you will benefit from speaking with our team. We have helped many entrepreneurs turn their visions into reality. Our team of Dallas, TX entrepreneurs, and new businesses lawyers would be more than happy to help you protect your business’s interests and your personal interests as you navigate the exciting transition from visionary to business owner. We look forward to taking your call.