Setting up as a Business with Blog

The first steps in creating your new enterprise are ones that virtually any
business needs to go through: registering the business, getting advice,
and opening a bank account. Here’s a quick rundown of some of these
tasks.

Legal Counsel
When setting up any business, it’s important to know a lawyer who you can
contact for legal work such as writing a privacy policy, trademarking a brand
name, setting up a business structure, drafting contracts for staff, and other
general legal work. Early on, you are unlikely to need their services often,
but it’s best to establish a relationship before the need arises.
Moreover, a quick consultation might give you a heads-up on an issue to
keep in mind for the future. When my company set up our first website, it
never crossed anyone’s mind that we had another company’s trademark
(whose products were heavily related to the site) as part of our own site’s
name. Years later, we ended up having to change the name, hand over the
domain name, and the whole thing was very time-consuming and expensive.
Had we had some simple legal counsel early on, the whole issue could have
been avoided!
If you don’t already have a legal firm or lawyer you have used in the
past, ask around for a recommendation. If you cannot get a personal
recommendation, then find out if there is a local law association or business
development centre who can assist you.
The law firm that I use at work was recommended by a small business
incubator that the government was running in my city. We visited the
incubator while looking for office space, and while we were there asked
the person who ran the organization if he knew any good law firms. As
it happened, they had a lawyer who came in on Fridays to offer free
introductory counseling for startups. We got in touch with him and years
later we still work together!

When you have a company in mind, you can ask for a consultation and give
them a rundown of what you are planning on doing (i.e., opening a blog).
Tell them you want to set up a relationship, and maybe ask if there are any
particular legal issues you should be thinking about this early on. Many
law firms won’t charge for the first consultation (though you should double
check this) so it’s a good time ask any broad questions you have. Always
ask for an estimate for any actual work you discuss before commencing so
you don’t get any surprises.
It’s not a bad idea to meet with a few different firms and lawyers. This
will allow you to find someone you feel comfortable talking to, that you
understand, and that you feel knows at least a little bit about working online.
It will also give you a chance to compare rates if you ask each lawyer to
estimate on a specific comparable job such as trademarking a business
name or writing a privacy policy.