New Year’s resolutions aren’t just for individuals. As a diligent and savvy business owner, you should make New Year’s resolutions for your business as well. Perhaps this year you want to focus on expanding your revenue stream through enhanced marketing efforts. Maybe you want to ensure that you protect your business’s future by having a clear succession plan in place. A critical, but often overlooked component to your business’s health is to maintain an up-to-date Minute Book. A company’s well maintained Minute Book ensures that closely held companies maintain asset protection for the owners and that all business decisions are made in accordance with the company’s operative documents. This is exactly what The Faulkner Firm offers through our Corporate Concierge Program.
What Does Maintaining Asset Protection Mean?
A business that makes decisions in compliance with its operative documents and memorializes its decisions in alignment with corporate formalities maintains asset protection for its owners. Many business owners believe that just filing for an LLC will keep a line in the sand between the owners and the business in the event of a lawsuit. But that is not so, especially for small businesses. The protection availed to business owners is extended only to those owners who maintain legal separation between themselves and the company. A few things you should make sure you’re doing to retain asset protection include:
- Maintaining your company’s up-to-date Minute Book;
- Filing an accurate and timely Annual Report;
- Keeping business and personal funds separate;
- Only signing properly drafted business contracts between the company, its employees, and its vendors;
- Ensuring compliance with the guidelines set out in the Operating Agreement or Bylaws.
There may be other things that you can do to protect yourself. Often a simple consultation with a business law firm is the best way to learn what you should be doing. From there, you’ll want to create and follow through on the action items discussed.
Talk to Your Business’s Law Firm
If your business is too small to have a corporate attorney on staff, you should have a dedicated and experienced business law firm on retainer to handle your legal needs. Meeting with your business attorneys before entering into new employment agreements, lease agreements, or other important contracts can often prevent legal difficulties down the road. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, Benjamin Franklin famously quipped. This is most definitely true in the legal world. And, they can often offer advice to help you avoid some of the pitfalls that trigger business audits and lawsuits.
Looking for a Law Firm for Your Business? The Faulkner Firm Can Help
Whether you are a small business in Tampa Bay or operate throughout the world, The Faulkner Firm can help. Not only are we a business law firm, but we specialize in helping companies such as yours maintain asset protection and stay “audit ready” with our Corporate Concierge Plan. On this plan, we keep you in compliance with state laws each year and offer free 15-minute consultations throughout the year on new business matters. Of course, we can help with many other business law needs throughout the year as well. If you’re looking for a local law firm who specializes in business law, call The Faulkner Firm at (727) 939-4900 or fill out our contact form for your free consultation.