An entrepreneur is often labelled a “starter”, an “initiator”. Every year we see the rise of new entrepreneurship efforts, emphasis is placed on the term “efforts” because there are many times that these ventures don’t forge past the first year of its startup. The startup may seem promising for the economy or for our social needs and we feel hopeful that it would continue only to find out that it did not due to internal and external limitations.
The Covid-19 pandemic left thousands of employed persons without jobs and whilst the uncertainty and fears are still looming, it forged in a lot of unemployed persons, the drive to create their own businesses.
Global statistics show in 2022, in the regions of Latin America and the Caribbean there is a working age population involved in setting up a new business which ranges from eight percent to over twenty-five percent. Brazil is one of the Latin American countries that has the highest entrepreneurship rate where businesses are over 3.5 years old. In Ecuador, over one third of the working age women are involved in early stage business activities.
To grow a successful business is to possess the know-how from the seed stage to ensure consistent growth with minimised risks. The models for entrepreneurship are evolving but there is a constant, and that is the need for protection.
“My business is small: I may not need legal advice yet“
There is a fine line between thinking that you need to crawl before you walk and thinking big so that you make it big. I believe that it is circumstantial, you may need to crawl for a while in one area of your business but in another you may need to think big and take a step that creates greater opportunities.
It is a common misconception that small businesses do not require legal assistance. The first stage in preparing your business is the formation and incorporation of your business. For example, there are many times that entrepreneurs register their business as a sole trader when it may be more beneficial based on the nature and model of the business to be registered as a limited liability company.
“Always give people more than what they expect to get.”
Nelson Boswell
Entrepreneurs often limit themselves to thinking that there is no need to put things in writing because they trust the investor or friend that is assisting them. The value of formal legal protection as compared to the cost of repairing what could go wrong is a small investment into the long term profitability of business.
The relationship between business partner or investors should always be documented, this should take the form of contracts which can detail investment ratio, profit sharing and exit strategies. Sometimes, it’s easy to see only the NOW, but it’s the future planning that protects the longevity of your business.
Another scenario exists where you may have hired your first employee, you found a template for a contract online. There is a privacy breach where the employee shares personal information of a client to a competitor or another person whom you didn’t want to have that information. What do you do? Does your contract cover this?
What if you’re lucky enough to be currently working for someone and they are willing to invest in your idea, you have a current employee contract but it is silent on this arrangement. There is a need for a partnership agreement because your idea can be taken for granted in the long run.
Creatives deserve formal recognition and protection:
Trinidad and Tobago has always been on the world’s radar for creativity. We hold some of the world’s most esteemed records in art and culture.
As a creative, you will have relations with agencies, galleries, event coordinators, venue management. There may be discussions on the telephone which were not transcribed into writing and in those conversations promises may have been made. However, these verbal assurances lack the evidential certainty as a contract affords and it may pose challenges in securing what was promised.
Creatives deserve formal protection just as any other business.
There is also the need for the intellectual protection of your creative works to ensure it is understood between all stakeholders where the intellectual property exists. Legal advice on the best practices for creative entrepreneurs provides them with protection they need to have their works valued and to be rewarded accordingly.
It’s relative:
The legal advice and legal frameworks that would be given to an entrepreneur is certainly relative to a number of factors such as type and size of business, the stage at which their business is operating, social and economic climate and future goals. Therefore, a template found on the internet may be more detrimental to the entrepreneur than a curated framework for their specific business as that template may have been created for a different jurisdiction, at a time that may not be relatable to the present and cannot take into consideration the exact stage of every entrepreneur’s journey in their business.
Simply Law 