How a Lawyer Can Help in Setting Up Your New Business

A Georgia business law attorney can help you choose the right business structure for your company, identify applicable tax incentives, and avoid conflict with other businesses.

When you have a great idea for a business, you are understandably eager to get started marketing your products or services. Entrepreneurship websites only serve to fuel this sense of urgency by making it sound like anyone with a unique business idea and enough ambition can become a business tycoon overnight. Most new businesses operate for less than five years before closing permanently, and it is not because 19 bubble tea shops in your area are just right but 20 are too many. Even if you successfully attract a customer base, many small business owners make costly mistakes when establishing their businesses or expanding their operations. Avoiding these mistakes requires in-depth knowledge of the laws that businesses must follow. An Atlanta corporate law attorney can help you establish your business in a way that sets you up for financial success.

Choosing an Entity Type

Your first decision in establishing a new business is to choose a business entity type, also known as a business structure; you must indicate your choice of business structure when you apply for a tax ID number for your new company. Business entity types include corporations, nonprofit corporations, professional corporations (PC), limited partnerships (LP), S and C corporations, sole proprietorships, and limited liability companies (LLC). Each entity type has different requirements regarding registering with the State of Georgia and regarding taxation. Your lawyer can help you choose the best entity type based on your plans for your business.

How Tax Laws Affect Your Business Decisions

The Internal Revenue Code undergoes updates every year, and filing business taxes is much more complicated than filing personal income taxes. Tax incentives for certain business activities come and go; for example, in the wake of the pandemic, the government has introduced several tax credits to help small businesses continue to operate and to keep workers employed. Your lawyer can help you identify tax incentives that benefit your business and help you avoid mistakes that would lead to penalties or a generally heavy tax burden.

Making Sure Not to Step on Other People’s Toes

Legal disputes between business partners and/or between two companies can easily sink a well-established business, to say nothing of the damage they can do to a new venture. A corporate lawyer can make sure that, in operating your business, you are not infringing on anyone else’s legal rights. For example, does your new venture violate a non-compete agreement with your former employer, and if so, is the agreement even enforceable? Is it legal to conduct the kind of business activities in mind in the location where you plan to open your business? (For example, turning a space that used to be a Pilates studio into a bubble tea shop requires some legal permissions.) Does the lease agreement you are about to sign with a landlord leave you vulnerable to all kinds of financial liabilities? The best way to avoid trouble is to talk things over with your lawyer before signing any legally binding agreement related to your business.

Contact Zimmerman & Associates About Establishing a New Business

No business is too small, too big, or too new to need a corporate law attorney. Contact Zimmerman & Associates in Norcross, Georgia to set up a consultation.