Don't Shy Away from Hiring an Attorney

A little investment now will go a long way in reducing your problems later on.

A good business attorney will bring to light a lot of the risks in your company's formation and in your contracts with employees, customers, and vendors. These are risks most business people overlook because they are, quite rightly, focused on the success of their business, not its potential failure. While I'm not suggesting you take your attorney's risk-focused approach to business, it's also important not to ignore his or her advice on potential problems.

And when a problem should arise, don't shy away from bringing in your attorney early on. What you don't do now will almost definitely come back to haunt you sooner or later.

Anna Ostrovsky
Co-founder and general counsel
LegalMatch
San Francisco