So many of you have seen the movie, “How to Lose Your Guy in 10 Days.” Wilson McCoy, P.A., we thought we’d put a spin on it during Small Business Month by borrowing some timeless characters from Nintendo. We will show small business owners how they could lose their businesses in 10 days by making some seemingly harmless, but ultimately catastrophic, mistakes. At the end of this series, we will show you how to avoid such mistakes and how your small business could benefit from regular legal advice.
The New Business Owners: Mario and Luigi
Meet Mario and Luigi. They are brothers who want to open a business together. Mario wants to open a plumbing business while Luigi wants to open a pizza business. Eventually, the brothers discuss the idea with Mario’s spouse, Peach, who in Luigi’s mind is no “peach” at all. Ultimately, they decide to open a Plumbing & Pizza Delivery business, an obvious marriage of services, if there ever was one.
Believing they are finally on the same page, Mario and Luigi hit the ground running, confident their business will become a success. Little do they know, but they are about to lose their business in 10 days.
Over the next ten days, Mario and Luigi will:
1) Fail to create a Founder’s Agreement;
2) Incorrectly register their business with the State;
3) Issue faulty offer letters to new hires;
4) Misclassify their new Manager as exempt;
5) Download a Non-Compete from the Internet;
6) Fail to train their Manager re: EEO Laws;
7) Review and revise their own contracts;
8) Ignore an EEOC Charge of Discrimination;
9) Fail to protect their intellectual property; and
10) Fail to prepare an Operating Agreement.
Stay tuned to see how your business can avoid such mistakes. #smallbizmonth