You Only Have to Work Half-time
(It’s up to you to pick which 12 hours each day)

Years ago, I gave my son those words of instruction when he came to work in my office one summer. When you are the owner’s son, the other employees are going to see if you are a slacker. I suggested that he be the first into the office in the morning, the last to leave in the evening, and to stay off of the telephone and the Internet. He took my advice, and the other employees remarked at the end of the summer that he was a pleasant guy and a hard worker.

You might have been that same hard-working, pleasant guy around your office, but the currents swirling through the business world at this time may have swept your job away.

Maybe you’re thinking about going into business for yourself. If your experience allows for it, you might become a consultant within your current industry or profession. Or maybe you think it’s time to strike out in a whole new direction and do something that you have never done before, like buy a franchise and sell bonsai trees.

Being a business owner is all about ‘owning your job.’ That means many things. One way that you ‘own’ your job is by being passionate about what you’re doing. If you’ve always been a good picture taker, becoming a photographer for weddings and graduations might seem like something that you could be passionate about. But before you make that leap, look around and see if there’s enough business to sustain you. If your competitors are starving, you will starve.

Another way in which you ‘own’ your job is that by being in business for yourself, you cannot be fired. You literally own your job and nobody can take it away from you. In return for that assurance, however, you may have to sacrifice some things, like salary, benefits and a home life. For instance, let’s say that your previous position paid you $60,000, and you got health insurance and other normal perks. The human resources people say that the benefits and taxes that your employer pays can be worth another 30 percent to 40 percent of your paycheck, so your position was really worth between $78,000 and $84,000.

Now you’re out in the small business world trying to duplicate that income. You’ll need to sell products or services, pay for inventory or staff and try to bring your gross profit in around $90,000 in order to take home $60,000. That is no small task. But if you’re willing to accept less than the old salary in return for doing something that you are passionate about and from which you cannot be fired, it is hard to put a price on those things.

What’s involved in starting up a business? Legal and accounting are two important places to spend some time (and money). We lawyers and accountants have helped literally hundreds of small business clients over the years, and we can share those lessons with you. Whether you are buying a franchise or starting a business on your own, we can help you structure the business (sole proprietor/partnership/corporation/limited liability company), set up payroll and bookkeeping, help with lending and lines of credit and with your business location lease.

There are numerous details out there that can stress the skills of any person who goes into business today. Many of those problem areas are in dealing with the government and tax agencies at the federal, state, county and local levels. You might think that you can start your computer repair business out of your garage, but a week later, there might be a zoning officer breathing down your neck because your neighbors saw people and trucks coming and going all day in a residential neighborhood. Or you might be in violation of the Homeowners Association covenants. One thing that a new business owner neither wants nor needs is a cease-and-desist order nailed to his front door as he is trying to make payroll.

Whether you’re fresh out of school, or have been in the workforce for 30 years, going into business on your own is the dream of many. Before you take the first step, think about getting some professional advice. A few minutes and a few dollars spent in the beginning can save you hundreds or even thousands later on.

Christopher M. Abernethy has been practicing law in Hampton Township since 1976. He focuses on elder law, which includes wills, trusts, powers of attorney, living wills and probate matters. He also is proficient in all aspects of real estate law and business law. He is a member of the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys and the AARP Legal Services Network. He can be reached at 412-486-6624 or by email at cabernethy@aaylaw.com.