About every 3 months or so a post comes up here asking what sort of business structure you need to use as an affiliate. The right answer, of course, is to hire an attorney to consult you on what to use. If you're worried about business structure, that assumes that you've already got some cash flow... so go get an attorney (more on that later).
But it's a good idea to have a rough idea what you're talking about. It saves you and your lawyer headaches and in the long run saves you money as your lawyer bills you less.
So with that in mind, I'm going to recommend this book. There's no aff link, so I won't make that $2.15 from all the clicks.
The Entrepreneur's Guide To Business Law
This has been the best text for me and will help you dodge a lot of those legal hand grenades that have been popping up. I cannot recommend it enough.
Also, here are some boilerplate documents from seed-stage VC firms. They may not help you you're probably not looking to sell equity, but it's good info nonetheless:
Techstars Model Seed Funding Documents
YCombinator Series AA Funding Documents
Also, found this little tidbit about finding a good lawyer (from HackerNews)
But it's a good idea to have a rough idea what you're talking about. It saves you and your lawyer headaches and in the long run saves you money as your lawyer bills you less.
So with that in mind, I'm going to recommend this book. There's no aff link, so I won't make that $2.15 from all the clicks.
The Entrepreneur's Guide To Business Law
This has been the best text for me and will help you dodge a lot of those legal hand grenades that have been popping up. I cannot recommend it enough.
Also, here are some boilerplate documents from seed-stage VC firms. They may not help you you're probably not looking to sell equity, but it's good info nonetheless:
Techstars Model Seed Funding Documents
YCombinator Series AA Funding Documents
Also, found this little tidbit about finding a good lawyer (from HackerNews)
First: Lawyers are worth the money. Pay them. Just do it. Get a personal recommendation from someone, and they'll take you way more seriously. Like, call any lawyer you know, and ask him to refer you to a corporate lawyer. When you call and say, "Hi, is Mr. Corporate Lawyer there? Mr. Friend's Divorce Lawyer recommended you", you'll get much better service.
Other people you can ask for lawyer recommendations: Your accountant, your parents' accountant, your friends' accountant, your banker, your friend's banker, or even just the VP at your bank. Go into the bank and say, "Hi, I'm starting to get into business more - can I speak to the business banker or the vice president?" It might be scary, but they're hugely helpful. My bank's saved me a few thousand dollars over the last few years, and given me some referrals to business providers, attorneys, and an accountant. It can be scary, but talk to them.
Finally - big tip here - when you call your new business lawyer, ask his secretary if he drinks coffee or tea, and how he takes his coffee or tea. Then show up with a large version of exactly how he takes it to the meeting. Story of why this is all awesome:
I had a deal going on to buy out a partner's share of a company. I had a prospective contract, it looked fine, but I wanted to look it over with a lawyer. For a few reasons, the deal had to close within a few days, so I needed a corporate lawyer in Boston on short notice. I called an immigration lawyer my friend used to get American citizenship, and asked him for a recommendation on a good contracts/business guy. Got two names - one guy was in the Caribbean or some such at the moment, the other was available to meet me the next day. His rates were $250/hour, if I recall correctly. I asked his secretary, and he took his coffee with cream and sugar. I met him on Boylston Street with a large cream/sugar from Starbucks.
He found a way to rewrite the contract to make the LLC repurchase the partner's share, meaning that'd be pretax money. He also tweaked a couple terms to limit my personal liability (these had no effect in the end as nothing went hostile, but was still good to do). Finally, he suggested that I change the payment delivery to make it sooner, next-day air payment of a check because it was a goodwill gesture, and I took his advice. He also explained all the clauses I didn't fully understand and taught me a good bit about contracts.
We went two hours, but he knocked his invoice down from $500 to $250 - due to some combination of liking me, a personal recommendation from another lawyer he respected, and a coffee. PAY THE LAWYERS! It's much cheaper than not paying them in the end. Just make sure you're personally recommended to them, and then be very cool to them. Most people treat lawyers as a necessary evil, but if you see them as on your side (they are, at least in business law) and treat them very cool, they'll treat you very cool in return.
Other people you can ask for lawyer recommendations: Your accountant, your parents' accountant, your friends' accountant, your banker, your friend's banker, or even just the VP at your bank. Go into the bank and say, "Hi, I'm starting to get into business more - can I speak to the business banker or the vice president?" It might be scary, but they're hugely helpful. My bank's saved me a few thousand dollars over the last few years, and given me some referrals to business providers, attorneys, and an accountant. It can be scary, but talk to them.
Finally - big tip here - when you call your new business lawyer, ask his secretary if he drinks coffee or tea, and how he takes his coffee or tea. Then show up with a large version of exactly how he takes it to the meeting. Story of why this is all awesome:
I had a deal going on to buy out a partner's share of a company. I had a prospective contract, it looked fine, but I wanted to look it over with a lawyer. For a few reasons, the deal had to close within a few days, so I needed a corporate lawyer in Boston on short notice. I called an immigration lawyer my friend used to get American citizenship, and asked him for a recommendation on a good contracts/business guy. Got two names - one guy was in the Caribbean or some such at the moment, the other was available to meet me the next day. His rates were $250/hour, if I recall correctly. I asked his secretary, and he took his coffee with cream and sugar. I met him on Boylston Street with a large cream/sugar from Starbucks.
He found a way to rewrite the contract to make the LLC repurchase the partner's share, meaning that'd be pretax money. He also tweaked a couple terms to limit my personal liability (these had no effect in the end as nothing went hostile, but was still good to do). Finally, he suggested that I change the payment delivery to make it sooner, next-day air payment of a check because it was a goodwill gesture, and I took his advice. He also explained all the clauses I didn't fully understand and taught me a good bit about contracts.
We went two hours, but he knocked his invoice down from $500 to $250 - due to some combination of liking me, a personal recommendation from another lawyer he respected, and a coffee. PAY THE LAWYERS! It's much cheaper than not paying them in the end. Just make sure you're personally recommended to them, and then be very cool to them. Most people treat lawyers as a necessary evil, but if you see them as on your side (they are, at least in business law) and treat them very cool, they'll treat you very cool in return.
