Sean Brown: How to Choose best Advocate

1. Sean Brown: How to select Best Advocate Within the business world today, entrepreneurs find it exhausting, if not downright scary, to start a successful business that will not fail in the first year, or to grow a business that will make it to the next level. While seeking free advice from business development organizations can help get your questions answered and ideas validated, in the end, your most valuable resources are your business advisors, namely your accountant, banker and lawyer. Sean Brown is an Advocate who is an expert in the field of law. Distinctive nations' lawful frameworks utilize the term with fairly varying implications. The trick is to pick your "dream team" wisely and allow them to work with you in the long-term, not for you on one isolated project. One of your most important "dream team" members is a trusted lawyer - one who understands that his or her role is to add value to your business in a kind of partnership. Like any successful partnership, the right partner understands that he or she must take an active, rather than passive, role in the business-offering creative solutions, communicating regularly and effectively, and exhibiting a real interest and passion in the business and the industry within which it operates. Guidelines Follow these three straightforward guidelines: Inquire about his or her experience representing similar businesses. A legal advisor that has counseled other businesses in your industry will be in a stronger position to add value than one who is more of a generalist. He or she will be able to foresee situations that can save you time, money and aggravation, simply by virtue of the fact that they have been there before. Similarly, if you are in the real estate business, a lawyer who has counseled other real estate owners will know that your third-party property management contract should delineate the precise rights and duties of the management company. Additionally, if your business involves franchising or sales distribution arrangements, lawyers with experience in such matters will know how to counsel you regarding the breadth and scope of territory, non-compete, and exclusivity clauses depending on whether you are the franchisee or the franchisor.

2. This kind of advice and expertise is crucial to entrepreneurs as they take their first steps to creating a solid business practice. Hiring a lawyer without experience in your industry is like getting on an airplane flown by a helicopter pilot; he or she may know how to fly, but doesn't have the specific knowledge needed to get the job done in a way that makes you feel secure. Request a Plan, Budget and Timetable After you describe the current state of your business and explain why you believe that at this moment in time your business requires his or her services, the lawyer you are considering for a position on your "team" should be able to map out step-by-step plans detailing what he can do for you. These would include estimates of how much the services will cost, and when each step in the plan can be achieved, A selected advisor's proposed plan, budget and timetable should make sense for your business and, most importantly, for your budget. Similarly, if you are an established business looking to get to the next level, a plan proposing that you apply for that trademark or prepare offering materials for stock and other equity to raise money for your expansion sounds reasonable. But suggesting that you need a full-blown private placement memorandum for your early-round capital raise would be unnecessary. Trust Your Gut At the end of the day, your instincts about which lawyer to hire are your best guide. After interviewing several advisors, you will know which ones will add value and will commit to developing that partnership with you. Just like you knew that you wanted to be an entrepreneur, you will know which lawyer is best-suited for your business. Too often, start-up companies and even established businesses do not want to invest time and money in their lawyers because they view them as cost centers, rather than value-adds. If you follow the above guidelines, you should be able to take the first step in creating a winning "team" of advisors that can add value and ultimately help ensure the success of your business.