Tag: small business

Posted on

6 Steps to Starting an Environmental Consulting Firm

Today, many people recognize the importance of ensuring that businesses comply with environmental law. Regulation is crucial for protecting our planet. If you’re entering the legal field, or you’re simply curious about career opportunities in the “ECOpreneurship” niche, you might be wondering how you could run your own environmental consulting firm one day. 

With a legal background, you can be an asset to businesses as an environmental consultant. Courtesy of Steroid Lawyers, here’s how to decide on your area of specialization, hire the right employees, and connect with clients who want to run eco-friendly operations. 

Determine Your Specialization

Many environmental consultants specialize in one particular niche within their field. My Law Questions states that most environmental legislation falls into two categories: laws are either specifically aimed at preventing or decreasing pollution, or determining the use of land and crucial natural resources. You could specialize in an area like wastewater treatment, stormwater management, carbon emissions, or land preservation. Consider your passions as you decide! You should also think about the potential revenue stream and demand across different specialties – after all, you do need to make sure that your business is profitable. 

Potential Business Model

The term “consulting” can refer to a wide range of services. Before you start creating a business plan, it’s important to consider which specific services you plan to offer. For instance, you might assist companies in developing waste management policies, identifying contaminant sources, conducting environmental impact assessments, and more. If you’re approaching this career path with a legal background, you will likely be helping businesses ensure that they are complying with local regulations and environmental legislation.

Necessary Qualifications

You don’t necessarily need to graduate from law school in order to run an environmental consulting firm, but if you’ve earned your Juris Doctor degree and passed the bar in your state, your legal qualifications will allow you to offer a greater variety of services than other consultants. With your rigorous academic and professional background, businesses can trust that you have a thorough understanding of environmental law. 

Business Formation

You’re almost ready to start hiring for your business, but first, you need to complete a few important legal obligations. For example, you can file the paperwork to establish your company with the appropriate business structure. In addition, you may need to choose a “doing business as” name, also known as a DBA name. If you already provide other business services under your own legal name, you’re a good candidate for selecting a DBA name for your environmental consulting firm. This will allow you to sell different services as a separate entity under the appropriate business name. More on this here.

Hiring Staff

When you’re hiring employees for an environmental consulting firm, you want to make sure that they bring relevant experience and a passion for this cause to the table. Constellation recommends using recruiting software and applicant tracking systems to streamline the hiring and onboarding processes. When it comes to writing job descriptions, make sure to clarify the primary responsibilities for this role and include the key skills that applicants should possess. You’ll also want to highlight your salary and benefits package – this is essential if you want to attract top talent!

Marketing Your Consultancy

Your clients can include private companies or public organizations that need to operate within the boundaries of important environmental legislation. Therefore, you’ll want to emphasize your core mission in your marketing materials and branding. You could share educational blog posts about environmental law on your company blog, share news articles about important new environmental legislation, and even post about business initiatives on social media. Localizing your content can help you demonstrate your impact on your own community. And as you develop your branding scheme, it never hurts to incorporate colors like green into your digital and print marketing materials! 

If you plan to go into environmental law, running your own business is definitely a viable career option. You can be of service to the planet as a consultant! With these tips, you’ll be eager to take the next steps towards opening your consulting firm. 

Photo via Pexels

Posted on

Debt Management: How to Do It to Buy a House in Less Than a Year?

Buying a home can feel rather complicated, especially when you have to manage your debt. As you start thinking about a home loan and the fact that you want to find a property in the next six to 12 months, you’ll probably have a few questions about your financial situation, including “How can I manage my debts to be able to get the house?” Below, Trademark Lawyers shares the details of debt management and discusses the steps you need to take to be able to purchase a house in less than a year.

Pay Off Debt First

Getting rid of as much debt as possible before applying for a home loan is ideal because it helps you improve your credit score, which mortgage lenders use to determine the interest rate you will receive. Becoming completely debt-free from credit cards might be unrealistic, but still, you should aim to pay off as much debt as you possibly can.

Consolidate Debt to Reduce Monthly Payments 

​Debt consolidation usually means using a single loan, service, or credit card to reduce multiple loans, including revolving debt like installment debt (personal loans) or credit cards. Rather than making several payments to different creditors every month, you’ll make one payment to a certain entity. Debt consolidation can also lower your interest rate and decrease your monthly payment, which, in turn, would lower your DTI ratio.

​One of the most common methods of debt consolidation involves taking out a loan. This kind of installment loan enables you to consolidate several debts, such as medical bills, credit cards, and other types of loans. Once you’re approved for the loan, the lender will either pay off your existing debts or disburse money to you to pay off creditors yourself. After accomplishing this, you’ll make one loan payment at a new rate to a single entity.

Pay Your Bills on Time

Late payments make it more difficult to get rid of your debt because you’ll have to pay a late fee for each missed payment. In case you miss two payments in a row, your finance charges and interest rate will grow. It’s a good idea to enter your payments on a calendaring system on your phone or computer and set a reminder a few days before your payment is due. If it happens to miss a payment, do not wait until the next due date to send it; by then, it would be reported to the credit institution. Pay as soon as you remember that you missed it.

Make the Minimum Payment Toward the House

If you cannot afford to pay anything more toward what you owe, try to make the minimum payment, at least. The sum won’t help you make any real progress in paying off your debt, but it keeps your account in good shape, which helps you avoid late fees. 

If there’s no way you can get the 20 percent down payment for the house, there are a few options you can give a try and several programs that can help you. The programs include FHA, USDA and VA loans, which makes it easier to buy the property if you don’t have the funds. When house hunting, it’s also a good idea to work with a realtor who is familiar with the area where you’re looking.

On the flip side, if you have the cash available, you could pay for points at closing. This involves paying a fee to your lender which can in turn reduce your interest rate. Whether this is a profitable financial strategy depends on how long you plan to live in your home. You can use a mortgage points calculator to help determine your break-even point. 

Have an Emergency Fund

When things are going well for you, it’s imperative to establish an emergency fund as part of your savings plan. It would be best if you try to save sufficient money to cover at least three to six months of living expenses and unexpected events. That way, in case of an unforeseen occurrence, you’ll have some reserve cash to help you navigate the challenge.

Budget for the Move

As you pay down your debt, reorganize your finances and create an emergency fund, it’s also important to budget for your upcoming move. Start by determining which expenses you will likely incur, starting with whether you’re renting a moving truck and doing it yourself or hiring movers to handle everything for you. Obviously, a DIY move will be easier on your bank account, but this comes with a fair amount of stress, and will likely require you to involve friends and family for help. Alternatively, local moving companies will be expensive, but carefully vetted pros can make short work of your move, and get everything transferred safely and securely. Other expenses include any activation fees for services like internet, paying for packing supplies and the cost to rent any moving accessories like dollies or pads. 

Debt Management Before Buying a House

The answer to “How can I manage my debts to be able to get the house?”​ depends on your financial situation but implementing even one or a couple of these tips can help you handle your debts so you can buy the property you want to live on.

Posted on

Practical Procedures To Protect Your Profits

People start businesses for many reasons, including to have flexibility and engage with their community. However, a business ultimately has to turn a profit to make these goals a reality in the long term. The following information can help you keep your cash flowing toward its rightful location: your bank account. 

Safeguard your intellectual property.

Intellectual property consists of products and ideas that you generate. Your business name and logo are considered intellectual property. It’s crucial to trademark these and other proprietary services and products to protect yourself from copycats capitalizing off of your good name and pulling profits in a different direction. An intellectual property lawyer (such as the experts at Trademark-Lawyers.org) can keep you safeguarded under the law and will ensure that you have a legal standing to enforce your intellectual property rights. Costs vary when hiring an intellectual property lawyer, but many offer payment plans and flat rates for certain services.

Establish your business entity before you get too big.

The ultimate goal in any business is growth. To perpetuate sustainable growth, establish your business structure early. While some single-person entities can operate as a sole proprietorship, forming a corporation will give you some cash benefits. To understand the difference between a C Corp vs LLC startup, you must first understand that a corporation, according to ZenBusiness, is a legal entity that will remove some liability from you, a stockholder. Corporate debts aren’t considered part of your personal debts. There are three primary types of corporations, including S Corp., C Corp., and nonprofit. An S Corp. avoids double taxation, while a C Corp. offers the highest level of legal protections. A nonprofit Corp. is exclusive to charitable organizations and, unlike other types of business, does not require taxes to be paid. 

Eliminate profit-eating products.

If you’ve ever been to a restaurant with a lengthy menu, you’ve likely wondered how they can afford to maintain stock of every single ingredient needed. Apply the same thought process to your business. You do not have to have dozens of options, and a few quality products or services can sustain you, especially when business is down. To determine what products should stay, calculate your profits. Keep only those that offer the highest profit margin. Do keep in mind, however, that this does not necessarily apply to loss leaders, which Accounting Tools explains are products that you sell near cost to encourage your customers to spend money on higher profit pieces.

Spend money on good employees.

It might sound counterproductive, but to safeguard your profits and the best way, plan to pay your employees competitively or better. This will attract the best talent and, considering that money is a huge motivator, is just one of many ways you can encourage employee longevity. Remember that the employee acquisition and training process is an exponential expense, and it can take six months or better to break even on a single new hire. LinkedIn also points out that paying a low wage can damage your brand’s credibility while a generous paycheck will excite top performers. If you are not quite sure which roles you need to fill, consider hiring a freelancer in each area of your business first. This way, you can decide which position is most valuable. And, if your freelancer shows promise, they may be willing to take on a permanent, full-time job.

Everything you do when you run a business affects your bottom line. The above tips, including maintaining your intellectual property rights, forming your business entity, ditching those products that don’t turn a profit, and spending money on the right staff, are all excellent ways to ensure that your cash continues to flow in the right direction.

Wise Laws Trademark Lawyers and Legal Team is your affordable trademark attorney.

Image via Pexels

Posted on

How to Resolve a Major Data Loss and Get Your Business Back on Track

Data loss is never fun for small business owners. However, you can take the sting out of this stressful situation by making the right moves to get your systems back on track. Here are the urgent measures every business owner needs to take when tackling a major data loss.

Make Data Recovery a Priority

Just like any other emergency, triage is important when it comes to retrieving and protecting your company’s data. After all, data is the lifeline of your business, so ensure you have a plan in place to retrieve everything you lost. Using a data recovery specialist who can quickly and efficiently address malware damage, accidental file deletion, or any hardware issues should be the first move you make after you notice a problem. Professionals like Secured Data Recovery can immediately diagnosis what went wrong, help you recover as much data as possible, and address any issues that may seem hopeless. You can also get helpful tips to prevent future data fails and emergency protection should something happen again in the future.

Take Steps to Prevent Future Data Deletions

Experiencing a major data loss or breach can be a bitter lesson for any business owner to work through. Once you’ve seen what a headache server issues can be, you will want to take steps to protect your server. This includes keeping a watchful eye on your server logs for unusual or suspicious events. Whether it’s a cyber attack or a loss of data, early intervention is always crucial for optimal recovery. Understanding logs will also allow you to streamline any maintenance and focus on critical issues, rather than spending time blindly guessing.

Don’t Lose Your Business to Cyber Criminals

If you run a small business and think cybercrime is not a threat to your bottom line, you may want to think again. Even the smallest business with little online presence can be highly susceptible to cyber criminals and their endless quest to gain information from your business, customers, and even personal accounts. Within minutes, you could lose hundreds of thousands of dollars, or your entire business. So, be aware of the threat cyber attacks pose to your success and take whatever steps you need to prevent becoming a victim.

Invest in Comprehensive Virus Protection

Viruses and malware are hiding in every corner of the internet. From your email inbox to social media, cybercriminals are always on the lookout for vulnerable businesses to infect. So, protect your data and your business by purchasing an antivirus package that makes sense for your tech needs. You’ll likely need to renew your license each year (although some companies offer multi-year plans), but this is one cost you cannot afford to skip. Even if your business sustains itself on Mac products, you could still lose revenue to a virus, cyber attack, or data breach.

Backup All of Your Business Data to Several Sources

Data is important to the success of any small business, so it makes sense for you to be diligent about backing up yours. Having multiple backups will make it more likely that your information can be recovered after a breach or loss. Using servers and external storage can be your first move, but most businesses are turning to cloud services to help protect their information. The best cloud services for small businesses automatically save information in a virtual location, allowing you to access it even if your hardware is damaged. If you have a small amount of data, many of these services are even free.

Protect Your Servers From Electrical Sabotage

Cybercriminals and viruses are not the only threat to your data security. One lightning strike or power surge can wreak havoc on your small business, destroying hardware along with creating major information losses. Make sure your servers and equipment are all protected from potential electrical issues. Find an electrician to evaluate your wiring if you suspect a problem and to install proper outlets that will keep your business protected.

Don’t let data loss destroy your business. Take the proper steps to recover what was lost, and keep yourself protected in the future. Your entire business may well depend on it!

Photo Credit: Pexels