Living in this digital age has its ups and downs, for sure. But it’s definitely a plus regarding business. If you have a passion you want to turn into your full-time job, you can manage to do it online! Now, you can completely avoid having a physical store and paying for that extra fee. But having an online business comes with its own hardships, one of them being legal protection. Of course, you want to ensure that everything you’re doing is legal, and avoid getting sued or hacked. Here’s how you can do that.
Separate Yourself From The Company
When you’re starting with your online business, no matter what it is, you’re most likely starting small. It’s usually just you, doing all of the work. If you have an online store, you’re likely making your products, handling the sales, and shipping the packages all by yourself. And while that’s amazing, and necessary in the beginning, you need to separate your own self from your brand. That means that you should get a business phone, and create a business email, as soon as possible. Creating your so-called “business profile” is key. Even if a business phone might seem silly to you at first, it’s surely a better option than giving your personal number to just about anybody! And as your business starts growing, consider changing up the business model you’re in, as it can help you protect yourself, and your personal assets. Even though your business is something important to you, it should never be something synonymous with you!
Understand Legal Issues
Even though we practically live on the internet nowadays, most people know very little about legality online. And that can be quite complicated if you’re creating a business on the internet. You might end up crossing a line you didn’t know was there, and ending up with a lawsuit. Or even more likely, someone could just blatantly steal your business name or your content. A musician, represented by Revision Legal, had it happen to him, with one of the world’s largest media companies, using his music without his permission. He involved a legal team and thankfully the issue was resolved. But that’s sadly not the only case of copyright infringement. That’s why it’s important to know your rights and potential legal issues that you might encounter, and how to deal with them. Do your research!
Malware Protection
One of the biggest fears of online business owners is definitely hacking. If you’re not familiar with the IT side of things, it can be quite confusing and frightening. Especially if you don’t know how any of it works. But protecting yourself from harm online is important in any case. Getting a reliable antivirus is the first step of your battle against malware. As malware is something that can be easily spread, through links or emails that you could’ve possibly clicked on by accident, it’s better to be safe. Thankfully, installing proper antivirus software is going to offer you solid protection from malicious data stealing. Still, be careful what you click on.
Monitor Your Activity
If you’re the face of your business, you must understand that your image is everything. Having integrity in business is key. Now that we basically live on the internet, where all of our mistakes are a Google search away, monitoring your online activity is more important than ever. You need to pay attention to your business’s social media, and what kind of content you post. What kind of comments do you allow? How do you respond to criticism? But also, you need to make sure the activity on your social media accounts is something that adheres to your values and doesn’t ruin the image of your business either! You don’t want your customers to be ashamed of buying from you. You also need to be careful who you interact and affiliate with. Research your potential affiliates and partnerships thoroughly. You want your partnership to enrich your business, not involve you in controversy. Be wary!
Being in charge of an online business isn’t easy. It does come with many challenges in different forms. Especially if it’s your first time leading a business, you’ll see that it can be quite demanding. But it’s very rewarding! Being able to turn your passion into profit is something not everyone dares to do. So be brave. Learning about business will come naturally as you progressively work harder on your online business. And having read these tips on how to legally protect your online business, you will likely avoid many mistakes in the future. Best of luck!
