Reviewed by: John Jeffcock
Author: Bevans Solicitors
Publisher: Teach Yourself
ISBN: 978-1444137415
Price: £9.99

This book is ideal for start-up operations and businesses of fewer than 10 people - and any business lawyer who appreciates a well-informed client should hope that the entrepreneur-client has first read this Teach Yourself book. It is less useful for an already-trading small or medium-sized enterprise.

It starts with a great introduction and then goes on to explain what legal entity you should choose and gives the advantages and disadvantages of each. It does this for sole traders, limited and public companies, and LLPs, but unfortunately omits not-for-profits. The book can be used as a reference tool and one can skip through some of the highlighted areas if they are not relevant to you. Each chapter ends with a ‘test yourself’ section.

The book explains the law well and simply but would benefit from more examples. The authors obviously have a wealth of practical experience in this area but they only really begin to share this in the second half. As many businesses, including law firms, go bust for property-related reasons, it is good to see this issue covered in the second chapter. Owing to the variety of sectors that small companies operate in, this book has done well in addressing rare occurrences such as buying contaminated land.

On the downside, there are no negotiation or priority tips on, for example, how to minimise dilapidation charges through agreeing upfront to a fixed price, as this will be easier to negotiate when you go in than when you go out. It would have been good to find more on intellectual property in transactions and to know to what extent you can and cannot copy.

The people chapter is a ‘must read’, and made me think that the book should be titled ‘minefields’ rather than ‘pitfalls’. The key is to behave rationally and make sure you always take notes and be careful what you write. I have no doubt that at some time in any business-owner’s career a member of staff will become hostile (even if they have no just cause), or one will need to let someone go. It is good to know the basics and this chapter could save a business-owner a lot of money and stress.

The overview on contracts and the insight on standard terms are important to know. In these turbulent times it is essential to know how robust agreements really are, as one may one day need to enforce them. Furthermore, if you plan to exit for millions one day, the strength of your existing relationships could have a significant impact on the value of your organisation. The chapter on money is one of the best, as it gives a good dose of management as well as legal advice. We all get into difficult places occasionally with creditors and debtors - and this section will help a business owner to be forewarned and forearmed. This is wisely followed by disputes, which again is an important area. The book finishes with four other key legal areas, of which the bribery and data protection acts were most interesting.

In summary, I would say that the half-day invested in reading this book ahead of launching a business may be one of the best investments a business owner could make. 

John Jeffcock MBA is the founder and chief executive of executive networks and research company Winmark Europe

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