Thanksgiving, Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Christmas and New Year’s Eve - Q4 is a bit different from the others
It’s a handy coincidence that businesses heading into Q4 follows the kids going back to school. And just like for a loving parent preparing their child to get back into the thick of it, we have written this post to help our legal clients get their business in the best possible shape to make the most of Q4 - so grab a notebook and pen and cram up on the following advice!
Review last term's performance - A* or D- could do better?
Before you plan you should review where you are so far in the year. The things that worked well for you this quarter are those that may well continue to produce results for Q4. As the famous sporting cliché goes - you don’t change a winning team! Since there is always room for improvement, our FREE Legal Health Check can help you find out the areas of your business where you can save on your legal dealings.
Don’t leave your revision to the last minute - future proof your business
There are plenty of things going on that will have major impacts on business. Yes, we’re talking GDPR and Brexit. Now is the time to make sure you know the legal implications for your business so that your operation is as well prepared as possible. We have written extensively on these topics for our network over the last 18 months - focusing on the real business legal impacts on SMEs. We have looked at what Brexit may mean for employers and employees and we will be providing further useful content on Brexit’s implications as important deadlines are reached in negotiations over the next few months. GDPR compliance is set to be of growing importance based on how the ICO has been handling recent data protection breaches. LawBrief lawyer Jessica Mumby has outlined that there is definitely an overall positive side form tightening up your business’ data protection policy, so at the end of the day, the best thing to do is to get professional business legal advice and get fully compliant at the earliest opportunity.
Be prepared for Silly Season - Mufti Day, bring a pet to school!
Just like with the best teachers, the most well-run businesses plan well in advance for what they can see coming down the line and have contingency plans in place for those things such as Brexit which have not yet fully played out. Don’t forget Q4 does mean Christmas and New Year. Many businesses start to wind down in early December and may even be closed all together until January. If you are ready for this, you will be able to get that promising bit of business you have on the go over the line in November instead. Also, the great British weather can have a real impact on many businesses. This can affect your productivity levels or maybe boost demand depending on your industry. When you have dealt with those outstanding issues from earlier in the year you will have the bandwidth necessary to have those contingencies in place.
Renewal time - Check your [contract] work
Q4 is known as the time for renewals. You need to have total clarity on the state of the contracts which you have in place with suppliers and clients. If you want a handy point of reference on what legally constitutes a contract you really should read our expert LawBrief Alla Fairbrother’s article recently featured on our blog.
And last but not least...don’t let someone else copy your work With so many questions still to be answered about Brexit and its potential outcomes, it's crucial that businesses protect their brand and ideas from threats from copycats. Taking care of Intellectual Property (IP) has proved to be something which many business owners do not deal with as a priority. We recently conducted a survey of our network of serial SME investors into the key things they consider when assessing a new opportunity and 100% of them said IP protection was something that they would want to see. We have a handy, quick and easy IP checklist where you can find out exactly where your business stands in terms of its IP protection and can also provide expert IP legal advice where necessary.
A warm welcome back...
Okay so summer is almost over but we are approaching the most exciting time of the working year, we hope that this post will provide you with some added focus as you shake the sand out of your hair and get back to work.
This article is written by Michael Jaiyeola from LawBite. For further business legal advice, you can enter an enquiry or call us today on 020 7148 1066 to speak to a member of our friendly Client Care Team and receive a free 15-minute expert legal consultation.
It’s a handy coincidence that businesses heading into Q4 follows the kids going back to school. And just like for a loving parent preparing their child to get back into the thick of it, we have written this post to help our legal clients get their business in the best possible shape to make the most of Q4 - so grab a notebook and pen and cram up on the following advice!
Review last term's performance - A* or D- could do better?
Before you plan you should review where you are so far in the year. The things that worked well for you this quarter are those that may well continue to produce results for Q4. As the famous sporting cliché goes - you don’t change a winning team! Since there is always room for improvement, our FREE Legal Health Check can help you find out the areas of your business where you can save on your legal dealings.
Don’t leave your revision to the last minute - future proof your business
There are plenty of things going on that will have major impacts on business. Yes, we’re talking GDPR and Brexit. Now is the time to make sure you know the legal implications for your business so that your operation is as well prepared as possible. We have written extensively on these topics for our network over the last 18 months - focusing on the real business legal impacts on SMEs. We have looked at what Brexit may mean for employers and employees and we will be providing further useful content on Brexit’s implications as important deadlines are reached in negotiations over the next few months. GDPR compliance is set to be of growing importance based on how the ICO has been handling recent data protection breaches. LawBrief lawyer Jessica Mumby has outlined that there is definitely an overall positive side form tightening up your business’ data protection policy, so at the end of the day, the best thing to do is to get professional business legal advice and get fully compliant at the earliest opportunity.
Be prepared for Silly Season - Mufti Day, bring a pet to school!
Just like with the best teachers, the most well-run businesses plan well in advance for what they can see coming down the line and have contingency plans in place for those things such as Brexit which have not yet fully played out. Don’t forget Q4 does mean Christmas and New Year. Many businesses start to wind down in early December and may even be closed all together until January. If you are ready for this, you will be able to get that promising bit of business you have on the go over the line in November instead. Also, the great British weather can have a real impact on many businesses. This can affect your productivity levels or maybe boost demand depending on your industry. When you have dealt with those outstanding issues from earlier in the year you will have the bandwidth necessary to have those contingencies in place.
Renewal time - Check your [contract] work
Q4 is known as the time for renewals. You need to have total clarity on the state of the contracts which you have in place with suppliers and clients. If you want a handy point of reference on what legally constitutes a contract you really should read our expert LawBrief Alla Fairbrother’s article recently featured on our blog.
And last but not least...don’t let someone else copy your work With so many questions still to be answered about Brexit and its potential outcomes, it's crucial that businesses protect their brand and ideas from threats from copycats. Taking care of Intellectual Property (IP) has proved to be something which many business owners do not deal with as a priority. We recently conducted a survey of our network of serial SME investors into the key things they consider when assessing a new opportunity and 100% of them said IP protection was something that they would want to see. We have a handy, quick and easy IP checklist where you can find out exactly where your business stands in terms of its IP protection and can also provide expert IP legal advice where necessary.
A warm welcome back...
Okay so summer is almost over but we are approaching the most exciting time of the working year, we hope that this post will provide you with some added focus as you shake the sand out of your hair and get back to work.
This article is written by Michael Jaiyeola from LawBite. For further business legal advice, you can enter an enquiry or call us today on 020 7148 1066 to speak to a member of our friendly Client Care Team and receive a free 15-minute expert legal consultation.
