Owner To Owner Podcast

Malcolm Campbell from Coleman Greig Lawyers on how and when to engage a commercial lawyer

Episode Summary

Malcolm Campbell generously shares his insights to help owners identify, prioritise, and deal with business-critical commercial legal issues in Covid-19 and across the typical life cycle of a small business.

Episode Notes

@MalcolmCampbell is a #lawyer and owner of @ColemanGreigLawyers   a #sydney based #commerciallaw firm. 

Malcolm works with and advises #smeowners through the whole business life cycle. 

In this episode we talk about the critical #legalissues challenging #sme owners currently and how and when to tackle them. We cover; 

• the real dichotomy in the current market with absolute winners and unfortunately, and sadly, businesses at the other end of the spectrum doing it really tough; 
  • bricks and mortar retail 
  • hospitality
  • anything to do with travel  
• dealing with the big headline #businessexpenses, #fixedoverheads that businesses have e.g. #rent and #staffcosts 
• the importance of not ignoring an issue, any issue but putting your head in the sand
• how to tackle tough issues;
  • for rent issues early communication with the agent, or landlord directly
• using your local #SmallBusinessCommissioner  who will often #mediate problems so you don't necessarily need to incur lots of legal costs  which helps overcome the fear of high costs associated with legal disputes
• why good commercial lawyers have a passion for business and want #smeowners to free or reduced cost service where you can to preserve funds for when it's really critical 
• Malcolm's own business succession planning - how he partnered up and stopped being a sole practitioner which he knows can be very lonely
• the value of #smallbusiness #networkinggroups, #chambersofcommerce and #mentoringservices -  learning from others,  listening to other people's experiences, regardless of whether it's in the same area of business as your business 
• the importance of getting legal structures right now - operating a business as a #soletrader or a #traditional partnership (#unlimitedliability) vs. a company with #limited liability 
• If you have business partners the need for a #shareholdersagreement  because things change over time and there are so many #disputes or #misalignments between business owners that could be reasonably and cost effectively and quickly resolved, if there was a shareholders or partnership agreement in place
• why money changes people 
  • being courageous enough at the start of a business to put your pride to one side and say we are hoping for the best but planning for the worst and so  let's get all this structural stuff in place - if it goes great we'll never have to worry about it
• the key #legalinstruments that small business owners deal with in the business lifecycle for all the important relationships;
  • internal relationships between business partners
  • further internal relationships with your people, your staff, whether they're employees or contractors
  • external relationships with your clients and your suppliers
  • external relationships like with the government, but also just the general public. 
• being aware of where each of your key legal relationships are, and having the right documentation in place for those relationships
• the need to understand that business is more than just the customer business relationship, there's all those other relationships involved in running a business that are really important to get right
• how any of those different types of relationships can have a really positive, or really negative effect on on the business itself
• the need for business owners carrying a #financialburden to avoid burying your head in the sand, to get the right people around you including a #goodaccountant or #financialadvisor and not just someone who does your tax returns for you,  someone who's going to sit and look at your books and go 'why is your business not going well ?' - because once you know the why, you can then take the appropriate corrective action
• and why sometimes when there is nothing you can do you might then need to talk to insolvency professionals
• the changes in the #insolvencyregime in Australia which promotes getting early advice because there is potentially a  window of time there, where you will be protected from things like insolvent trading and those sorts of things which can open up personal liability for directors 
• the vital need to understand the internal mechanics of your business and why things might be a problem because once you then know what the problem is you can address it

@kerrcapital.com.au