614.9445171
4200 Regent Street, Suite 200, Columbus, Ohio 43219
Schedule a Consultation
Business Attorney | Law Office of Maritza S. Nelson, LLC
  • Home
  • Who We Serve
  • Practice Areas and Fees
    • General Counsel Service
    • Business Law >
      • LLC Formation
      • LLC Operating Agreements
      • Close Corporation Formation
      • Corporate Bylaws
      • Close Corporation Agreements
      • Other Business Law Services
    • Business Contracts >
      • B2B Service Agreements
      • Contract Review and Advice
      • Customer Agreements
      • Financial Agreements
      • Joint Venture Agreements
      • Lease Agreements
      • Noncompete Agreements
      • Nondisclosure Agreements
      • Waiver and Release Agreements
      • Website Privacy Policies
      • Website Terms of Service
    • Business Sales >
      • Business Purchases and Sales
      • Letter of Intent
      • Purchase Agreements
      • Buy-Sell Agreements
      • Membership Interest Transfer Agreements
      • Business Succession & Disaster Planning
      • Business Dissolutions
    • Raising Money From Investors >
      • Private Placement Memorandums
      • Investment Agreements
    • Franchising and Business Opportunities >
      • Franchise Disclosure Documents
      • Franchise Agreements
      • Ohio Business Opportunity Plans
    • Nonprofit Law >
      • Nonprofit Formation
      • Co-op Formation
      • Tax Exempt Status
      • Nonprofit Governance
      • Nonprofit MOUs and Agreements
      • Nonprofit General Counsel Service
    • Intellectual Property >
      • Trademark Search
      • Trademark Registration
      • Trademark Maintenance
      • Copyright Registration
      • Work For Hire Agreement
      • Licensing Intellectual Property
      • Assigning Intellectual Property
      • Proprietary Information and Invention Assignment Agreements
      • Confidentiality Agreements
      • Intellectual Property Audit
    • Employment Law >
      • Employment Contracts
      • Employee Handbooks
      • Employment Policies
      • Independent Contractors
  • Adding Value
    • Legal Audit Checklist
    • Legal Dictionary
    • 7 Common Legal Mistakes
    • Succession and Emergency Planning Worksheet
    • Business Contracts: Review Checklist
    • Webinars >
      • HR 101: Managing the Growing Pains That Come With Growing Your Business
      • Hiring Independent Contractors
      • Legal Audit and Risk Assessment
      • Structuring a Social Enterprise
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Scheduling
    • Prospective Client Scheduling
    • Existing and Former Client Scheduling
    • Networking Scheduling
  • Home
  • Who We Serve
  • Practice Areas and Fees
    • General Counsel Service
    • Business Law >
      • LLC Formation
      • LLC Operating Agreements
      • Close Corporation Formation
      • Corporate Bylaws
      • Close Corporation Agreements
      • Other Business Law Services
    • Business Contracts >
      • B2B Service Agreements
      • Contract Review and Advice
      • Customer Agreements
      • Financial Agreements
      • Joint Venture Agreements
      • Lease Agreements
      • Noncompete Agreements
      • Nondisclosure Agreements
      • Waiver and Release Agreements
      • Website Privacy Policies
      • Website Terms of Service
    • Business Sales >
      • Business Purchases and Sales
      • Letter of Intent
      • Purchase Agreements
      • Buy-Sell Agreements
      • Membership Interest Transfer Agreements
      • Business Succession & Disaster Planning
      • Business Dissolutions
    • Raising Money From Investors >
      • Private Placement Memorandums
      • Investment Agreements
    • Franchising and Business Opportunities >
      • Franchise Disclosure Documents
      • Franchise Agreements
      • Ohio Business Opportunity Plans
    • Nonprofit Law >
      • Nonprofit Formation
      • Co-op Formation
      • Tax Exempt Status
      • Nonprofit Governance
      • Nonprofit MOUs and Agreements
      • Nonprofit General Counsel Service
    • Intellectual Property >
      • Trademark Search
      • Trademark Registration
      • Trademark Maintenance
      • Copyright Registration
      • Work For Hire Agreement
      • Licensing Intellectual Property
      • Assigning Intellectual Property
      • Proprietary Information and Invention Assignment Agreements
      • Confidentiality Agreements
      • Intellectual Property Audit
    • Employment Law >
      • Employment Contracts
      • Employee Handbooks
      • Employment Policies
      • Independent Contractors
  • Adding Value
    • Legal Audit Checklist
    • Legal Dictionary
    • 7 Common Legal Mistakes
    • Succession and Emergency Planning Worksheet
    • Business Contracts: Review Checklist
    • Webinars >
      • HR 101: Managing the Growing Pains That Come With Growing Your Business
      • Hiring Independent Contractors
      • Legal Audit and Risk Assessment
      • Structuring a Social Enterprise
  • Bio
  • Blog
  • Scheduling
    • Prospective Client Scheduling
    • Existing and Former Client Scheduling
    • Networking Scheduling

Join our mailing list and receive our Legal Audit Checklist.

Check out our latest blog posts, webinars, and other valuable content.
Join the List

8/12/2021

0 Comments

Can I Start a Business While I am Still Employed?

 
Picture
You still have a job—yet you are itching to start a business. You might wonder if you have the time to do so, or if you are even allowed to do so. The answer depends on whether you signed an employment agreement and what kind of role you have with your current employer.

Here are some considerations if you wish to join the more than 24 million Americans who dream about being their own boss.
Check Your Employment Contract
When your current employer hired you, you likely negotiated pay rate and vacation time, you talked about benefits, and after consideration, you decided to accept the position. But think back to the onboarding process: You may have signed an employment contract that outlines your dos and don’ts as an employee. You may have signed it without even thinking about it, but it’s crucial that you dig it up to take a look at it. It may have included clauses that can prohibit you from competing with your current employer.

For example, some employers have clauses in their contracts that allow them to claim ownership of your inventions or innovations while an employee. Some employers have a noncompete clause that prevents you from working for a competitor or even starting a competing venture for a specific amount of time. They could also have a clause that prevents you from soliciting customers or clients (including customers or clients you may have brought to your employer) or co-workers.

You may have also signed a nondisclosure agreement (NDA). This type of agreement is designed to keep employees from talking about, sharing, or disclosing company methods and secrets. If you start a new business, you almost certainly cannot take your company’s methods, trade secrets, client lists, or other proprietary information with you.  

Bottom line: Be sure to check any employment agreements that you have with your current employer for pertinent clauses.

​Review Your Role

Even without an employment agreement, your position with your current company may prevent you from starting a competing business venture. If you are an officer, director, or manager, you are likely considered a key employee. Both key and skilled employees (i.e., software developers, marketing specialists, sales representatives) are presumed to owe some fiduciary duties to their employer, even in the absence of an employment agreement. As a result, key and skilled employees can begin preparing to start a competing business, but they cannot begin business operations while still employed.
However, if your business idea is one that would not compete with your current employer, then you are generally permitted to plan your business and begin operations as long as doing so (a) doesn’t interfere with your responsibilities and (b) isn’t prohibited by an employment agreement or other company policies.

Determine If You Will Talk About Your Plans With Your Boss

If you have read your employment documents and have decided to go ahead with your new business, you might have also found out that you are required to tell management about your plans. If there isn’t such a clause in your employment contract, experts disagree as to whether you should say anything or not.
For example, Tom Scarda, CEO and founder of The Franchise Academy, advises against it. He explains that running your own business is likely to compromise the quality and production you are currently providing your employer. If they know the reason for this, they might start looking for a replacement before you are ready to quit.

Others recommend that you be open and honest about your new business and when you expect to work on it. They believe it will make your professional life easier in the long run because such transparency creates trust. If you decide to go this route, reassure management that your current performance at work will not suffer. But you should be aware that most employment is “at-will,” meaning your current employer can typically fire you at any time for almost any reason, including the fact that you’ve indicated you’ve got “one foot out the door.”

Since most employed full-time employees who start their own business need the financial safety net of their current job, work hard to maintain a good relationship with your employer, both now and even after you resign.

Bottom line: Weigh the pros and cons of telling your employer about your new business carefully.

Don’t Take Advantage of Your Current Employer

When employers find out that employees are starting their own venture, their first worry is that this could take away from their current productivity. Maintain a clear line of separation between your current job and your new venture. Don’t conduct your own business during working hours. Don’t pilfer office supplies or software from your current employer. Don’t use any of your employer’s resources. This is not just unethical—it’s actually stealing.

You should also refrain from poaching co-workers or clients from under your employer’s nose. Even without a non-solicitation clause in your employment agreements, this type of activity could still lead to lawsuits against you and your new business for tortious interference with business relations.
Bottom line: Boundaries are key. If you are starting a new business, put in your time on the weekends or before or after your working hours—never during. And start planning now for what happens If you lose your job earlier than expected.

A Note to Remote Workers

Over the past year and a half, many workers have started working from home because of COVID-19. This blurs the lines between working hours and personal time. For some, this is a problem; for others, this presents an opportunity.

One of the advantages of working remotely is that you can often choose the hours you work each day. In addition, without a commute, you will likely have more free time during the day. As long as you are putting in the necessary effort into your current employment position, this could be an excellent opportunity to start a new business.

​If you have questions about your current situation, or you are considering starting a new business, then schedule a consultation today.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    Categories

    All
    Advertising Law
    Business Formation
    Business Law
    Confidentiality Agreements
    Contracts
    Copyright
    Corporation
    COVID 19
    COVID-19
    Employment Law
    Firm Announcements
    General Legal Advice
    Hiring An Attorney
    HR Policies
    Independent Contractors
    Intellectual Property
    Limited Liability Company (LLC)
    Motivation
    Non Profit
    Partnership
    Privacy Policy
    S Corp
    Small Business
    Social Enterprise
    Sole Proprietorship
    Trademarks
    Trade Secrets

    Archives

    March 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    May 2019
    December 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    February 2015
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

    RSS Feed

Services

General Counsel Service
Business Law
​
Business Contracts
Business Sales
Raising Money From Investors
Franchising and Business Opportunities
Non-Profit Law
Intellectual Property
Employment Law

About

Who We Serve
Bio​
Adding Value
Webinars
Blog
Contact
​Careers
​Scheduling

Legal

The information contained on this website is not legal advice or legal opinion and should not be relied upon. Furthermore, nothing contained in this website is intended to create or establish, and does not constitute, an attorney-client relationship. 

Fee Information
Document Retention Policy 
Privacy Policy
​Client Communications Policy

Subscribe to the mailing list to receive useful tips for entrepreneurs and business owners.
Join Mailing List
Copyright © 2014-2023. | 4200 Regent Street, Suite 200, Columbus, OH 43219 | 614.944.5171 | info@msnlawoffice.com
Photo used under Creative Commons from jseliger2