Business Law for the Small Business Owner

A new section of each course starts monthly. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when lessons are released. You will have access to all lessons until the course ends. However, the interactive discussion area that accompanies each lesson will automatically close two weeks after the lesson is released. As such, we strongly recommend that you complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

The final exam will be released on the same day as the last lesson. Once the final exam has been released, you will have two weeks to complete all of your course work, including the final exam.

Lesson 1
Whether you dream of owning your own business or you're already knee-deep in running one, you probably have a lot of legal questions. And all these questions probably spring from one overarching question: What exactly is a small business from a legal standpoint? In this lesson, you'll find out the answer to that question, and you'll learn about the basic requirements for getting a small business going or expanding an existing business, including choosing a business name or changing the one you have.

Lesson 2
Before you start a business, you have to choose a business model. And once your business really gets going, you may find yourself wanting to change the model. Today, you'll learn about the major business models including sole proprietorships, partnerships, and corporations. You'll find out how these different structures affect you legally and financially, and I'll give you advice on how to choose the one that best meets your needs. You'll also find out how to change to a different model if your business is growing or you want to expand.

Lesson 3
As a business owner, you'll be dealing with many different types of contracts and agreements. You've probably heard that contracts can be verbal or written, but what's the difference? You'll find out in this lesson. You'll also learn how to make sure any contract you enter into is legal and binding so that you get what you want from it. I'll explain what to look for in a contract and how to enforce one if someone fails to hold up their end of the deal. You might be surprised to learn that when you need to enforce a contract, a lawsuit isn't always the right answer.

Lesson 4
Some of the biggest legal issues facing small business owners come from having employees. If you're going to hire people to work for you, there are several employment options for you to consider. In this lesson, you'll find out about the advantages and disadvantages of hiring full-time employees, part-time employees, and independent contractors. By the end of the lesson, you'll know how to properly go about hiring and firing employees so you and your business are protected from possible lawsuits. We'll also go over salary and wage issues, as well as the workers' compensation laws that apply if an employee is injured on the job.

Lesson 5
Once you have employees, it becomes your responsibility to provide them with a safe work environment and to protect them from discrimination. Today, you'll find out about the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's regulations and how to comply with them. You'll also learn more about environmental, state, and local regulations on your business. We'll talk about how you can keep your workplace from becoming a "hostile work environment," and you'll discover how a good employee handbook can go a long way in shielding your business from complaints.

Lesson 6
Having the right insurance is critical to protecting you and your small business. In this lesson, you'll learn about the different types of insurance your business might need, including auto insurance, general liability insurance, workers' compensation insurance, and fire and theft policies. You'll get advice on how to choose the right insurance, how to file a claim, and how to deal with insurance adjusters.

Lesson 7
Since you're probably going into business to make money, you'll inevitably be dealing with customers or clients. Your relationship with the people outside your business can make you or break you. In this lesson, you'll get familiar with the dos and don'ts of advertising your business, and you'll see how to avoid the legal pitfalls of false advertising. I'll introduce you to product liability issues and the proper ways to provide credit to customers. In addition, you'll find out how to successfully collect debts if people fail to pay you for the goods or services you provide.

Lesson 8
Today, you'll learn how you can protect your most important business assets, including your good name and trade secrets. If you're running a successful business, you don't want someone stealing your name or your inventions and passing them off as their own. You'll discover how to protect yourself with patents, trademarks, and copyrights. Each of these covers different areas, so you'll learn which ones you might need for your business and how you can get them.

Lesson 9
One thing you can be sure of is that you're going to be paying taxes on your business or the income you receive from your business. So you'll need to know which taxes to pay and how to legally minimize what you have to spend to satisfy the tax collectors on the federal, state, and local levels. Today, you'll learn about income taxes, sales and use taxes, and other forms of taxation. We'll go over your rights as a taxpayer, and you'll find out how to take all the deductions you can as a small business owner.

Lesson 10
We've talked about some of the government regulations you'll have to follow as a business owner, but believe it or not, there are more! In this lesson, you'll learn more about zoning laws, licenses and permits, and privacy laws that affect your business. We'll talk about how to keep up with the necessary paperwork to make government regulators happy, and you'll learn how to avoid costly mistakes. Finally, we'll discuss your rights as a business owner so that you can protect yourself when regulators come calling.

Lesson 11
Home-based businesses are more popular than ever, and they can eliminate many of the expenses and legal requirements that you have to deal with in traditional businesses. But you still have to follow certain laws and regulations, and you'll learn all about them in today's lesson. You'll find out how to make sure your home-based business complies with zoning laws and subdivision or apartment regulations. You'll also learn about what insurance you'll need and the taxes you'll have to pay. We'll even cover some of the unique opportunities for using the Internet successfully.

Lesson 12
We'll wrap things up in this lesson by going through a step-by-step process for handling legal matters on your own. Attorneys are expensive, but you can avoid using them in most cases if you simply know how to go about dealing with claims against you or claims you have against someone else. I'll teach you how to negotiate settlements and how to use mediation and binding arbitration if negotiations fail. If you do have to go to court to collect a debt, you'll see how to file your own lawsuit in small claims court and successfully win your case.