Small business forums

Do you know any?

[STeeL]

This forums is really great, since I discovered it couple weeks ago, I spend most of my free time reading older posts, cutting and pasting great ideas and answers.
But there are a lot of posts starting with "I'm not a lawyer" :) So maybe you know where to find forums where people are developing small business and can give legal advice?

[dmorison]

You could try the *.legal.* groups on USENET, but you are more than likely going to receive a somewhat frosty "if you have to ask that you should be seeking professional advice". (i.e. pay one of us and we'll tell you).

[Travoli]

Hi Steel, and welcome to WebmasterWorld.

It is tough to keep responding with "seek professional legal help."

On the other hand, we don't want members getting into trouble because of advice another unqualified member gave on the forums. Also, because webmasterworld is a worldwide forum and laws differ so much, there could be unaccounted for differences between states, territories, and countries' laws. What works in the U.K. might not work in China, etc.

So we offer the best advice we can, cite past experiences, and then put the disclaimer on the bottom.

It seems implied that the advice may not be accurate from some anonymous internet user. Would you want to bet your legal issues on the advice of an internet forum? Many times the disclaimer in itself is the best piece of advice.

It's an unfortunate catch22.

[rogerd]

I think there might be some hope for STeeL, perhaps in a small biz/entrepreneur forum where business owners exchange info, on legal and other topics. I agree with those who caution against looking for legal advice on a web forum. However, a forum discussion of an issue can be a useful prelude to actually seeking legal advice - at least one has a starting point and some questions to ask. Having said that, I'm not familiar with such a forum. :(

Welcome to WebmasterWorld, by the way!

[tcassidy]

Try www.nolopress.com Good company, founded by a couple of Berkeley lawyers, frustrated very little info was available to the general public. They are so good, apparently, many lawyers use them today. Have ALL sorts of good topics. BUT HEY..............I'm not a lawyer, LOL!

[Jenstar]

NoloPress also has a great series of legal reference books, including "Legal Guide for Starting & Running a Small Business". The 7th edition of this book was just released this year, and it covers nearly every legal problem that you can run into with a small business.

[STeeL]

Thanks for all replies, and thanks for Nolo Press link - now I have another website that keeps me up till 3:00 am :)

Don't you just love small business? ;)

[Marcia]

A really great resource for those in the U.S. on some issues is the Small Business Administration - [sba.gov...] and believe it or not, Internal Revenue Service's site [irs.gov...]

Run through the site map and check out the Business section, there's a lot there - authoritative information and for a change, even though it's government, it's pretty understandable.

>>Don't you just love small business?

No. ;)

[tcassidy]

Small Business, the real beauty is you can pick and choose any of the 20 hours per day you would like to work.....

[Jenstar]

Only 20 hours :o You must be living the easy life ;)

You can also get some legal help at your local Small Business Association if you are in the US. You can find your local one in the phone book, or I believe you can search for your nearest SBA at the website Marcia gave.