STARKVILLE, MS – Courtesy of the Dispatch and Grant McLaughlin

Earlier this year, the Greater Starkville Development Partnership ran its first set of four “B.A.I.L.” series where local experts could speak to business owners about important accounting, liability, and other important “behind-the-scenes” concerns regarding their businesses. Amanda Adkins, owner of Shelter Insurance, was one of the attendees eager to expand her knowledge: “I wanted to make sure that from an agency perspective that I have everything I need legal-wise with bringing on staff or making sure I’m covered in that area,” Adkins said.

Panelists for the legal session were: Starkville-based attorneys Rob Roberson and Steven Adams, and Brandon Jolly with the Mississippi State University general counsel’s office. They discussed things like setting up legal entities, how to plan for uncertain futures and how to protect consumer data. They emphasized the importance of setting up an LLC or other form of business entity in order to keep entrepreneurs’ personal and legal liability separate: “What that does is give you an insurance policy, basically,” Roberson said. “If you are sued, you’re sued in the context of the business…My dad used to take his business and pay all of his bills with the money from it. Well, here is the problem with that: you have no protection because you’re treating your business like it’s personal income.”They also spoke on the critical importance of having everything in writing, whether you’re planning to enter a contract with a vendor or client or drawing up a purchase agreement for the purchase of another business: “You’re not just buying the asset, sometimes you’re buying the liabilities that come along with it and if there’s debt associated with it, you may be assuming without realizing it,” Jolly said. “It’s good to have that all spelled out when you go to buy.” Moreover, they said that it’s important to have an attorney go over any such documents before you sign them. they also addressed cyber-security, especially when dealing with things like people’s social security numbers, financial data, etc.

“I have a digital business and you don’t necessarily know because everything is intangible,” attendee Brittany Goss, owner of online marketing agency Bootstraps and Butterflies said. “So, knowing how to pass that down legally and the responsibilities that come with that has been beneficial.”

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