Noncompete Agreements Help Protect Your Business

Written by Tim Knox


Continued from page 1

Most business experts agree that noncompete agreements are generally a good way to protect your business. The downside is that noncompete agreements are often difficult to enforce and in some states, may not be enforceable at all. Many state courts have ruled that noncompete agreements are too restrictive on an employee's right to earn a living.

In California, for instance, noncompetes are generally only enforceable in connection withrepparttar sale of a business and not for employees. In Alabama, noncompetes are generally enforceable in only two contexts:repparttar 104683 sale of a business and in connection with employment - but even thenrepparttar 104684 enforcement requires that there be a valid interest worthy of protection.

Some states require thatrepparttar 104685 noncompete be signed atrepparttar 104686 beginning ofrepparttar 104687 employment relationship and will only considerrepparttar 104688 enforcement of a noncompete signed afterrepparttar 104689 initial employment date ifrepparttar 104690 signing ofrepparttar 104691 noncompete was accompanied by a promotion, raise in pay, or other event that elevatedrepparttar 104692 employee to a more important role within repparttar 104693 company.

To be enforceable, noncompete agreements must be reasonable on three accounts: Time, geography and scope. Regarding time, you can't restrict someone from competing with you forever, so one to three years isrepparttar 104694 accepted time period for most noncompetes.

As to geography, you can enforce restriction inrepparttar 104695 general area where you conduct business, but you can not enforcerepparttar 104696 restriction beyond those boundaries. And for scope,repparttar 104697 agreement can restrict certain actions onrepparttar 104698 part ofrepparttar 104699 employee, but can't be so generally restrictive thatrepparttar 104700 employee won't be able to earn a living working inrepparttar 104701 same industry in a noncompetitive position.

One interesting thing to note: noncompete agreements are not enforceable against certain "professionals," like doctors, CPAs, and lawyers (who do you think writes all those noncompetes).

At this point, Brad,repparttar 104702 best thing you can do is contact your attorney to see if you have other grounds for suit, then contact your customers and let them know what's going on.

Explainrepparttar 104703 situation regardingrepparttar 104704 former employee, but do so calmly and resistrepparttar 104705 urge to tell them what you really think of this guy. Showing your anger torepparttar 104706 customer is not going to help you keep their business .

Reaffirm your relationship withrepparttar 104707 client, tell him how much you value his business, remind him of your track record and level of service, then ask one simple question: What can I do to make sure your business stays with me?

Here's to your success!

Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net For information on starting your own online or eBay business, visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox. Tim serves as the president and CEO of three successful technology companies and is the founder of DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the success of online and eBay entrepreneurs.

Related Links: http://www.smallbusinessqa.com http://www.dropshipwholesale.net http://www.30dayblueprint.com http://www.timknox.com


The "Other" New Year's Resolution

Written by Tim Knox


Continued from page 1

6. Do you give up easily? One of my favorite sayings about business is: "If it was easy, everybody would do it." Starting a business is hard work andrepparttar odds for failure are against you inrepparttar 104682 first few years. If you want to ride herd on your own business, you must be willing to fall off your horse a few times without giving up. If you can't dust off your pants and climb back on, here's your zero.

7. Can you handle rejection? If your feelings are easily hurt, keep your day job because business is not for you. Many days in business, rejection waits around every corner and you must be able to handle rejection without letting it beat you down. You will experience rejection from customers, business partners, bankers, and investors, just to name a few.

8. Do you interact well with others? Being a business owner means that you will have daily interaction with a variety of folks, from your own employees to vendors to customers to investors. You must haverepparttar 104683 ability to effectively manage people without offending them;repparttar 104684 ability to accept good advice from mentors and politely discountrepparttar 104685 bad;repparttar 104686 ability to overlook mistakes or quietly rectify them; andrepparttar 104687 one I have trouble with:repparttar 104688 ability to tolerate incompetence without losing your cool (but that's fodder for another column).

9. Do you have financial backing? The number one cause of business failure is a lack of money. Before you start your business you should have enough capital to see you throughrepparttar 104689 first year or untilrepparttar 104690 business can sustain itself. A good financial plan will include a number that ends in a few commas and a considerable number of zeroes.

10. Do you have experience inrepparttar 104691 type of business you plan to start? We've talked about this before. If you can't locate your car's engine you have no business buying a Lube-N-Go franchise. The most successful business owners have prior experience inrepparttar 104692 industry in which they have set up shop.

BONUS QUESTION. Have you ever started a business before? Prior business ownership is not a prerequisite, but it can't hurt. Many successful entrepreneurs haverepparttar 104693 skeletons of past businesses hidden in their closet. Business is a lot like marriage: you learn a lot of things onrepparttar 104694 first one that may come in handyrepparttar 104695 second time around. You can see why I didn't go into marriage counseling…

Give yourself 10 points for every "Yes" answer and zero points for every "No." Ifrepparttar 104696 "Yes" answers outweighrepparttar 104697 "No's," you just might have what it takes to back up your New Years resolution to start your own business.

If your answers lean heavily torepparttar 104698 "No" side, you might be better off working for someone else.

And that brings about another New Years Resolution that goes something like this: "This year I will get along with my boss…"

Here's to your success.

Tim Knox tim@dropshipwholesale.net For information on starting your own online or eBay business, visit http://www.dropshipwholesale.net

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox. Tim serves as the president and CEO of three successful technology companies and is the founder of DropshipWholesale.net, an online organization dedicated to the success of online and eBay entrepreneurs.

Related Links: http://www.smallbusinessqa.com http://www.dropshipwholesale.net http://www.30dayblueprint.com http://www.timknox.com


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