Business Planning

What would happen to your business:

If you decided to retire?
If you became disabled?
If your business partner died?
If your business partner was arrested?

If you’re a business owner, you should know the answers to these questions. If you don’t, your business and your personal interests are not protected as strongly as they should be.

Business Planning Protects You and Your Business

Gem McDowell is a corporate attorney since 1992 helping businesses and business owners prepare for the unexpected. He and his associatess ask the hard “what if” questions that are necessary to ensure your business will be able to weather the ups and downs of business life.

Gem McDowell Law Group serves individuals and businesses in Mt. Pleasant and the greater Charleston, SC area.

Buy-Sell, Succession Planning, Capital Call, NDA and More

Here are just a few of the services Gem McDowell and his associatess provide to help you and your business:

Buy-Sell Agreements

What is it? A buy-sell (or buyout) agreement is a document that determines what will happen to the business if one of the owners leaves the company. An owner may retire, die, become disabled, or be arrested, for example. If any of those things happen, the remaining owners will know what to do in order to keep the business intact and functioning, and how the owner leaving the business (or his or her family) will be fairly compensated. You can think of a buy-sell agreement as a “pre-nup” that will be your guide in a business divorce.

Do you need one? Every business with more than one owner should have a buy-sell agreement.

Succession Planning

What is it? Succession planning is the process of determining what will happen to the business once the current owners and other key people step down from their roles. Having a succession plan helps ensure that the business will persist beyond the involvement or lifetime of the original or current owners.

Do you need one? If you want your business to exist for more than one generation of owners and adapt to changes that will inevitably come, you should have a succession plan.

Capital Call Agreements

What is it? A capital call agreement is a document that determines what happens when certain types of businesses with more than one owner need to raise more funds. This is especially important when one of the owners does not have the capital to contribute his or her share. A capital call agreement will address how such a situation is handled in a way that’s fair to the owners and good for the business.

Do you need one? Businesses with more than 1 owner need a capital call agreement. Speak with a corporate attorney like Gem McDowell to determine if your business could benefit from one.

Covenants Not to Compete and Non-Disclosure Agreements

What are they? Covenants not to compete and non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) are documents that protect the interest of the business. They prevent former employees or former owners from taking the knowledge (and in some case, trade secrets) they learned at your company to a competing company and/or from starting a competing company.

Do you need them? If your business involves more than 1 owner, you may want to have these documents.

Gem and his associatess also review and draw up corporate contracts and help with business creation, business acquisition, tax planning for businesses, and more.

Call Gem Today To Discuss The Health Of Your Business

Whether you are just thinking about starting up a business or have been in business for many years, you can benefit from the advice and insight of an experienced corporate attorney. Call Gem at his Mt. Pleasant office at (843) 284-1021 today to schedule a free consultation.