The pandemic has driven unemployment and job uncertainty, leading to an entrepreneurship boom. Small ventures and side hustle startups have been on the rise. For many professionals, a side hustle offered a regular income during the pandemic. Unfortunately, many solo ventures that started at the back of a garage face their first legal obstacles. As your small business is growing, it is attracting more activities and attention.
Consequently, even accidental entrepreneurs who have been forced to get creative to survive the pandemic need to protect their businesses. Indeed, your side hustle could turn from being a finance-saver to a blockhole where your money disappears. If you are going to maintain your business presence in the future, you need to take crucial steps to protect your operations, even if it isn’t only a weekend venture.
Someone was injured on your site
Whether you are offering home decor services during your spare time or providing at-home yoga lessons for VIP clients, you can’t carry on your operations with taking general liability insurance. As per this link, https://cjfig.com/business-insurance/general-liability-insurance/ general liability refers to protection against claims that can affect your financial stability. For example, if a bystander gets hurt by your tools while painting a client’s home, you are likely to face legal fees and medical bills. These expenses fall within the general liability cover.
Someone feels you contribute to covid anxiety
Anxiety is on the rise during the pandemic. Individuals can feel isolated from their social circle and excluded from activities as a result. Heightened stress levels are, unfortunately, an expected consequence of the health crisis. It can lead to depressive disorders, mood swings, and unrealistic behavior. As a result, some individuals can react violently to the request to wear masks or to respect social distances. However, the good news is that the law stands firmly behind businesses that try to maintain covid safety. If someone tries to blame you for restricting their freedom to walk without a mask on y our premises, you are entitled to legal protection. In some states, you can even request that the person be escorted outside by the police.
They are concerned about data privacy
If your side hustle suffered a data breach that exposed your customers’ data, you could receive a hefty fine. Cybercrime is a deadly reality for small ventures as it can drive them to bankruptcy. Cybersecurity issues affect the business reputation and financial stability. Penalties could range anywhere from $25 million or more to 4% of your annual revenue for a data breach. In other words, if you have not reached out to a managed security service provider yet, it’s the opportunity to protect your business.
You’ve stolen their idea
Everybody can have a fantastic business idea. But the idea only remains profitable if you can protect it, as per https://smallbusiness.chron.com/keep-business-ideas-being-stolen-22127.html. You can take preventive measures to ensure that your ideas don’t get stolen. It is also a helpful tool to protect yourself when someone accuses you of stealing their ideas. Indeed, you can use your records and patents to prove your honesty and creativity. Failure to do so could lead to bankruptcy!
Protecting your side hustle from claims and blames is not an easy task. However, it’s not the kind of thing you can afford to skip. Whether general liability or intellectual property, the cost of unprotected mistakes could lead to massive debts!
