Musings inspired by my recent travels.

Recent trips to South Africa and Australia gave me the opportunity to talk with business leaders in those countries and to observe the nature of business as it is conducted in those countries. Contemplating these experiences in the context of my work providing legal counsel and guidance to small businesses here in the U.S. led me to two thoughts. 

First, I was reminded of how important regulatory compliance is to anyone involved in business.  How, easily it can be overlooked while striving to do the business at the core of the company’s existence and how disastrous this can be for the company.  While we, in the United States decry the regulatory burdens we face, it struck me that in South Africa and, to a lesser degree, Australia, the regulatory hindrances to conducting business are much greater.  In this regard, we are fortunate for the opportunities available to us and the relative ease with which we can set up shop and start conducting business in the United States.  Nevertheless, we live in our own regulatory and legal maze which constantly distracts us from our core business mission and makes stress and uncertainty the small businessman’s constant companion. 

Second, I was reminded of how litigious and liability conscious our society can be.  The constant threat of liability constrains and limits how we conduct business and what we do in our businesses.  On multiple occasions during my travels I observed business being conducted in ways which made the lawyer in me shudder.  Practices which would never be tolerated or attempted in a U.S. based business for fear of inviting a law suit.  The ever present risk of legal jeopardy is a constraint on our ability to conduct business just as certainly as the increased regulatory environment mentioned above constrains business in other parts of the world.  It is, however, a part of the playing field on which business is conducted and a wise business owner must be on constant alert for possible liability.  This too distracts the business owner or manager from doing what they need to do to grow their business. 

It has been theorized that the manner in which we approach civil liability in our legal system evolved partly as a means to regulate businesses, or cause them to self-regulate, without the need for meddlesome government imposed regulations and laws.  However, as the years have passed the meddlesome regulations and legal constraints have nevertheless blossomed and multiplied leaving us awash in risk of regulatory violations and possible liability. In this environment a business owner either allies himself with someone who can focus on these issues or faces constant distraction, expense and stress as he divides his time, energy and money between growing the business and risk avoidance. 

With the economy picking up speed and small business confidence on the rise it is a good time to focus on doing business.  Therefore, it is a good time to outsource the legal and regulatory issues to a trusted advisor who can integrate with your company and free up the management team to focus on doing business.