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Show Es The Salt Lake Tribune BUSINESS Take CareofLegal Health Returning Gifts Online? Read the Fine PrintFirst And Prevent Unneeded Costs SMALL BUSINESS Question: Whatdo you have ifyou have three lawyers bur- cies that could leave them hanging their heads come Dec.26. Extraprise Advisors took a lookat50 top sites and found they either don’t include return poli- necessary,even valuable, part of business life. Taking care of your company’s legal health is like taking care of your personalhealth: an ounce of preventionis a lot lars that could have been avoided with a $200 trip to an attorney. Your firstvisit to a lawyer should be right at the beginning of your business life. A number oflegal issues arise whenstartinga company. First is determining what corporate “structure” you want. Mostofus begin as “sole proprietors” — just us and our business. Butif you’re going to form a partnership,a corpora- tion,ora limited liability comPany, consult a lawyer, especially if you have partnersor investors! No matter how friendly and close you are now,draw up a contract spelling out who owns whatand who does what, and what happens if you eventually divide or sell the company. Believe me,this is worth every Penny. If you're newto business, you also wantto discuss such issues as protecting the nameof your company,necessary businesslicenses,taxes, and dealing with vendors andlandlords. If your business has employees, Christmas should beware of con- fusing and restrictive return poli- ied up to their necks in cement? Answer: Not enough cement. Few people profess to like lawyers. Even lawyers make lawyerjokes. Yet lawyers are a more pleasant than a pound of cure. Timeafter time, I see entrepreneurs end upin legal battles costing thousandsof dol- ‘THE ASSOCIATED PRESS NEW YORK — Online shoppers clicking their way toa merry cies or load them with fine print and caveats, said Allen Bonde, the consulting firm’s research or. RHONDA ABRAMS cheaperin the long run, to get an attorney who has experience with yourtype of business. Mostlawyers charge by the hour, but some havesetfees for specific tasks, such as incorpo- ration. Don’t hesitate to inter- “Last year there was some ignorance is bliss. People were is Nolo.com — formerly Nolo Press — of Berkeley, Calif. Nolo wasstarted by an attorney, Jake Warner, who wanted to makelegal information affordable for everyonewithout them havingto see a lawyer. Nolo's website, www.nolo.com,provides an amazing amountoffree infor- mation,and the books and software are first-rate. Evenif you’re planning to see a lawyer,I’d recommend youlook around Nolo’s site before your appointmentto better understand whatquestions telephonecall for returns and 10 allow store returns onlyfor items sold offline. Sears.com,for instance, allows appliances and tools to be returned to stores but doesn’t allow it for online-only “Wishbook” items. Return poli- cies on the site are scattered under product categories rather than in one spot and a customer service representative who answered the telephone Monday ter. “We stand by our time- stores.” Yet Mary Ellen Keating, a seniorvice president of corporate Write to Rhonda Abrams at rhonda@rhondaonline.com or 555 Bryant St., (NU)180, Palo bought it in a store. If you’re IRS scrutinizes independent- contractor claims carefully. Thebest wayto find a lawyer is by asking for referrals, especially from others in your industry.It’s alwaysbetter, and Alto, CA 94301. thing went wrong with their ber before a return could be made. Ofthe click-and-mortars, 22 allow for either mail-back returns or offline store returns, but some area, and you're willing to spendthe time to work through it. Butdon’t always depend on do-it:-yourself law. Many issues require alawyer, and yes, there is such a thing as a “Good Lawyer.” Internal Revenue Service. The often left in the cold when somepurchases. said fees “may” apply. Eight required an authorization num- ble on our Website,” said Bill ily get in hot water with the mas, when Web shoppers were tive said some stores will accept online returns as a “customer “dot.coms,” companies with no Consultants — and most businesses — need atleast a typically sell your services as an “independentcontractor.”If tomer service issues are crucial after last year’s diastrous Christ- A customer service representa- offline stores as well) and 20 ented towardslawyers, not entrepreneurs,butit’s good if you want more in-depth infor- youaren’t careful, you can eas- return policies and other cus- doesn’t address the issueofoffline returnsonits site. partnerships. Thirteen of the 50 required a is HIEROS GAMOS (www.hg.org), produced by an you're not incorporated, and if Annette Gleneicki, director of research for Bizrate.com, says things don’t look so bleak on the return front. She agreed that offline businesses or to ask. Anotheruseful website mationon a particular legal while 36 percentsaid they did not. least doubleto $6 billion. Extraprise looked at 30 “click- aboutissuesof hiring andfiring employees and whatkinds of records to keep. basic understanding of how the law treats “independent contractors.” As a consultant, you he shopped with his cies of sites where they shopped, and-mortar” sites (those with definitely consult a lawyer association oflawfirms.It’sori- “It's too new,” said Curt BownaPekannas marketing Group, 64 percent of respondents said they checked out return poli- Analysts project holiday sales percent to 6 percent this year to more than $180 billion, while online sales are expected to at ing I say could drag you into a law office, then doit yourself. There are a numberofexcellent resources available. One of the shoppers? Some are sticking to the and bumps and bruises.” at traditional stores will rise 5 moneyfor a lawyer, yourlegal needsare very simple, or noth- fusing than it should be.” Keating said the Web site and the corporate entity are separate companies. Competitor Borders.com, alsoa separate companyfrom its parent, service Where does“at of this leave online,” he said. “This year it’s the morningafter and people are saying, ‘Wow,this shouldbe a lot better.’ We expect a lot of hiccups engagingtheir services. You havethe right to choose some- oneyou're comfortable with and can afford. Tf you don’treally have the buying online and you want to return to a store we'll work with you to do that.” If that’s the case, Bonde said, “they've made it a lot more con- just happy they could shop view your prospective lawyer andask aboutcosts before Sunday, December 26, 1999 was unaware that any return information waslisted online. “Wetry to be as clear as possi- ous we can get you the truck you want spec’d the way you need it. Christopher, chief of the site’s 100-person customer service cen- honored tradition of satisfaction guaranteed or your money back.” Barnesandnoble.com’s return policy says purchases “cannot be returned to Barnes & Nobleretail communicationsatoffline Barnes & Noble Inc., said: “When you comeinto a store we don't ask if you bought it online or if you 1300 S. 385 W. HOURS: Mon - Fri 7:30AM - 5:30PM « Se a Loans FREE 488-1740 1 00a esosea 488-1700 Friends don'tlet friends suffer As your business Changes, freezing temperatures, alr inversions, ortraffic jams. 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