Startups

5 Rules To Implement Into Your New Startups Office

Published

10 years ago

Jun 10, 2016

Anna Johansson

Joel Brown

Who needs rules? That’s typically the M.O. for startups – we’re too cool, too innovative for rules. Rules hold us back.

Every startup wants to believe this, but in truth, the “no rules” mentality sinks far more startups than it helps. That’s why there are a few ground rules that every office needs.

They’re not restrictions meant to limit thought and creativity, but rather policies that will help your company conduct business in a professional and effective way, all while continuing to push the limits.

Here are 5 rules every startup needs to implement immediately:

1. Be like a boy scout and always be prepared

Because startups are all about new ideas, employees are sometimes tempted to skip meeting prep and just show up. Isn’t the most innovative approach to anything simply winging it and hoping for the best? The answer is a firm “no.” Winging it leads to presentations given with no material, supporting data, or even clear direction. Basically, it wastes everyone’s time.

Begin by insisting that employees always come to meetings prepared to discuss the matters at hand. You can help by preparing an agenda to circulate in advance – you can make a few adjustments based on team recommendations when you get there. Being prepared for meetings shows respect for your colleagues and attention to your work. Being prepared is mandatory.

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

2. Play It Safe

When imagining your startup, you probably envisioned a lot of collaboration. Whether that meant an open plan office or shared spaces for networking, you imagined a space where people worked together. This is a great overall office ethos, but it isn’t a one size fits all model. Some things will have to be private.

3. Stick to the schedule

As a startup, you may not feel like a standard nine to five workday suits your company. Especially if many of your employees are night owls or simply Millennials who haven’t kicked the habit of sleeping in. You may choose to keep later hours or allow employees to set their own, within reason of course.

So long as employees are productive and put in the necessary time, including fitting their schedule to collaborate with others, there’s no reason to worry about exactly when folks clock in or out.

4. Work from home

You may have noticed a trend in which more people are working from home as we shift to cloud-based office systems. Unfortunately, employees often take advantage of work from home policies. Keep work from home as a restricted option, more of a privilege that can be revoked at any time.

Grant your employees the trust to try working away from the office, as well as the tools to stay in touch with the office, such as office-targeted chat software.

Working from home is a valid option, but in some ways it raises the bar in terms of what you should expect from your employees – if they aren’t more productive at home than at work, then they should expect to come to the office.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” – Tom Robbins

5. Don’t forget to say thank you

Did any of your employees send you a thank you card or email after their interview? Writing thank you notes is good etiquette when you’re interviewing for a job, but the courtesy doesn’t end there. Teach your employees to regularly thank outside collaborators, guests, and backers. When timeliness is less important, handwritten notes are especially appreciated. They help build relationships, making it more likely the same individuals will work with you in the future.

These five rules aren’t the kind that will hold your startup back, but rather the kind that will serve as a launchpad for success. And what’s more, by getting everyone on the same page regarding these expectations from the start, you build a cohesive team that knows you think highly of them and expect them to perform to those standards.

What rules have you implemented into your employees office? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below!

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Anna Johansson

Anna is a freelance writer, researcher, and business consultant from Olympia, WA. A columnist for Entrepreneur.com, HuffingtonPost.com and more. Anna specializes in entrepreneurship, technology, and social media trends. Follow her onTwitter and LinkedIn.

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Startups

How an LLC Can Help Shield Your Personal Assets

Published

1 month ago

Aug 1, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

You are a freelance designer, and your client sued you over a trademark mistake. If you believe that your personal savings are safe, then you may be wrong. You are operating as a default sole proprietor. You and your business are the exact same person. As a result, your personal bank account, your car, and even your home are legally up for grabs.

However, if you start an LLC, you can build a legal shield between your business liabilities and your personal life. These days, you can easily form an LLC online.

How Does This Legal Shield Work

When you start an LLC, your business gets a distinct legal identity. Now, your LLC can open its own bank accounts, sign contracts, take out loans, buy equipment, and be held responsible for its own actions. You are not liable. This boundary between you and your business is called the “corporate veil.”

Visualizing the Separation

Inside the Shield (Business Assets)

Everything your company owns is included in this shield. If your business faces a debt collector or a lawsuit, only your business assets are at risk, such as:

Money in the business bank account
Inventory and raw materials
Office equipment, computers, and company vehicles
Business intellectual property

Outside the Shield (Your Personal Assets)

You don’t have to worry about your personal assets, such as:

Your personal checking and savings accounts
Your home and personal real estate
Your family vehicles
Your retirement funds (401k, IRA) and personal investments

What LLC Protection Covers

Business Debts and Contracts

When your LLC signs a commercial lease, hires a contractor, or buys inventory on credit, these are the obligations of the LLC. Your creditors will come after the assets of the LLC if your business can’t pay.

Lawsuits

If your business is sued over a contract dispute, faulty service, or an operational issue, lawsuits will be filed against your business. All your personal assets are safe.

What LLC Protection Does Not Cover

Personal Torts

The term “tort” refers to an act that causes harm or injury to someone else. The LLC shields you from the mistakes of your employees and general business liabilities. However, it never protects you from your own personal actions. For example, if you personally commit fraud, you can be sued personally.

Personal Guarantees

Vendors often hesitate to lend money to new, growing businesses. Such businesses don’t have long credit histories. Lenders often require you to sign a personal guarantee.

How Owners Accidentally Destroy Their Protection

The legal shield provided by forming an LLC only works when you run your business properly. The corporate veil can be pierced when a court decides that your LLC is not legitimate and strips away your protection in a lawsuit. This usually happens when you make one of the following three mistakes.

Commingling Funds

Many small business owners often mix their personal money with their business money. You are commingling funds when you use your business debit card to buy your personal groceries or you deposit a client’s payment directly into your personal checking account. The legal wall crumbles when you don’t treat your business and personal finances as completely separate.

Missing an Operating Agreement

An operating agreement is the legal document that outlines:

How your LLC is run
Who owns what percentage
How profits are handled

If the creditor’s lawyer finds out that an operating agreement is missing, they may argue that your LLC is just a shell.

Falling Out of “Good Standing”

When you start an LLC, you must file annual reports and pay franchise taxes to keep it active. The state will place your business in “Administrative Dissolution” or bad standing if you miss any of these deadlines. You could lose your limited liability protection if you operate a business under an inactive or dissolved LLC.

Startups

Move Fast without Breaking People: Product Safety Lessons for Ambitious Startups

Published

2 months ago

Jul 15, 2026

Addicted2Success Editor

Image Credit: Addicted2success

Fast growth can hide product risks until customers get hurt, especially when safety comes late in development. A software bug can be patched, but a chair, charger, or smart device can cause a burn, fall, cut, or crash.

For founders moving from a prototype to mass sales, the cases handled by Michael Kelly Injury Lawyers in Boston show why launch goals should not push testing, warnings, and foreseeable risks aside. A product claim can involve the design, how a unit was made, user instructions, or several firms in the supply chain.

Why Minimum Viable Should Never Mean Minimally Safe

A minimum viable product should test whether people want an idea, not how much danger they will accept. Teams can delay colors or premium finishes, but not guards, safe heat limits, sound wiring, or clear instructions.

Set Safety Rules Before the Build

The product brief should define who will use the item, where, and what could happen during setup, cleaning, storage, wear, or mistakes. It should also consider what a child, guest, tired worker, or first-time buyer might do.

Shared rules help teams move faster. Designers know which guards must remain. Engineers know which parts cannot fail. Suppliers know what cannot change without review.

Test How People Really Use It

A neat demo is not the real world. Users place products on wet counters, soft rugs, or rough ground. They skip a guide, use the wrong cable, or handle an item in unexpected ways.

Testing should cover misuse without predicting every extreme act. When a risk can be reduced through a guard, lock, stop switch, or clear signal, that design change is often greater than a warning alone.

How Design and Manufacturing Risks Differ

Some risks are built into the design. Others arise when production fails to match the approved plan. Teams need to identify the source before choosing a correction.

Design Problems Start with the Plan

A design problem can affect every unit. A base may tip, a blade may sit too close to a hand, a control may activate too easily, or a battery space may trap heat.

Final inspection cannot repair a flawed plan. The team may need a new shape, shield, limit, material, or control, followed by testing before more units ship.

Manufacturing Problems Break the Plan

A manufacturing problem occurs when a unit or batch does not match the approved design. A fastener may be missing, a weld may be weak, a wire may be damaged, or the wrong component may enter production.

Good records help define the scope. The team should know who made each part, which batch used it, what checks occurred, and where units went. Fast trace work can keep one fault from becoming a wider crisis.

When Customer Feedback Signals More Than Dissatisfaction

Support teams hear about delays, difficult setups, strange sounds, and refunds. Most reports are routine. Yet heat, smoke, sparks, breakage, sharp edges, sudden movement, falls, or failed guards require review.

Treat Complaints as Safety Data

One report may lack key facts, but similar reports can reveal a pattern. Staff should record the model, batch, date, use, photographs, and outcome, then alert someone who can pause sales or order testing.

Teams should not blame unusual use before asking whether another reasonable buyer could make the same choice. A support ticket can be the first sign of a hazard that lab testing missed.

Preserve the Product and the Record

After an injury, the product can help explain what failed. A repair, disposal, or undocumented test can remove evidence. The same applies to old labels, manuals, test files, customer messages, and design notes.

Startups should keep relevant items safely, record who examines them, and preserve earlier versions of instructions and warnings. This history can show what changed and why.

Why Warnings Must Reflect Real Use

A warning works only when a user notices it at the right time. Dense text at the back of a manual may not help during setup. The message should name the hazard, explain the harm, and state what reduces the risk.

Placement matters too. A charging risk belongs near the port. A weight limit belongs where weight is added. Even so, warnings should not replace a safer design when the hazard can reasonably be removed.

How Founders Can Preserve Speed without Cutting Safeguards

A delayed launch, redesign, or recall can feel like defeat. In practice, early action can prevent harm, protect trust, and give the team better facts for the next version. The strongest startups move quickly because their systems protect people.

When a product injures someone, legal guidance can help preserve the item, collect design and manufacturing records, identify responsible companies, and examine whether a defect or unsafe choice caused the harm.