Choosing A Corporate Attorney
Jan 20 2008

Picture by Sandy Blanchard
rocks-across-water-sblanchard.jpgChoosing a corporate attorney is an interesting endeavor.  I have avoided using attorney’s for Babble Soft in the past because a) they are very expensive, b) sometimes they make you feel like they need to review everything you do for fear of some horrible thing happening, and c) I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life what my strategic business plan was.   Since I have a new business strategy and have decided to raise funds, an attorney is a must have.

I’ve met with a couple and spoken to a few more.  The first I spoke to was the attorney at my first company and although I would love to work with her we both agreed that the firm she is at now is catered more for more established businesses (i.e., very, very expensive).   It is so much better to understand that up front because we have worked on many outside projects together, and I consider her a friend.

The second attorney I spoke to was referred by another entrepreneur in the area.  I liked her and her partner but a few things gave me pause.  One potential area of risk is the fact we might end up doing business with the other entrepreneur’s company which might result in a conflict of interest.  They had good rates and good experience but did not have an in-house tax attorney.  Since Babble Soft is currently an LLC and we’d like to continue as an LLC for at least our first round of financing, having someone who understands the tax implications could be important.

The third attorney I met had done some pro-bono work for me a year or so ago because I guess he knew I couldn’t afford his services at the time.  What I liked about him is that he does have a tax attorney in his firm, has represented several small companies in the technology space, one of my business Advisor’s has worked with him in the past, he was on time for our meeting, said he could help with introductions to potential investors, and he sent a brief follow-up note after our meeting expressing his interest in working with me.  However, his rate is $125/hour more than the attorneys at the second firm I spoke with!

Special thanks to @princess_belle who blogs at GloKay, @chelpixie who blogs at Chelpixie.com, and LPT who blogs at Direct2Dell who tweeted me things to think about and questions to ask the attorneys.  I plan on making a decision in the next couple of weeks so if you have attorney stories or suggestions to share with me or the blogosphere, please leave a comment.  Thank you!

Author: | Filed under: babble soft, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, fundraising, twitter | Tags: , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

Yoga and Other Blog Mentions
Jan 14 2008

I’m making some progress on my personal 2008 goals.  I signed up for yoga and have lost between .5 and 1 pound.   Regarding my business goals, I’m still working on the executive summary, financial projections, visuals, and finding an attorney in order to raise funds. If all goes well documents will be substantially ready by end of next week, and I’ll be well on my way to finding the perfect lawyer…if that’s even possible. 🙂   

Posting will be light over the next few weeks so in the meantime please check out the Work It, Mom! interview of me where they asked me the following questions:

  • What inspired you to become an entrepreneur?
  • You’ve written that you and the other founder of your first company were “washed out.” How did you recover from that? Was it hard to jump back into the entrepreneurial game after that experience?
  • Many women entrepreneurs have mentioned that they felt they were not taken as seriously as businesswomen once people knew their companies were geared toward mothers. Has this been your experience?
  • What lessons from your first company are you applying to your second?
  • What’s most challenging part of your working-mom juggle?
  • What advice would you give a working mom who is trying to start her own company? What pitfalls would you tell her to avoid?
  • You have a great general attitude — what motivates you besides, well, creating a super-successful company?

Then pop on over to Thom Singer’s Some Assembly Required blog and check out my guest post on Building your e-Network where I expand on the following tips:

  • Do what you say you will do when you say you will do it.
  • When someone reaches out to you for help, answer them.
  • Build and foster trust by being consistent.
Author: | Filed under: blogging, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship, mom, mother, social networks | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Yoga and Other Blog Mentions