Business legal 101
The legal basics every small business owner should have been taught.
Ten short lessons, in order, each building on the last. Liability, contracts, customers, marketing, your website and data, staff, and then what to do when a demand letter or a lawsuit arrives. About 74 minutes in total. No prior legal knowledge assumed.
How your business is exposed
Entity versus personal liability in plain terms, why insurance matters more than you think, and what a judgment can actually reach.
7 minContracts that hold up
What makes a contract, why email and clicks count, and the five clauses that matter: payment, termination, liability caps, indemnity, disputes.
7 minCustomers and consumer law
The FTC Act and state consumer laws in plain terms: what is deceptive, how refund and auto-renewal rules work, and the rules on reviews.
7 minMarketing calls, texts and email
Outbound marketing rules in plain terms: TCPA consent, autodialers and recorded voices, the Do Not Call Registry, Florida’s FTSA, and CAN-SPAM.
9 minYour website and customer data
ADA website accessibility claims, what a privacy policy must do, Illinois BIPA, and why every state’s breach notification law applies to you.
7 minEmployees and contractors
Employee versus contractor in plain terms, FLSA overtime basics, the written agreements each needs, and why paying everyone on a 1099 fails.
7 minWhen a demand letter arrives
What a demand letter is and is not, how to handle the deadline, what to preserve, the seven mistakes businesses make in the first week, and who to call.
8 minThe TCPA demand letter
The letter small businesses most often receive: who sends TCPA demand letters, how exposure is calculated per call, and pay, dispute or ignore.
8 minBeing sued
What happens when a claim becomes a lawsuit: service, the answer deadline that varies by court, default judgment, discovery, settlement, small claims.
7 minFixing it so it does not happen again
A compliance calendar for a small business, the clauses every vendor contract needs, and the records that turn the next letter into a short dispute.
7 minFinal checklist
The whole course on one page: what to have in place, lesson by lesson.
5 min
How to use the course
Read the lessons in order the first time; each one assumes the ones before it. Each lesson ends with a box that lists what you should now know. If you can say each line in your own words, move on. If not, read that section again.
If a letter has already arrived, start at Lesson 7, then come back to the beginning once the first week is handled.
Everything here is general legal information about federal law and, where noted, state law. It is not legal advice. A lawyer licensed in your state can advise on your facts, and the lessons say when that is worth the fee.