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Business Insider

Online Business Idea – How to Protect Yourself Against Legal Troubles When Blog Posting

A sound online business idea involves blogging. Creating blogs is a good way to communicate to people what you think, felt as well as share ideas. Blogs are usually used by people who are starting their own business online in order for them to receive comments from customers regarding the quality of their products and services. This is also something that you can use to know your customers suggestions. There are steps you need to take when starting your own business to make sure that you and your business are lawsuit-free.
1. Check the information – This is very important before you post any blog or writing content. If you know you need to use either quote or sort of information which is not a common knowledge, make sure to check the information in order for you to represent the information you are writing about in an accurate manner. For instance, if you post a blog about a famous person and what his or her activities at a certain place where you saw him or her, ensure that you are certain of what you say. You need to check it out for real. You can do reference check when in doubt, which includes references to the information that is common or paraphrased. It would be best to give credit when it is due rather than to try to restate anyone else’s work affirming it is your own.
2. Don’t be presumptuous – Never assume anything on any topic when writing a blog. Take this as an example; do not assume that attorneys earn $100,000 annually. There are even some public attorneys who earn not over $40,000 every year. If this is the topic of the blog that you are writing, people would be skeptical with your write-up. As said, it makes a lot of sense to check information. In case you have chosen to discuss the salary of the attorney, you can give a range of probably $0 – $1,000,000. The $0 is representing pro bono or unpaid services and on the other hand, $1,000,000 is representing high profile cases and corporate attorneys in big cities.
3. Think all the people – When searching for a new online business idea, it is not enough to say that you write a blog. Your blog should be supported by facts and consider not only those who will read it, but also think all of the people. This should include their religion, race, class, gender and orientation. As you know, anyone can access your blog online which means anyone can read it. The last thing that you want to do is to offend anyone. If you can offend someone can set off legal chain reaction which results to a class action suit if you failed to be careful. Take note that when you post blog, your IP address is recorded for people to know your identity when you are posting a blog.
4. Take time to review – Before you post a blog, make sure you review and see if what you wrote is something that you want to let the world know. Think of the content and what you want to say. You should also consider what the average people will have in mind when they read it. Is the writing positive to them or will only lead to negative criticism. It is therefore important to be careful most particularly online.
5. Refrain from using negative words – If possible use words that are neutral and refrain from incorporating dirty jokes, profanity and vulgarity. Unless there is something positive that you will write about a person, you should avoid from posting something about someone. Note that once it is placed there, it will be considered written evidence and can be used as evidence inside the court room.
Blogs are good communication tool and a smart online business idea that anyone can use. But you need to follow these steps first to be free of lawsuit.

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Business Week

8 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Become an Entrepreneur

One of the biggest mistakes that aspiring business owners make is overlooking the importance of digging deep into what their true motivations are for starting a business and if their life is truly ready for this change. They get so busy in trying to figure out the logistics involved in getting their idea off the ground that they don’t pay attention to some of these very vital aspects that are crucial before you launch your business.
Following are the top eight questions you must ask yourself if you want to succeed –
1. “What are my motivations behind wanting to be an Entrepreneur?”
If you are toying with the idea of starting your own business, you need to begin by laying a strong foundation to your thinking and to your actions. The place to start is to question your true intentions and motivations behind wanting to undertake this endeavor. Your reasoning needs to be strong and meaningful in order to ensure that your business house won’t crumble with the ups and downs of the experience. We all know that running a business has its good and bad times; and when you go through the rough times, that (your reasoning and motivations) which propelled you to start your business in the first place, will serve as your sustaining power.
2. “Do I have a personal vision and a plan?”
Often we think that our work is somehow separate from our personal life. We forget that in order for things to go smoothly, our personal and professional lives need to be in alignment. The work that we do has a great impact on how happy or unhappy we feel. After all, we spend eight to ten hours each day, five days a week, doing our job. Your business venture needs to incorporate what you love to do, what you enjoy, and who you are. When you are making a conscious decision to become an Entrepreneur, you need to make sure that your personal vision has a place for that business and can make adjustments if need be.
3. “How will my family feel about me starting this business?”
If you do decide to pursue your dreams and become an Entrepreneur and you are married with a family, you’re going to want to discuss this with them. How would they feel about this change? Would they be ready for this change? Would they be supportive?
If you are single, how would your friends and family members in your support circle feel about this change? Do they feel this is the right step for you?
4. “Do I have the right personality?”
It’s a known fact that not all of us are capable of being Entrepreneurs even though we may have a desire to. People can have great ideas, even have a passion supporting these ideas, but being a successful Entrepreneur requires more; it requires very specific personality traits. Some of us are born with these; others may have them dormant and may need to develop them. Pay attention to your strengths and weaknesses ‘” determination, creativity, persistence, patience, flexibility, and ability to keep learning are some of these necessary traits.
5. “Do I have a clear business idea?”
Businesses cannot be built on a fuzzy idea. Your idea should be clear and well-defined. It can expand and evolve over time, but you have to start from a point that is sound and strong. Start by clearly defining concepts: what you want to do; what services and products are you going to be involved in; what the advantages are and benefits your business will provide.
6. “What would I like to do for the rest of my life?”
When you think about your ideal work, what comes to mind? Was there something you always wanted to do but didn’t get the chance to follow through? You will want to connect with your ideals.
7. “Do I have the background and experience for what I’m trying to create?”
Although it’s not always necessary to be skilled or have prior background with the business idea that you are working on, it is definitely important that you know what you’re doing. If you’re already experienced, that’s great; you’re ready to put that experience to work. If not, then you must work on acquiring whatever skills are necessary in the specific area needed for your business.
8. “What about my finances?”
Every business needs start up capital. How and where will you get yours? Will you dip into your personal savings or get a loan from the bank or somewhere else?
It takes a year or two, sometimes even more, to start bringing in money. It typically takes twelve to eighteen months to break even, and two to three years for profits. Do you think you are financially prepared for this? Do you think you are ready for giving up a steady check?