April 12, 2022 • 11 mins
Ever want to start a business but don't have the funds to hire an attorney?
Asha Wilkerson is a business attorney who helps people start their own businesses. She joins the podcast to give her recommendations on free resources and government organizations that are available to help first-time business owners.
Host IG: @itstanyatime
Guest IG: @ashawilkersonesq
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Hi, money Movers, Welcome
back to the Money Moves podcast powered by Greenwoods. People
(00:22):
aspired to become entrepreneurs every day, so we want to
help future entrepreneurs of all ages and of course backgrounds,
with all the tools and resources needed to enter that space.
On the Money Moves Podcast, each one teach one and
who better to help us out than our passionate business
attorney Asha Wilkerson. Asha, welcome back to the podcast and
(00:45):
money Movers please welcome to Business Moves. Asha. Hello, how
are you and welcome back. Yeah, I'm great. How are
you doing. I'm doing great. I'm so excited to have
you back. Likewise, I'm I'm so I did it to
be here, So thank you for the opportunity in the invitation. Well, Asha,
all right, let's educate these future leaders. You know, we're
(01:07):
really passionate about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship comes across all form shape, sizes, industries, etcetera.
But on today's business school segment, I want to start.
I want to talk about what it's like to start
a business, but how and when do I bring in
my attorney. I think this is a question that many
people ask, and this is why we brought you here today.
(01:27):
Absolutely so you know, as an attorney, I'm always going
to tell people to contact an attorney because we are
trained to help you avoid all the things that could
possibly go wrong. Right. But I also recognize that a
lot of people are trying to start businesses, maybe as
a side hustle, or don't have ten thousand dollars to
invest in them. So I have a few things that
(01:50):
you can do to protect yourself as you get started.
And the first thing that you can do is really
learn contract language. Okay, so you are going to be
signing contracts along the way, or reviewing contracts, whether it's
for a lease or to hire a virtual assistant, or
to open up a contract with a new vendor, it
(02:11):
is really important that you understand the key terms in
those contracts. And you can learn that contract language by
following attorney blogs or doing a little bit of research
on the internet. But definitely verify and make sure that
the source is a reliable source. Okay. The second that's
great advice because no it's an interesting thing. And I
(02:32):
think you know, for so many of us, we see
a contract and you know, the internet has allowed us
to sort of skip past reading legal easing contracts right
whether it's your cell phone or this, and you know, okay, fine,
there's short steps that we all take. We don't read
the whole thing. But it's really different when you're forming
a business. You know, you've got to really take the
(02:52):
time to understand what it is. When it's about your business.
This is your baby. This is your baby. And if
someone reminded me las week, they said, you know you're
gonna pay for it now, for the advice in the
future or right now, or you're going to pay for
it later because you need the advice or the help
to actually fix the mistakes that you made. So you
definitely want to do a little bit of education, especially
(03:14):
if you can't afford to hire an attorney right away.
And the second thing, the second recommendation I have if
you can't afford an attorney right away but want to
start a new business, is to reach out to the
local business development centers. So there's the Small Business Development Center,
their score s c O r E, which is a
national organization, and there are definitely local organizations focused on
(03:36):
helping entrepreneurs get started. So look them up, join their
free training, maybe they'll even give you some technical services.
But do your research and jump into one of those groups. No,
I would say that's actually really good advice because a
lot of people don't take advantage of a lot of
the government programs, like state funded programs that are out
there to help you. And so once you start doing
(03:58):
your Google searches, you're gonna find there's a lot of
different organizations that do offer free introductory legal services. They
have free office hours. I know here in Atlanta there's
a lot of accelerator programs and a lot of the
small business associations that you can walk in and have
a lawyer, like a licensed lawyer that would actually charge
a lot of money, read your contracts and help you
(04:19):
answer those questions. Absolutely, And I'm in the Bay Area,
which is like the capital of innovations, so we have
a lot of programs out here like that as well.
The next thing that you can do is think about
bartering or exchanging services. You know, we we we definitely
want to pay people for their time, but you can
also pay people for the time by giving them value.
(04:43):
So if you really like to cook, right, maybe you
can cater an event for an attorney or for that
expert advice. Um, maybe you know how to build websites,
but you need a contract done. You can do an
exchange that way. So get creative, not you know, offense
if you don't want to low ball somebody with the
exchange of services. But you can definitely get creative and
(05:05):
think outside of the box about I need this. What
can I provide to that person in order to get
the benefit of their expertise. That's great. You know, it's
one of those things you never think about because oftentimes
you're like, well, what service what do I have to
offer a big fancy lawyer or something. But you know
a lot of people are really open and receptive to that.
(05:25):
I work for a nonprofit and you know a lot
of our legal fees are donated or volunteered, and people
are really happy to give back in a way where
they can use their expertise and professionalism to do something
good for someone else. Yeah. Absolutely, And I would say
the last thing, the last little piece of advice that
I have is that you know, people want to help
(05:46):
folks who have already taken some initiative and who are
starting to help themselves. So when you go to an expert,
do as much research as you can ahead of time,
so that your questions are on point, you understand where
you're trying to go, you're not wasting their time, and
then you actually get more value because instead of asking
(06:06):
the surface level question that you could have researched online
or at one of these free business programs, you can
go a little bit deeper. Okay, I have chosen these
contract clauses for my contract. Can you review them for
me to let me know that I have done them
correctly as opposed to I've done no work on my own.
Can you just do the whole thing? Which is okay,
but if you're on a budget, do what you need
(06:27):
to do. No. I feel so strongly about this, Ashal.
I'm sure because you know, time is really expensive for
a lot of people, and I think people are very
open to giving away their services. But you have to
come correct and it's being very intentional with your asks.
It's not just like hey, I've got an idea, I
need you to read this fifty page contract. Be like, listen,
(06:49):
I'm starting to like explain yourself. And so sometimes I
think people send these cold emails and there's not enough
information in it, and so it doesn't show like you've
done your research. Um, and I want to piggyback on
what you said. I think one thing that's really important
about this is also doing your research into the person
you're making asks too. So if you're starting a retail business, um,
(07:12):
you know, go and find a lawyer or someone who's
had experience in that industry because it will actually show
that you've done your research. And tell them not in
the email, say oh, I loved how you are involved
with this other business and I feel like your expertise
will directly relate to my ask, which is this right. Yeah,
Absolutely tell them that you've been following them and their
(07:34):
videos on YouTube, or you've read the pieces that they
have published. And I will say I already said it
was the last piece of advice, but I have one
more for everybody who's listening to us. To start networking early.
Network before you need somebody, Because the people that I
choose to give free services to, or the people who
I'm already in connection with, we have some other basis
(07:56):
besides them wanting something from me, right, we either go
out to drinks and happy hour or we go walk
around Lake Merritt together. We just spend time together. And
I want to see them win, and I know I
can help them. So when they asked me to review
a contract, to look at this thing, or to walk
through a problem with them, they're already in my circle,
They're already in my network. I want to see them win,
(08:17):
and it's not a big ask at that point. I
love this networking is so critical and improved and important,
and there's a right way and a wrong way to
do it. And you know, sometimes you have to start
at ground zero. Like you see someone an event, you
go up to them again, You go up to them again,
and that's how you really build these long game friendships.
But they really work. And you know, it's also one
(08:39):
of those things that I realized the older I get
when I look around, I've known a lot of these people,
whether it's in a business capacity or not from events
in this for like years, and they know me. So
when I come to them, they're like, oh, okay, I'm
absolutely willing to do that. So I think the networking
conversation to me is also really interesting because it's not
(09:00):
always networking ten levels up. It's networking on your level.
Just building friendship. Absolutely, spread that good vibe, you know,
let people know what you're doing, but also offer to
be of service. People want to work with people they
like and enjoy, and if they enjoy being around you,
they're gonna offer way more to you than if you're
just coming to them when you need something. So it's
(09:22):
great to have an attorney right away. I mean, you
know again, as an attorney, I'm telling you that's what
you need to do. But if you can't do it,
get smart, get crafty, build those relationships, take some initiative,
and you'll be just fine. I love that. Get smart,
get crafty. That's great advice. Thank you so much, Asha.
So any last parting words for us on I want
(09:42):
to start a business, but I can't afford an a patorney. Yes,
you can absolutely do it. Don't let what you have
right now stop you from getting to where you're trying
to go. Again, just get smart, get crafty, get the
networking done, and uh, you know, just go do it.
Go start a business and hire everybody, you know. I
love that. I love you, Asha, Thank you so much
(10:05):
for helping us today with business Moves here on the
Money Moves Podcast. Let's let our audience know where they
can reach you absolutely. I mostly hang out on Instagram,
Asha Wilkerson E s Q. On Instagram and if you
want to check out my website, The Wilkerson Law Office
dot com. Thank you so much, Asha, Thank you for
helping us today with the business Moves here on the
(10:26):
Money Moves Podcast. Let's let our audience know where they
can reach you. I mostly hang out on Instagram at
Asha Wilkerson E s Q. And you can also check
out my website, The Wilkerson Law Office dot com. Thank
you so much for having me today. All right, Money Movers,
that's all the time we have for today. But make
sure to follow Asha on all of our social media handles,
(10:50):
and make sure to tune in Monday through Friday and
subscribe to the Money Moves Podcast powered by Greenwood, so
that you two can have the keys to financial freedom
that you so rightly deserve. Thank you so much for
tuning in Money Moves audience. If you want more or
a recap of this episode, please go to the Bank
Greenwood dot com and check out the Money Moves Podcast blog.
(11:15):
Money Moves is an I Heart radio podcast powered by
Greenwood Executive, produced by Sunwise Media, Inc. For more podcast
on I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from
Hey, money Movers, Welcome back to Money Moves, the daily
podcast determined to give you the keys to the Kingdom
of financial stability, wealth and abundance. Hi, money Movers, Welcome
back to the Money Moves podcast powered by Greenwoods. People
(00:22):
aspired to become entrepreneurs every day, so we want to
help future entrepreneurs of all ages and of course backgrounds,
with all the tools and resources needed to enter that space.
On the Money Moves Podcast, each one teach one and
who better to help us out than our passionate business
attorney Asha Wilkerson. Asha, welcome back to the podcast and
(00:45):
money Movers please welcome to Business Moves. Asha. Hello, how
are you and welcome back. Yeah, I'm great. How are
you doing. I'm doing great. I'm so excited to have
you back. Likewise, I'm I'm so I did it to
be here, So thank you for the opportunity in the invitation. Well, Asha,
all right, let's educate these future leaders. You know, we're
(01:07):
really passionate about entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship comes across all form shape, sizes, industries, etcetera.
But on today's business school segment, I want to start.
I want to talk about what it's like to start
a business, but how and when do I bring in
my attorney. I think this is a question that many
people ask, and this is why we brought you here today.
(01:27):
Absolutely so you know, as an attorney, I'm always going
to tell people to contact an attorney because we are
trained to help you avoid all the things that could
possibly go wrong. Right. But I also recognize that a
lot of people are trying to start businesses, maybe as
a side hustle, or don't have ten thousand dollars to
invest in them. So I have a few things that
(01:50):
you can do to protect yourself as you get started.
And the first thing that you can do is really
learn contract language. Okay, so you are going to be
signing contracts along the way, or reviewing contracts, whether it's
for a lease or to hire a virtual assistant, or
to open up a contract with a new vendor, it
(02:11):
is really important that you understand the key terms in
those contracts. And you can learn that contract language by
following attorney blogs or doing a little bit of research
on the internet. But definitely verify and make sure that
the source is a reliable source. Okay. The second that's
great advice because no it's an interesting thing. And I
(02:32):
think you know, for so many of us, we see
a contract and you know, the internet has allowed us
to sort of skip past reading legal easing contracts right
whether it's your cell phone or this, and you know, okay, fine,
there's short steps that we all take. We don't read
the whole thing. But it's really different when you're forming
a business. You know, you've got to really take the
(02:52):
time to understand what it is. When it's about your business.
This is your baby. This is your baby. And if
someone reminded me las week, they said, you know you're
gonna pay for it now, for the advice in the
future or right now, or you're going to pay for
it later because you need the advice or the help
to actually fix the mistakes that you made. So you
definitely want to do a little bit of education, especially
(03:14):
if you can't afford to hire an attorney right away.
And the second thing, the second recommendation I have if
you can't afford an attorney right away but want to
start a new business, is to reach out to the
local business development centers. So there's the Small Business Development Center,
their score s c O r E, which is a
national organization, and there are definitely local organizations focused on
(03:36):
helping entrepreneurs get started. So look them up, join their
free training, maybe they'll even give you some technical services.
But do your research and jump into one of those groups. No,
I would say that's actually really good advice because a
lot of people don't take advantage of a lot of
the government programs, like state funded programs that are out
there to help you. And so once you start doing
(03:58):
your Google searches, you're gonna find there's a lot of
different organizations that do offer free introductory legal services. They
have free office hours. I know here in Atlanta there's
a lot of accelerator programs and a lot of the
small business associations that you can walk in and have
a lawyer, like a licensed lawyer that would actually charge
a lot of money, read your contracts and help you
(04:19):
answer those questions. Absolutely, And I'm in the Bay Area,
which is like the capital of innovations, so we have
a lot of programs out here like that as well.
The next thing that you can do is think about
bartering or exchanging services. You know, we we we definitely
want to pay people for their time, but you can
also pay people for the time by giving them value.
(04:43):
So if you really like to cook, right, maybe you
can cater an event for an attorney or for that
expert advice. Um, maybe you know how to build websites,
but you need a contract done. You can do an
exchange that way. So get creative, not you know, offense
if you don't want to low ball somebody with the
exchange of services. But you can definitely get creative and
(05:05):
think outside of the box about I need this. What
can I provide to that person in order to get
the benefit of their expertise. That's great. You know, it's
one of those things you never think about because oftentimes
you're like, well, what service what do I have to
offer a big fancy lawyer or something. But you know
a lot of people are really open and receptive to that.
(05:25):
I work for a nonprofit and you know a lot
of our legal fees are donated or volunteered, and people
are really happy to give back in a way where
they can use their expertise and professionalism to do something
good for someone else. Yeah. Absolutely, And I would say
the last thing, the last little piece of advice that
I have is that you know, people want to help
(05:46):
folks who have already taken some initiative and who are
starting to help themselves. So when you go to an expert,
do as much research as you can ahead of time,
so that your questions are on point, you understand where
you're trying to go, you're not wasting their time, and
then you actually get more value because instead of asking
(06:06):
the surface level question that you could have researched online
or at one of these free business programs, you can
go a little bit deeper. Okay, I have chosen these
contract clauses for my contract. Can you review them for
me to let me know that I have done them
correctly as opposed to I've done no work on my own.
Can you just do the whole thing? Which is okay,
but if you're on a budget, do what you need
(06:27):
to do. No. I feel so strongly about this, Ashal.
I'm sure because you know, time is really expensive for
a lot of people, and I think people are very
open to giving away their services. But you have to
come correct and it's being very intentional with your asks.
It's not just like hey, I've got an idea, I
need you to read this fifty page contract. Be like, listen,
(06:49):
I'm starting to like explain yourself. And so sometimes I
think people send these cold emails and there's not enough
information in it, and so it doesn't show like you've
done your research. Um, and I want to piggyback on
what you said. I think one thing that's really important
about this is also doing your research into the person
you're making asks too. So if you're starting a retail business, um,
(07:12):
you know, go and find a lawyer or someone who's
had experience in that industry because it will actually show
that you've done your research. And tell them not in
the email, say oh, I loved how you are involved
with this other business and I feel like your expertise
will directly relate to my ask, which is this right. Yeah,
Absolutely tell them that you've been following them and their
(07:34):
videos on YouTube, or you've read the pieces that they
have published. And I will say I already said it
was the last piece of advice, but I have one
more for everybody who's listening to us. To start networking early.
Network before you need somebody, Because the people that I
choose to give free services to, or the people who
I'm already in connection with, we have some other basis
(07:56):
besides them wanting something from me, right, we either go
out to drinks and happy hour or we go walk
around Lake Merritt together. We just spend time together. And
I want to see them win, and I know I
can help them. So when they asked me to review
a contract, to look at this thing, or to walk
through a problem with them, they're already in my circle,
They're already in my network. I want to see them win,
(08:17):
and it's not a big ask at that point. I
love this networking is so critical and improved and important,
and there's a right way and a wrong way to
do it. And you know, sometimes you have to start
at ground zero. Like you see someone an event, you
go up to them again, You go up to them again,
and that's how you really build these long game friendships.
But they really work. And you know, it's also one
(08:39):
of those things that I realized the older I get
when I look around, I've known a lot of these people,
whether it's in a business capacity or not from events
in this for like years, and they know me. So
when I come to them, they're like, oh, okay, I'm
absolutely willing to do that. So I think the networking
conversation to me is also really interesting because it's not
(09:00):
always networking ten levels up. It's networking on your level.
Just building friendship. Absolutely, spread that good vibe, you know,
let people know what you're doing, but also offer to
be of service. People want to work with people they
like and enjoy, and if they enjoy being around you,
they're gonna offer way more to you than if you're
just coming to them when you need something. So it's
(09:22):
great to have an attorney right away. I mean, you
know again, as an attorney, I'm telling you that's what
you need to do. But if you can't do it,
get smart, get crafty, build those relationships, take some initiative,
and you'll be just fine. I love that. Get smart,
get crafty. That's great advice. Thank you so much, Asha.
So any last parting words for us on I want
(09:42):
to start a business, but I can't afford an a patorney. Yes,
you can absolutely do it. Don't let what you have
right now stop you from getting to where you're trying
to go. Again, just get smart, get crafty, get the
networking done, and uh, you know, just go do it.
Go start a business and hire everybody, you know. I
love that. I love you, Asha, Thank you so much
(10:05):
for helping us today with business Moves here on the
Money Moves Podcast. Let's let our audience know where they
can reach you absolutely. I mostly hang out on Instagram,
Asha Wilkerson E s Q. On Instagram and if you
want to check out my website, The Wilkerson Law Office
dot com. Thank you so much, Asha, Thank you for
helping us today with the business Moves here on the
(10:26):
Money Moves Podcast. Let's let our audience know where they
can reach you. I mostly hang out on Instagram at
Asha Wilkerson E s Q. And you can also check
out my website, The Wilkerson Law Office dot com. Thank
you so much for having me today. All right, Money Movers,
that's all the time we have for today. But make
sure to follow Asha on all of our social media handles,
(10:50):
and make sure to tune in Monday through Friday and
subscribe to the Money Moves Podcast powered by Greenwood, so
that you two can have the keys to financial freedom
that you so rightly deserve. Thank you so much for
tuning in Money Moves audience. If you want more or
a recap of this episode, please go to the Bank
Greenwood dot com and check out the Money Moves Podcast blog.
(11:15):
Money Moves is an I Heart radio podcast powered by
Greenwood Executive, produced by Sunwise Media, Inc. For more podcast
on I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app,
Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts from
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