(Part Six in a Series)

Your business is unique.  No one does what you do the way you do it.  You have developed a specialized niche for your services, and you serve your clients in your unique, individualized way.

Why, then, would you download a form agreement off the internet to try to protect your business?

One Size Does Not Fit All.  Not only must you individualize your protections based on the duties and responsibilities of your specific employees, you also must tailor protections based on the nature of your business.  Your efforts to protect your business must be as unique as your business is.  

The law varies dramatically from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, so you need the advice of a competent, experienced lawyer.  Your lawyer can help you evaluate how to evaluate the following points and implement a plan that meets the needs of your busines.

• What unique and valuable information do you use in your business?  Your valuable information may include customer lists, research and development, marketing plans, or other information that helps your business prosper.  Specifically identify your information, then take proper steps to protect it.  Does the information qualify for trade secret protection?  If so, what are you doing to protect and secure the information as a trade secret?
• Who has access to that unique and valuable information?  Your employees have different levels of access to your confidential information.  You need to tailor your protections based on the level of access that each employee has to that information.  
• What steps can you take to protect that unique and valuable information?  Do you need to protect trade secrets?  What part should non-solicitation agreements play in your plan?  Is a non-compete agreement appropriate for some of your employees?  What aspects of physical security do you need to implement in your business?  Are you adequately training your employees of how to protect and secure your valuable information?
• How often should you review and update your plan?  Remember that nothing remains constant.  Your employees will take on new responsibilities and duties over time.  Regularly review your plan to ensure that steps you are taking to protect your business meet your current needs and situation.

A professionally tailored suit fits your better than a suit purchased from a thrift store.  When you tailor your restrictions for the specific needs of your business, you are reinforcing your position as a White Hat.  What's more, your business will boom.

                                                                                   * * *

Download a free copy of my newly designed e-book, "Ten Fatal Mistakes that Business Owners Make (And How to Avoid Them)" at http://www.gfrlaw.net/firmpublications.aspx. Our friends at Tactix Creative have done a fabulous job improving our message through meaningful visual communication.  Ask them how they can help your business distinguish itself.

If you find the BiziBoom blog posts helpful, I invite you to subscribe to the blog.  Your comments, suggestions, and critiques help improve the quality of the discussion.  Thank you for your input.

The demands of owning a business can be overwhelming.  You need an effective plan to grow and succeed. Learn how BizBuilder™ can help you systematically and continuously attack the most demanding legal challenges your Arizona business faces.