Starting your own company can be a great way to generate income while doing something that you are passionate about. While most small business owners are aware of the need to protect their business entity from outside competitors, few take the time to realize that there are many internal points of weakness that could result in serious legal problems if not addressed properly.

Here are two types of internal weak points you should strive to protect when setting up your own small business in the future.

1. Proprietary Information

If your company is founded on proprietary information that allows you to provide a good or service that differs from your competitors, protecting this information from the outside world is important.

In order to ensure that your employees are not leaking information that could compromise the success of your business, it's essential that you work with a skilled business attorney to draft employee contracts preventing the sharing of proprietary information. In addition to the employment contract, you may also choose to draft a separate non-disclosure agreement that specifically protects certain types of information and outlines the penalties associated with an employee who intentionally or unintentionally shares that information.

Protecting your proprietary information from accidental sharing by employees through a written employee agreement or non-disclosure document will help make your business more internally strong in the future.

2. Partnerships

Many small business owners choose to take on a partner in order to help buffer some of the financial burden associated with starting a company.

If you have partners, it's essential that you work with an attorney to draft a buy-sell agreement that will protect your interest in the event something happens to your partner. A buy-sell agreement outlines the details of an arrangement that would allow you to buy out the portion of your company owned by a partner if that partner loses financial stability due to a divorce, goes bankrupt, or dies.

Having a buy-sell agreement between all partners involved in owning and operating your small business will ensure that the loss of a partner doesn't affect your company's ability to operate under your control in the future.

Taking the time to recognize some internal weak points that could compromise the success of your small business will help you address these potential problems with the help of a business attorney. Draft employee contracts and non-disclosure agreements, and create a buy-sell agreement with each partner, and you will be able to ensure your company is internally strong.

For more information, contact a law office like Caldwell Kennedy & Porter.