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The Case For Startups and Small Businesses as Your Next Clients

By Sandie Eggers, Sr. Marketer, Practical Law

January 16, 2018, 12:09 pm CST

No matter where you are in the U.S., serving startups and newer or established small businesses can become a profit center for your practice, especially when you can handle their often routine legal matters efficiently. Likely countless entrepreneurs in your area could benefit greatly from your experienced professional advice tailored to their particular needs, as opposed to resorting to online DIY forms – with all the risks that entails.

Size of the small business market: An overview

According to the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Table of Standards, the definition of small business varies according to industry. In 2014 (the most recent SBA data available), small businesses comprised 99.9 percent of all firms. This translated into 47.8 percent of private sector employees or 58 million out of 121 million employees. Small businesses contributed to 41.1 percent of the private sector payroll.

Areas of greatest opportunity to serve the legal needs of startups

In its 2017 Kauffman Index of Startup Activity, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation reports that the states with the highest level of startup activity in 2017 included Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming. In terms of year-over-year increase in startup activity, the leading states included Connecticut, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Tennessee, Vermont and Washington.

Surprisingly, the Bay Area and New York City were not the metropolitan areas with the greatest rate of start-up formation in 2017. Rather, the top five were: Miami, Austin, Los Angeles, San Diego and Las Vegas according to Kauffman. And the three cities that experienced the greatest increase in startup activity in 2017 as compared to 2016 were: St. Louis, Cleveland and San Antonio.

How to efficiently serve the small business and startup market

As the statistics above indicate, the startup and small business market is flourishing across the country. Even if your state or city is not on the leaderboard, it’s likely there’s a substantial and largely untapped opportunity to serve the legal needs of startups and small businesses where you are. But for this market to potentially become a profit center for your practice, you need to have a system in place allowing you to serve them efficiently.

With Practical Law’s new cross-practice collection focusing on Startups and Small Businesses, you have that system. Whether you’re helping an entrepreneur launch her startup or advising the owner of an established business, you have all the relevant documents you need in one place plus a roadmap to follow, ensuring every action you take with your startup or small business clients is on point. Working with early-stage businesses present a host of issues across a variety of practice areas, some of which may be outside of your typical practice. This cross-practice collection allows you to take on work for startup and small business clients in areas that may be outside of your comfort zone, confident in the knowledge that the expert attorney editors at Practical Law have you covered. Take a moment and check it out. It could be the key to growth for your practice in 2018.

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SOURCES: SBA Table of Small Business Standards https://www.sba.gov/contracting/getting-started-contractor/make-sure-you-meet-sba-size-standards/table-small-business-size-standards Accessed: 1/8/2018 Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation 2017 Kauffman Index (Startup Activity) file:///C:/Users/u6066773/Downloads/2017_Kauffman_Index_Startup_Activity_National_Report_Final%20(4).pdf Accessed: 11/29/17 file:///C:/Users/u6066773/Downloads/2017_Kauffman_Index_Startup_Activity_State_Report_Final%20(1).pdf Accessed 11/29/17 file:///C:/Users/u6066773/Downloads/2017_Kauffman_Index_Startup_Activity_Metro_Report_Final.pdf (Accessed: 11/29/17)

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