1. Don't over-promise or misrepresent future financial performance in documents that go to the public and potential investors.
2. Write into your business plan the financial risks you face, be it competition, costs of goods, loss of an employee or changes in the economic climate. This minimizes legal claims of non-disclosure of crucial information.
3. Put language in your business plan that addresses regulatory requirements you face and your strategy for complying. This, too, can decrease chances of a suit for non-disclosure.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• At the first sign of a potential legal issue, call your attorney. Even at $400 or more an hour, it can be cheaper to get advice and solve the problem at the outset rather let the situation fester until a lawsuit our court date is unavoidable.
• Don't threaten to sue unless you really mean it. Your adversary may make a a preemptive strike by filing a declaratory judgment suit against you in his home jurisdiction.
• Handle a problem employee situation at the beginning; set goals for the worker to achieve and create an official paper trail about the unsatisfactory performance.
• Purchase adequate liability insurance for your business, your officers and your directors.
• Address an accounts-receivable issue early, when it is of manageable size; don't be afraid to write it off if necessary.
• Correct a customer-service problem as quickly as possible; bend over backward to please the customer by doing a little more than necessary to rectify the situation.