Small Business Week is always a big deal at our firm for two reasons. First, even though we have been in business for over 100 years, our firm is technically a small business. Second, many of our customers are small business owners. So, we were delighted when we saw that during this year’s Small Business Week a local businesswoman had been named the 2016 South Carolina Female Business Person of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Denise Thigpen, who founded and operates Wholesale Boutique just a few miles down the road from our Myrtle Beach office, was selected as this year’s award winner because she has grown her start-up retail shop into a thriving wholesale business while helping mentor other business owners. We love stories like this!
We believe small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy, and the data backs that up. In South Carolina, small businesses employ 743,262 people, which is 46.9% of the private sector workforce. We are happy to play a small role in keeping the entrepreneurial spirit alive in South Carolina by providing legal services to many small businesses.
Business Formation
When they are just starting out, small businesses need someone they can trust to give them advice about how their company should be structured. We regularly advise business owners trying to decide whether they should set their business up as a partnership, LLC, or corporation. We explain the benefits and downsides of each, and once the business owner has made a decision about which structure is right for them, we help them put their business plan into action. We help ensure that everything is set up properly and compliance mechanisms are in place so that our clients stay on the right side of the law as they begin operations.
Business Litigation
As our clients become more established, we work with them to resolve legal disputes that inevitably arise. Unfortunately, in this day and age, litigation is one of the costs of doing business. For a lot of businesses we work with, we operate like an in-house legal firm because we are so familiar with their needs. But unlike bringing a legal team in-house, we offer cost savings since our clients benefit from the knowledge and experience we gain serving all of our clients, not just them. We know keeping costs down is especially important to our small business clients.
Helping Business Owners Move On
When it is time to move on, we help our clients do succession planning or work with them to vet potential buyers. Turning your business over to someone else is a difficult (yet rewarding) decision. We strive to make transitions easier by laying out the legal issues that might arise and helping our clients navigate them.
Small Businesses Truly Are the Lifeblood Of Our Economy
It is businesses like Wholesale Boutique and business owners like Denise Thigpen that keep our economy growing. We are happy that as a firm we can be a part of the small business culture that keeps South Carolina’s economy growing.