New Jersey Virtual Office

SCORE Some Help For Your Business

When my partner and I first had the idea for our product, we didn't realize how much there was to learn about starting a business. You just make something and sell it, right? If only it were that easy. One of the earliest and best bits of advice I've received is that we should "get help from everywhere" we can get it.

I started with a stack of books on business from the library. Then I read blogs and business magazines, telling everyone I could that we were starting a business. I asked the opinions of friends and family. I asked the woman who owns the store where we first bought fabric. Everyone has been so helpful and eager to see us succeed.

But one of the best places you can get business — and in particular a start-up — advice from is the volunteers at  SCORE .

Formerly known as Service Corps of Retired Executives, SCORE is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration to provide free mentoring and counseling to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

We contacted SCORE and got a call back from one of their counselors, who offered to meet us in Montclair, rather than having us come in to their downtown Newark office. We met in an office at Above & Beyond  (a virtual office and great business resource) in Montclair.

Our counselor, Lou, a retired executive from the financial field, was pleasant and generous with his time. He listened to our business idea, asked us how far we had taken it, where we hoped to go and our plans and our concerns about how to get our business started.

Lou reassured us and helped us figure out what we should do first, including helping us sift through filing business registration forms with the state; filing for a Federal Identification Number; and helping us decide which type of business we should file under.

Since then, Lou has kept up with us over the phone and in subsequent meetings. He's offered his advice and offered access to the guidance of his colleagues, who bring different specialties to the table. He also checks up on us.

Lou has told me how much he enjoys volunteering at SCORE. SCORE has been around since 1964 and has over 13,000 active volunteers working in 364 chapters in the United States.

SCORE also hosts small business seminars, either free or for a small fee. The local chapter has held seminars at the West Orange Library.

So, if you need the advice of seasoned professionals, (free!) contact your local SCORE office and start taking notes.

NJ's Bonafide Office Rule Would Have Me Doubled Over With Laughter ...

I wish that I hadn’t chosen April Fools’ Day to post about ACPE 718/CAA 41 , the joint opinion by two New Jersey judicial advisory committees ruling that virtual office arrangements, outsourced or shared receptionist services and even working outside of the office for more than a few hours violate New Jersey’s “bonafide office requirement.”  Because the New Jersey ruling is simply so moronic that it could readily be mistaken for a joke.

By way of New Jersey’s bonafide office rule, Rule 1:21 :

office is a place where clients are met, files are kept, the telephone is answered, mail is received and the attorney or a responsible person acting on the attorney’s behalf can be reached in person and by telephone during normal business hours to answer questions posed by the courts, clients or adversaries and to ensure that competent advice from the attorney can be obtained within a reasonable period of time.

The New Jersey advisory committees concluded that “virtual offices” – where lawyers can rent space part time to meet clients or use as a mail drop – are not a bona-fide office within the meaning of Rule 1:21 because lawyers use the space part time — they do not keep files on site or employ staff who can assist walk-in client.  Here’s a quick run down of what’s wrong with the ruling:

1.  Apparently, the authors of the New Jersey decision not familiar with the concept of email or texting or voice mail.  If they were, they’d have realized that these tools afford a far quicker, not to mention, less expensive way to contact a lawyer to obtain a response or advice within a reasonable amount of time than a receptionist and physical office space.

2.  Likewise, many lawyers don’t keep physical files in their office, but instead house them in the cloud while storing paper files off site.  Does keeping files in the cloud mean that a law office is not “bonafide” within the meaning of New Jersey’s rules.

3.   Many lawyers, even those with full time space, like to spend time outside of the office.  Back in the day when I had full time space, I often worked at the library, on site at one of my client’s offices and occasionally from home.  This too, would have violated the bonafide office rule unless I had someone babysitting the office, since the opinion states that: “ If the attorney is regularly out of the office during normal business hours, then a responsible person must be present at the office.