Sponsored Message: Welcome to The Entrepreneuring Show, where we strive to provide insights and stories for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs, where innovation meets inspiration, led by veteran entrepreneur and tech founder. Here’s your host, Jill Button.
Jill: Hey, welcome to the Entrepreneuring Show. Today’s episode is brought to you by Ted Crysler Professional Corporation, specializing in providing alternative solutions to corporations with technology, corporate and commercial law legal needs. Ted’s clients enjoy the benefits from outsourcing and having access to experienced corporate counsel without incurring the high cost of dedicated in house counsel.
Jill: Ted Crysler Professional Corporation is highly responsive and offers quick, proactive, and flexible quality advice from startups to enterprise. Ted Crysler Corporation can provide the legal counsel you need. My guest today, of course, is Ted Crysler. Born and raised in Collingwood and Saga Beach, Ted graduated from Carleton University with honors and has a BA in Political Science and History, a Master of Arts in International Affairs.
Jill: He was called to the bar in 1996 and has been practicing technology, corporate and commercial law since then. He worked in private practice at law firms and spent 14 years in the legal department at Rogers Communications, where he was Where Ted and I first met and negotiated in the trenches together.
Jill: He taught me much of what I know about contracting and negotiations, and I have the stories to prove it. Currently has his own practice concentrating on technology and corporate and commercial law and works with existing businesses and entrepreneurs, even more interesting to me as a wine lover, Ted secured his diploma in wine and spirit studies from the wine and, uh, Spirits Education Trust, his certificate in culinary arts at George Brown College.
Jill: When he’s not working or volunteering or drinking really good red wine, he enjoys bicycling, cross country skiing, badminton, motorcycling, kayaking, traveling, and playing cello, fiddle, and piano. I’m exhausted. It is also an entrepreneur providing services. On the ProcureHub Marketplace. Welcome to the show, Ted.
Ted: Well, thank you so much, Jill. That was, I’m very embarrassed by that very long introduction, but thank you. That was very kind.
Jill: Hey, listen, I’ve known you for quite a while, uh, since our Rogers days. And like I said, I learned a lot about, uh, drafting, contract, drafting, negotiating, and boy, do we have some great stories to tell, but not on this show.
Jill: No, I don’t know that that’s stories for another time, but I would say it was a two way street Jill of, uh, learning between us. So it was always great working with you. you. And we were always on some of the most interesting and challenging files, which is why we have the stories.
Ted: Yes, yes, yes. Good times.
Jill: Good times. But here we find ourselves. We’re both now entrepreneurs. I leapt off the corporate ladder 11 years ago and you fairly recently. So tell me a little bit about what led you to become an entrepreneur.
Ted: Yeah, I was sort of, um, in, in a career transition and I was debating what is my next step, like, what do I want to do?
Ted: And I’d always been, uh, entrepreneurial, uh, or more so than many lawyers are, I suppose. But I thought, well, maybe I want to stay in house, maybe I want to be in a firm, or maybe I want to go out on my own. And it took me a little bit of time to decide, well, I really want to go out on my own. That’s really what I enjoy.
Ted: And you have the, you know, it’s ups and downs, right? You have the benefits of being your own boss and taking on, in my case, taking on the clients that you want to work with. And, you know, you have to manage your, your business and your cash flow because that’s the nature of being an entrepreneur. And it’s not, it’s not a paycheck every two weeks.
Ted: It’s whatever you, you make and bring in. Right. But that’s exciting in its own regards.
Jill: So cool. And so what led you to law? You’ve got a very interesting educational background, like master’s in arts, political science. How did you get interested in the law?
Ted: It’s funny because, um, when I was growing up, no one in my family was a lawyer.
Ted: My, my dad was a farmer, and my mom was a homemaker, and I have five siblings. So, um, some of them went to university, some of them didn’t. And, uh, my parents always said, Oh, you should become a lawyer like Perry Mason. And they watched the Perry Mason show, and I would watch that going, Oh, my goodness. I don’t want to do that because it was all criminal law in a court.
Ted: And I went, that’s just, I’m not interested in that. So I was dead set against being a lawyer. In fact, until I found out what lawyers actually do. I mean, that’s a very small subset of the law. So it’s wonderful practice, but not what I’m, I’m interested in. And when I discovered that, you know, the solicitor side, which is, you know, working with the With business folks and usually in an office setting, uh, that was a bit more interesting to me.
Ted: I had thought I might become a diplomat, which is the, yes, the international affairs side of things. I did try and pursue that, but it was very, very difficult at the time. And, uh, I thought, well, you know, I can do lots of cross border practice as a lawyer. So I, I decided to stay within the law and pursue the law at that point.
Ted: So I, I sort of. I looked at what my skill set was and what I was good at, and it matched pretty well what lawyers do. So I, you know, I, I kind of. methodically worked my way into it. Some people know they want to be a lawyer from age three or whatever. I, I didn’t know till I was about 23. So, um, that’s, that was my journey there, but it’s been great.
Ted: You know, I think the law has been good to me and for me, so I’m, I’m happy that I chose that path.
Jill: So I don’t know if I ever told you this, but when I was younger, before I decided to get into supply chain and procurement, I actually did consider law. I really do like the idea of, you know, defending, you know, the innocent and the investigation.
Jill: And, um, for me, when I found out what lawyers actually do, that’s when I actually decided sort of opposite to you. No, that’s not for me. But funny enough, I actually do get to do, um, Contract negotiations. I’ve, like I said, we’ve worked together on a number of files. So, and even recently together collaborating as entrepreneurs with some clients.
Jill: So I get to dabble a little bit, but then rely upon those who are actually certified to do it. So that’s, that’s good news. So tell us a little bit more about your entrepreneurial journey so far. Like, what has it been like? What is, what’s What are the biggest, you know, hairy, scary or challenging things that you’ve encountered so far?
Ted: Right. Well, I started in, I’ve had my own practice since the early 2000s, to be honest. And, uh, what I did was reinvigorate the practice in 2019. Uh, and it was late 2019, and there’s a lot to do as any entrepreneur knows, the entrepreneur knows in getting your business set up. And in my case, there’s an extra hurdle dealing with the law society.
Ted: If you’re going to be a professional corporation, but I had to find an accountant who knew what they were doing. I had to find software that was going to work specifically for a legal practice. So there’s a, there’s a lot of, um, hoops. That you have to go through and then get business actually organized, set up banking, all that kind of stuff.
Ted: And on top of that, you’re trying to find clients. So, um, I was ramping up fairly well. And then the very, very scary was March, 2020, where all of a sudden. You couldn’t see people anymore. Now, luckily, my practice was set up to be remote and virtual for the most part with, you know, possibility to go into people’s offices or what have you.
Ted: But I always enjoyed going for lunch and coffee with with people, other counsel or potential clients or friends or whatever. And that all stopped. And that was one of my main routes for finding new clients. So it was a bit I wouldn’t say scary necessarily, but it was a bit concerning because I’m like, Hmm, how am I going to continue to build this practice if I can’t actually meet people?
Ted: And most people want to actually meet with you. Ideally face to face. I mean, we shifted to zoom and teams and whatever. Um, and that was helpful and it was able to continue. But there were some. Yeah, concerning moments there, and I’m sure other people had somewhat the same, uh, experience. And I will just say, because you did mention that I have my diploma in wine and spirits from the wine and spirit education trust.
Ted: I was also at that point trying to get, um, a wine education business off the ground. So you can imagine. That’s really mostly based on in person events and leading classes and that kind of thing. So it got flattened pretty much at the same time. I thought, well, now, what do I do with that? And, you know, we went to zoom, but it was.
Ted: Not very satisfactory, to be honest. So since then, I’ve, you know, things have opened up and I’ve been lucky to get a lot of word of mouth references. And, you know, there’s a few places that you can also get leads from, et cetera. So I’ve been lucky enough to build the practice and to be able to enjoy that side of the entrepreneuring.
Ted: But you always have to be on the lookout for new clients. You always have to be, you know, selling yourself. As most entrepreneurs do when you’re meeting people, and everyone’s a potential client. Um, and so it doesn’t hurt to say, Hey, this is what I do. And, you know, if there’s something you need, let me know.
Ted: Here’s my card. And, uh, I think most entrepreneurs can sort of, uh, understand that that approach.
Jill: Yes, absolutely. And in fact, you know, the, the pandemic was a huge catalyst for us starting procure hub and understanding that the whole world decided to go digital and virtual, you know, the buying trends, um, of what normally would be a traditional in person, you know, face to face sales experience now became digital and people wanted to be able to meet people online.
Jill: To be able to conduct meetings online, to buy services online. Um, and, and, uh, you know, it would have been great if the procure hub was actually, um, up and running before the pandemic, cause that would have probably made it a lot easier for people, but you know, you, you learn and you grow and. Your services are now available on ProcureHub, which is amazing because people otherwise may not be able to find you except through the traditional, you know, Google lawyer near me.
Ted: Yeah, exactly. Which is not a very effective means of finding a lawyer, I have to say. So it’s great to have those facilities like ProcureHub that allows you to reach a different market and to Broaden your scope and everything. One other quick scary story was in March, 2020, what also happened is my laptop died and I freaked out going, Oh no, like without my laptop, I was dead.
Ted: So I hurry, hurry, scurried and got down to a Best Buy and bought one ASAP and got it done before everything literally shut down. So there was, there was some very scary moments there. You’re talking about going digital, but without a laptop. Like, forget it, right? You couldn’t do anything. So, yeah, yeah. So it’s been interesting, you know, as you say, shifting to that digital age, um, with, with clients.
Ted: And, and now when I get referrals, we often are just doing an initial zoom meeting to say, Hey, you know, is there, is there some synergy here or not? Can I help you or what have you? And it’s, it’s now just common and such a change from 5 years ago.
Jill: Yeah, in fact, I find clients don’t actually want to see me in person anymore.
Jill: Maybe once in a while, like you said, for coffee or even dinner, but they really don’t have the time or feel it isn’t as productive as what they could have if you do a virtual because. especially those who are in a sales or an outreach role going downtown. I live in the outskirts of the 905 and going downtown and meeting with one client could take up an entire day for me versus I could, you know, meet with eight clients a day or more doing virtual and it’s more productive for them, more productive for me.
Jill: However, I have to say, I do miss the energy of being, you know, in the presence of people. Um, do you, do you, um, do you find that? Like, do you, are you finding clients are, are looking for mostly virtual or are you also finding clients who are like, yeah, I need to get together and I want to see you, I want to build a relationship.
Ted: Yeah, I I’d say it’s the latter. Like when you start with people, um, firstly, as a lawyer, I’m supposed to that we’ve got new know your client requirements actually as a result of the pandemic, which says you have to make sure this person. Um, and it used to be you would get their ID and it was to say, Oh, there you are.
Ted: Yes, you’re fine. And you would be meeting in person now, because so many things have gone virtual. There’s, um, identity authenticators that were being required to use if you’re not meeting the person in person. So, just a little extra layer from the law society to, to our, uh, uh, community. client, client opening process.
Ted: Um, just as an example. And, um, just another example is the government decided in the midst of the pandemic to shift all the business registry online, which ended up being quite a schmozzle and, uh, caused untold hassles for law firms and lawyers and people not getting connected. And in the, in the pandemic.
Ted: You’re trying as a lawyer to help your client get incorporated or file an amendment or whatever it was and do a search and you couldn’t do it. So things are better now, but there was, it was almost a year where you were going, Oh, my God, I can’t do this. I’m going to steal myself to work through this and it could take me an hour for something that should take 10 minutes.
Ted: So some of the downside of, of being all virtual, because I used to go to the office and just file the papers, which might take 15 minutes, but I knew they were done. So, um, that was kind of a shift, but with, with clients, they’re um, The initial the initial contact is often virtual. But then if we’re going to have a longer term working relationship, if it’s a one off project, you know, maybe not such a big deal.
Ted: But with others where we’re having a longer term relationship, which is my ideal, you build that and get a regular flow of work. It’s nice to have, um, office time. So I am being asked, can you come into the office once in a while? Or, you know, every other Thursday or whatever it may be to have that Energy.
Ted: It’s I like how you put it. It’s the energy of being in person. We don’t need to be in person all the time. It’s not required, but you do need that energy. And, you know, there’s a lot of cues that you don’t pick up on. When you’re virtual, when you’re in person, I think we’re missing, I remember reading you missed something like 80 or 90 percent of cues because you’re only getting like this box of my head and my face and, and I’m, I don’t have to, I can’t fling my hands around and you see if I’m flailing or whatever.
Ted: And my body language is very important. And when you’re doing negotiations, as you very well know, being there in person. Can be very, very helpful because you, you can see those cues in the room. Oh, I think this is happening or, you know what I mean? And, uh, it’s hard to do that online.
Jill: Absolutely. I totally was going to say that, you know, in the negotiations, um, Uh, field, which you and I are both, um, in and have, uh, negotiated together.
Jill: Those, those cues that you get in person, you know, the shaking leg, the, the posture in the chair, the leaning in the leaning out, even the hands, um, and where their hands are really, like you said, you know, they, they really tell a tale. So those visual cues are missing when you’re in a digital. Um, but sometimes it’s, uh, not possible obviously to get, um, together in person.
Jill: But what, one of the benefits must be the expansion of your ability to meet other businesses, which you wouldn’t normally be able to do in the local Toronto area. Like, have you, have you, um, gained clients? Whether across Canada or North America or even globally, like what is, I see it as a, you know, the borders are down and I can serve the clients from anywhere and now have a global team.
Jill: What is your experience been around that in your clientele?
Ted: Yeah, so it’s somewhat similar, but we’re a bit more restricted because our license is, of course, geographic. Like, I’m licensed to practice in Ontario, and if I want to practice in British Columbia or Nova Scotia, I have to get licensed there.
Ted: Having said that, um, I do have clients from across Canada. It’s, it’s not just Toronto. I have, I have clients from all around Ontario. Um, and it’s I’d like to say soup to nuts because I get a large variety of clients. Some are startups. Some are more established businesses. Some are heavy tech. Some are light tech.
Ted: Some are buying tech. They’re not creating tech. So it just sort of depends on the actual business. I’ve had U. S. clients. I’ve been dealing with folks in Asia, a little bit in Europe. Not not so much. I’d like to have more of that. So, yeah, it does expand your boundaries and also for. The clients that you are working with, um, if they’re going global and many are because they are able to, they’re doing a few things.
Ted: They’re recruiting globally. So you run into the okay with employment. How are we managing that? Like it. You know, are they employed here? Are they employed somewhere? Are they a contractor? What is it? And different rules for different places. Um, and then, you know, privacy. If there’s personal information involved, how does that work?
Ted: Depending on which jurisdictions you’re landing in and, you know, trying to coordinates. It’s always, you’re like, Oh, there’s so many things to ponder in that area to make sure that you’ve got a secure platform or secure services. So you run into a lot of those things. So it’s kind of fun. I consider it fun because it’s a challenge and I don’t like a static work environment.
Ted: I like to keep learning and I like things that are sort of constantly in flux. It’s nice to have a little bit of, you know, stability, but it’s, it’s okay to say, Oh yeah, no, there’s going to be a new law coming down the pipe and what’s it going to be about and how, how might we need to adjust what we do in the business to.
Ted: to sort of accord with that new law and what have you. So that’s what I’ve been finding is sort of the interesting side of things. It’s, it’s broadened your potential client base and it’s also broadened the type of work that you might do for your clients.
Jill: Absolutely. And, and more risk as well. Right. So I’m just going to remind our listeners, if you have any questions for Ted about law, whether it’s, uh, regardless of the size Ted’s actually worked, you know, from startup to enterprise, pop those questions into the chat or the comments of LinkedIn, uh, Facebook and YouTube.
Jill: And we will get to those questions, uh, later in the show. Um, I want to ask Ted. With regards to, uh, your love of wine and, you know, the pursuit of that as a potential entrepreneurial venture. Tell me a little bit about, you know, how did you get interested in that? And how are you? How are you continuing to, uh, Um, stay focused on that.
Jill: Would you ever consider, you know, starting that, uh, wine business, experiential, uh, wine business again as a new venture or tell me about that side of that? I find that incredibly interesting because I love red wine.
Ted: Yeah, it’s, it’s funny. Uh, I’ll meet people and we’ll talk about the law and being a lawyer and they’re very polite.
Ted: And then I’ll say, somehow it will come up and I’ll say, yes. And I’ll also have a wine education business. And they’re like, oh, and their eyes light up and they go, tell me about that. I’m going, yes, this is far more interesting. I know. Um, however, there’s nothing wrong with the law. We need the law. I know, I know, but people do get excited about wine.
Ted: Um, so, yeah, no, I do have my business. It’s actually called Bacchus Wine Academy, B A C C H U S, and I, um, they do lead tastings and work on events, and they can be small, like an eight person dinner, or they can be a hundred person, um, charity event, or what have you, and alumni event. So I’ve done all sorts of things like that, leading wine tastings.
Ted: Uh, we try to, you know, for those things, they tend to be a bit more informal. So it’s not classroom education. I can do classroom education, and I am hoping to ramp that up further for the future, because that’s what got put on hold a few years ago, and it’s just been difficult to figure out how do I reinvigorate that exact part of it?
Ted: Like, where is it going to be? But I’m doing tastings and, uh, uh, beating events all the time. And that’s that’s fun, because that’s also a growth thing, because what I learned about wine is that you’ve never learned everything about wine. Um, it’s, it’s constant change growth and for instance, you know, the impact climate change is having on grape growing on viticulture and winemaking is huge and it’s just a constant now where people are trying to pivot and figure out how do I address this in the vineyard or, you know, do I buy a new vineyard that’s higher or has less.
Ted: You know, with less sun exposure, less heat, or, you know, can manage water better. What have you? So there’s always something interesting going on in the wine world. There’s always new winemakers coming along. So for me, it’s fun and it’s a nice outlet. And yes, I’m hoping that it’s my retirement project. So I can do more of it.
Ted: And another aspect I wanted to do was to have More travel associated with it. And, you know, at some point down the road, maybe have sessions where you have a group of folks traveling around a particular region and learning more about it and maybe doing culinary because I did my, um, continuing education, culinary certificate at George Brown, as you mentioned as well.
Ted: So having a nice culinary aspect. To that as well. So lots of plans just need the time. Um, and, uh, you know, I still am very heavily involved in my practice. I’m nowhere near retirement. And so that’s still a side thing that I love doing, but I’m not doing it full time down the road. That would be great. I love the idea of creating this wine experience, this tasting, you know, pairing with food and talking about, you know, the different flavors and how they are accentuated by the meal and what pairs with what I actually think that’s an amazing opportunity, maybe for businesses who are looking for an employee experience, something that’s elegant, something that’s, you know, after hours out of the office, You know, doesn’t involve making paper airplanes, uh, and trying to figure out who can throw them the farthest.
Jill: So I actually think that’s a great idea. Not sure if we could put wine tasting as an experience on procure hub, but I’ll figure out if I can.
Ted: Yes, if you can, I’m happy to be your supplier for sure. And I have done those events and they are fun. And I find that. that the folks in the work environment appreciate something like that.
Ted: Cause as you say, it’s a little different and it’s experiential and they’re like, oh, I really learned something from this and whether it’s the, the food and wine pairing side of it, or just learning more about wine or, or what have you. So, uh, definitely, uh, let’s try and roll with that.
Jill: Yeah, for sure. No, I think we could, like we have a live event coming up for ProcureHub in the fall, and that might actually be something that we would consider.
Jill: Anyway, let’s, Let’s keep talking about that. Um, now let’s just, we’re going to take a break shortly, but before we do, I wanted to talk about, you know, what has been the most surprising thing for you being an entrepreneur and was it what you expected? We talked about Harry scary and the pandemic absolutely was scary for everyone.
Jill: But what was the most surprising thing? Wait, maybe it was like, I didn’t know I could do this as an entrepreneur.
Jill: Well, um, I was thrown into it because in the first
Ted: tech bubble back in the early 2000s, I, um, went out on my own. So I think there’s always some underlying, um, concern or doubt about is this going to work?
Ted: Right? Am I able to do this? Because I’m, I’m a pretty humble person. And I, I find it hard to talk about myself and to sell myself. And I went, I don’t know if I’m going to be able to like for me, marketing is just like, I, you know, I tell people I’m going, Oh, I saw an ad it was for a car. and it was really cute, it went like this.
Ted: But if you say, oh, what was the car? I’d be like, um, don’t remember. not four wheel steering wheel. Yeah. I Ford. Uh, so it, I don’t really know it like marketing isn’t sort of my forte. It doesn’t really work on me. ’cause I tend to be focused on, I want quality. Once I get it, I stick with it and whatever. So I’m not.
Ted: You’re a marketing person and marketing and sales is not my gig. Um, so I thought, am I going to be able to do this? And what surprised me, I would say is that yes, I can. Um, I think that the key to it is the thing I’m selling is me and my services. And I truly believe in them and I, I can only sell something I truly believe in.
Ted: If I didn’t believe in it, I, there’s no way I could do it. So that’s what made it easier was I went, well. I know I’m a good lawyer and I know I do a good job and I know my clients like me and they, you know, appreciate my service and the service levels. I adhere to because I’m very service oriented. So, yeah, I can do this and it just became easier over time.
Ted: And as I say, you start. viewing. Oh, maybe that person could be a client. You’re standing on, you know, a bus stop or something going. I wonder what they do. Maybe they’re a client. It needs to start randomly talking to people. And you find out, well, maybe they are. Maybe I, there were people at my cooking courses and they said, Oh, what do you do?
Ted: And we got time. He said, well, you know what? I’m going to call you because I’ve got this tech idea and what, You just never know where you’re going to meet people. So you have to be, what was it? Um, Glenn Gary, Glenn Ross, always selling or whatever. Yeah. So you’re, you’re always selling, but it’s selling yourself and your services.
Ted: And because surprisingly. I’m, I’m okay at it, I guess. And, uh, that was surprising. More than okay. Yeah. Yeah. You never know, right? Like, can I do this? I don’t know. So I can do it. Yay. Yes. And I think, you know, just, just to be clear, you are one of the best lawyers I’ve ever known or met or had the pleasure to work with.
Ted: You’re my lawyer, so I only hire the best. Um, and you know, I think that your comments about being surprised that you can actually. Do this, do, you know, do the sales, do the marketing. You have a mindset, you trust in your abilities, I think is really great. Um, for other entrepreneurs to hear, because, you know, as a, as an entrepreneur myself, there’s always that question of, you know, am I smart enough?
Ted: Am I good enough? You know, am I going to, am I going to be able to, you know, hit payroll? You know, am I going to get another client? And it’s really important for. Other entrepreneurs to feel that sense of, you know, I can do a two and we all go through the same sort of, you know, self doubts and challenges.
Ted: But being able to trust in your ability to do it and create that resilience is. You know, a mark of a really good entrepreneur.
Jill: So awesome. I just want to remind everybody that we are going to take a break, but when we get back, uh, please pop your questions into the comments and then we are going to get into talking about law and the digital age, so standby for a word from our sponsors.
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Jill: All right. We are back with Ted and we are going to pause for some questions. So I see, hi, Ted. I recently started my small business. It hasn’t been around long and I’m looking to get it registered. Are there any legal considerations I need to be aware of when registering my business?
Ted: Right. So by register, just I’m going to make a presumption that maybe you have not incorporated.
Ted: So the first thing you’re going to be concerned about is, do I want to have what’s called a sole proprietorship and just kind of run it in my own name? If you have a partner, you may want to have a partnership. It’s very unusual. It’s that’s usually people like lawyers and accountants are in partnerships.
Ted: And then the other method is incorporating a company, which is usually where people go, because you want to manage your liability. Um, so if you’re a sole proprietor, all liability falls to you with the company, you’re, you’re able to, um, manage that liability, um, better. And it also may have some tax, um, consequences that are helpful.
Ted: Um, being in your own business and, and, um, also if you’re going to be hiring people as, as, uh, employees or what have you. So fair number of considerations to, to think about, uh, I, I help people with that all the time. You sort of work through well, what is it that you’re focused on? Where are you heading with the business?
Ted: What’s what’s sort of the growth trajectory and thinking about that? And I always say there’s, there’s 2 people you want at the beginning of a business. You want a good accountant and a good lawyer. Thank you. Um, because they’ll steer you right from the start. People who run off and do it themselves often make the mistakes, and then they come back to us, and then we have to fix them, which we’re happy to do.
Ted: But it’s, I think, better to do it right from day one. So, you know, get that advice and get that, you know, You know, set up the way that you really need it set up.
Jill: Absolutely. And, you know, just to sort of, uh, probe that a little bit differently or, or, or further, and it really depends on the business and what they’re doing.
Jill: And like you said, the liability and, and your sort of, uh, growth plans, um, procure pro is a, Incorporated company, and we did so because we wanted we wanted to be able to control the liability. There are tax advantages for sure. Um, and as well, we knew we wanted to grow. So this was a business that we need.
Jill: We knew we were going to grow and that we were going to exit and the structure. Ted is also something to consider as well. So it isn’t about just registering one business. It’s understanding how to architect a business, especially if you’re adding additional businesses underneath it, sub businesses, or if you’re adding additional businesses.
Ted: Yeah, exactly. So that’s all great advice for folks as well. There’s so many considerations when you’re, and this, this is what I was alluding to, is there’s so many things to think through and the hoops to jump through as you’re, as you’re doing this and setting it up and making these decisions. So good, good on you to be thinking about what’s the next step of registering my business.
Ted: What, what does that look like? And, and trying to get some help with it.
Jill: Absolutely. And just so you know, if you are looking to get your business registered or need advice on how to structure your business, you know, Ted services as well as some amazing accountants are available on Procure Hub. Just had to get that plug in there.
Ted: Of course. And I was actually going to say that too. It’s all available on Procure Hub. So feel free to reach out.
Jill: Awesome. So let’s, let’s talk a little bit about, um, you know, Okay. The considerations for the digital age. You know, we we want to talk about what are some of the legal? Um, how do you navigate sort of the legal aspects now that we’re in this incredible digital age?
Ted: Yeah, you know what? It’s getting more and more complicated. Um, you know, things used to be simpler. If you think back to the eighties and nineties, you know, if you’re around, um, it was, it was a lot and I was too. It was a lot simpler. Like, I remember when email started and it was this big thing and you’re like, wow, but it was only through the universities to start with.
Ted: You had to have a university account, and then it slowly grew. And then there was all this, um, positivity about, oh, the Internet is going to be a great educational, um, tool and everyone’s going to have expanded knowledge and and all of that. Um, and, you know, it hasn’t totally worked out that way. Um, and you, you do have.
Ted: Very negative things that can happen in the digital world and criminal things. And then you get fishing and there’s all sorts of scams that are going on. So there’s a lot of, um, you have to sort of be wary in the digital age because, you know, there’s people who always will try to scam you. The one thing is we head into an AI world and like artificial intelligence is the legal framework is very, um, unstructured.
Ted: At the moment, the governments are just starting to try to put things in place to govern it. So currently there’s there’s not really any rules. We’re very minimal rules. So not sure where that’s going to head. So if you’re someone who’s looking to have an AI based business, which is great. Um, you have to be concerned about where, where do we head in the future with privacy?
Ted: In that world, like how much data and personal information is being scooped. Can I, um, you know, use other people’s information because information is being fed into a I to teach it and. You know, authors are saying, well, wait a minute, you’re using my work for free, and I should be getting compensated for that.
Ted: So, our current legal structures with respect to intellectual property are, uh, need to adapt, and things have just moved so quickly, they’re not current to 2024. And so, we’re trying to fix square pegs into round holes and, you know, It’s difficult. So there’s a lot of challenges around the digital age and navigating that, depending what your business is.
Ted: And I’ve been getting questions on that front. And some of them are now, um, if I want to take existing data and kind of repackage it, you know, there are restrictions on that. Like, how can I make that work? If I’m not, if I’m charging or not charging? So that’s some of the current challenges. Things that are that are happening in the space and I will say, um, also purely looking at legal services.
Ted: There’s going to be more and more like lawyers. I think you’re going to have to shift to thinking of as a tool that they can use to help with research and putting things together. Simple things. It’s not going to replace. Lawyers at the moment, but there will be more and more of the, you know, everyday kind of legal work that might get pushed to an AI environment.
Ted: And those who adapt will thrive in my view, and those who don’t. Um, so it’ll be interesting to see its impact specifically, specifically on, uh, the legal profession and, and how people interact with the law as well. So, from an entrepreneur perspective, because that’s our listenership, what are the things that they need to consider from a legal perspective when we are in that digital space, especially with AI?
Ted: Um, You know, many, many business owners are using A. I. For marketing. They’re creating images. They’re creating copy. What kind of tips can you give them? Or guidance? Can you give them to make sure that they stay on the right side of law? Yeah, well, I think there’s a couple of things. The first thing is about if they’re creating those things, make sure that you’re protecting that intellectual property.
Ted: Appropriately, right? So if it’s, if it’s software based, um, you use copyright generally, but you may want to think about patenting, like maybe patenting is, is something. So you should be wearing that hat going. This is my crown jewels for this business. How do I protect it? And what’s the best thing to do?
Ted: And I’m saying talk to a lawyer. It doesn’t have to be the first stop doesn’t have to be an intellectual property lawyer. If you’re working with commercial corporate counsel, they can probably give you some overall guidance. And then you may need to shift to thinking about that and building your portfolio.
Ted: So, number one, you know, the ownership side of things that many people may think about too late, because as soon as you disclose it, you can’t protect it. That’s the problem. And then when you’re using AI, um, you know, I come back to what is it you’re using it for. So let’s think through, uh, being careful because there’s, there’s potential liability if you use it.
Ted: Well, number one, if you’re a criminal and you’re using it for nefarious purposes, yes, you will probably get caught, I hope. Um, but if you’re using it for very, you know, white hat purposes, Um, what does it look like? What is it you’re actually doing with it? The considerations, I come back to sort of privacy and personal information.
Ted: And how are you spreading it? Do you have the proper approvals? Are you, you know, are you going to get in trouble with someone who owns some of that data that you may be using? Um, so having, um, A robust strategy around it. I think it’s important to really have forethought and to think through. Okay, this is what I’m doing.
Ted: Let’s have some discussions. Maybe you need to talk to a data scientist. You know, you need to talk to your lawyer. You may need to talk to your engineers or whatever. Whoever’s helping you with this and get the input from various people. Because again, things are just constantly changing. It’s difficult to keep on top of it.
Ted: And because everything can be available globally. You can also get into trouble in other jurisdictions. Uh, so, you know, keeping in mind where, if this is not regionally, um, constricted, what does that mean? Like, what can that lead to? Uh, we just saw, you know, there’s been action. In Europe with, uh, someone getting in trouble for having drug sales and, um, sex videos on the chat system, right?
Ted: And that’s a no no. We don’t want that. So you have to be aware of what things will get you into trouble. And again, that’s where a good lawyer can help you with some of that structure.
Jill: Yeah, I was just going to say, you know, this isn’t a DIY project. You really need to consult with experts, whether it be your, uh, experts in, in legal matters, like yourself, um, cybersecurity experts also available on procure hub, by the way.
Ted: Um, and then also the accounting aspects of it. Right. So tax as well. Um, there’s considerations, you know, the, one of the benefits we talked about early on, about being able to do business, you know, Um, without borders globally, there are implications for, for, um, businesses, not just lawyers who have to be, um, licensed to practice, um, in various jurisdictions, but it, it also, there are implications, um, beyond that, whether it’s, um, like ProcureHub is a great example.
Ted: We are constrained within Ontario still for legal and tax reasons. So you can’t just start a business and start selling. On a global scale, there are implications legally, uh, and accounting wise. Um, so consult an expert and I think that’s fantastic advice.
Jill: All right. We are just about at time before we go.
Jill: I wanted to give you an opportunity to share any last advice for entrepreneurs out there who either have a business or starting a business, any sage advice that you’d like to share as a parting gift.
Ted: Yeah. Um, remember, you’re not alone. There are other entrepreneurs out there, and there’s experienced entrepreneurs out there.
Ted: Try to build a good network. Have a support network, um, because it can be lonely, especially if you’re doing everything virtually, and you will have questions that they may be able to help answer. So I think, That’s what I’ve learned as well. And I mean, also beyond just your little whatever the thing is you’re doing, talk to other entrepreneurs or, you know, other lawyers, accountants, other professional cyber security folks and build that network, attend events where you’re going to meet them because it’s important to have that support network.
Jill: Absolutely. Fantastic advice and wholeheartedly agree. So I would like to say my sincere thanks to Ted for joining me today and sharing his journey and incredible insights around the law and wine. If you’re looking for more information about Ted services, he can be found on ProcureHub. ca along with other ProcureHub members.
Jill: If you’re looking to grow or join us, uh, again, www.procurehub.ca. Um, if you’d like more information about The Entrepreneur Show, you can visit us at www.theentrepreneurshow.com, or you can shoot us an email at info@procurepro.ca. Until next time, entrepreneurs just keep swimming.