When you started working for a large financial firm, you certainly signed a contract. At the time, you liked the stability that this contract gave you. You wanted to know exactly what your obligations were, how much you would be paid and other terms of your employment. Having that in writing was beneficial.
Now you want to break away and start your own firm. This has been your dream for a long time, but you’re starting to wonder if the documents that you signed are going to hold you back in any way. For instance, perhaps you believe you signed a non-compete agreement. What type of issues could this create? What type of limits does it have?
How you can honor the agreement
A non-compete agreement generally means that you can’t work for the competition, which isn’t what you’re interested in doing anyway, and that you can’t start a competing business. So you would likely not be able to leave your firm and start a competing firm in the same area.
However, there are usually some significant limits on non-compete agreements. They need to be reasonable. They need to apply to a certain geographical location. They usually need to last only for a certain time.
So you still may be able to start your firm as long as it is not in the exact same area as your previous employer, or if you wait long enough that the non-compete agreement no longer applies. But it is important that you know about these stipulations so that you don’t face legal action as you’re trying to get your own firm off the ground.
If you do find yourself in a legal dispute, you need to know exactly what steps to take.