How To Serve Two Masters
02.05.2006, 18:51
Working for one company while setting up a competing enterprise is a tricky business. As an employee, you have a legal obligation to do the job you are being paid for and not to compete against your employer.
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You may make plans for your business, provided you do it on your own time. You can lease office space, arrange financing, have business cards printed, meet with colleagues involved in the new venture (even if they're fellow employees) and work on a business plan. But the more you do for your own business while you're still on someone else's payroll, the worse it looks if you are challenged.
Keep meticulous records of how you spend your time. For example, note when you make a contact or how you acquire a customer.
Be forthcoming about your plans to compete, especially if your employer confronts you--even if it means getting the boot. Lying or giving an evasive reply destroys your credibility, which could come back to haunt you if your case ends up in court.
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Clean out your home office and return anything that belongs to your employer.
Try renegotiating the terms of any noncompete agreement you've signed with your employer before leaving the company. You may be released from an agreement if you can assure your employer that you won't use or reveal the company's trade secrets and that your new job with a competitor is markedly different from your old position. You might even offer to sign a confidentiality agreement, promising to keep the secret, in exchange for being allowed to take the job. If your agreement pays you to remain on the sidelines, offer to waive that payment in exchange for shortening or eliminating the period during which you are not allowed to compete.
Don't ignore any agreement that you've signed. If you have any doubts about its enforceability, check with your lawyer. Only three states--California, Montana and North Dakota--generally don't recognize noncompete agreements. Elsewhere, they are becoming more common, and your boss has the right to demand that you sign one as a condition of employment.