You should never completely follow another business' steps.

Whenever people come to us for a legal opinion, we have one job here:

To provide them with a well-researched opinion on the feasibility of an idea from a legal and regulatory perspective.

That's it.

And many times, when the opinion is not exactly in favor of the client's idea, we get hit with:

"Well, the other company is already doing this, why can't we?"

This habit of following what some other business is doing is far too common.

People see some other business making good money and then try to imitate their business.

And that too without doing their own due diligence.

But they always assume the idea is a possibility.

Which is why such people make two mistakes here:

(1) Not Everything Others Do is Right: Know Before You Imitate

There's a huge difference between:

a) Being informed about what the competitors are doing

b) Following them simply because they are doing it, without your own homework

You never actually know what kind of legal mess another business might be in.

They could be sued.

They could be subjected to government scrutiny.

You never know it.

Take an example of fantasy gaming in India.

Seeing one major player making success, hundreds of others jumped into the ship launching their products.

Now they all, or at least the major ones, are being subjected to government notices for regulatory non-compliance.

Taking risks is part of running a business.

I get that.

But not following the rules while hoping to not get caught is foolish.

Because at the end of the day, you end up paying more than you had hoped for.

(2) Cost Of Correction Will Be Much More

Correction costs, especially in the legal space, are hefty.

The financial and operational repercussions of correcting a misguided approach are generally a lot more.

It can far exceed the initial savings of a person.

Or the convenience gained from copying others in the same practice.

An example, lately it has become a trend to become a financial influencer in India.

And also using the obvious best source of revenue generation - selling courses.

Sounds good, yeah?

Not for the regulatory bodies.

They have bombarded such influencers with notices for recovery and penalties.

Basically making them pay way more than what they initially earned.

Even engaging a lawyer to make corrections for you is much more expensive.

That's it.

As lawyers, we can't make business decisions for you.

But we can tell you that focusing on long-term success beats the thrills of getting a quick win.

So do your homework.

Understand the nuances.

And then make the best next move.

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