This can’t be said too often. Be honest when running your business.

Having sound business practices consistent with the Golden Rule may just keep you out of trouble with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

Why is this important? How much do you value your business and your freedom? Let’s look at some new examples of those who allegedly played fast and loose with deceptive trade practices.

BlueHippo Will Pay Up to $5,000,000 to settle charges.

ValueClick Settles With FTC for $2,900,000.

Founder of Berkeley Premium Nutraceuticals faces up to 20 years in prison plus forfeiture of tens of millions of dollars.Here are some things that you can do to minimize your risks.

Clearly disclose the terms of sale to your customers. No fine print legalese to take away what you gave in the big bold letters of the sales pitch.

If there’s a continuity program, don’t hide it, and make it easy to opt-out.

If there’s a refund policy (particularly where required by law), obey it. In fact, go the extra mile to make things right.

If there’s a guarantee, honor it. No hassle. No questions asked.

If it is going to take 4 days to ship, tell the customer it will take 7-10 days and let the customer be pleasantly surprised when it arrives early. If you can’t ship on time, offer a prompt refund.

Remember that happy customers don’t file complaints with the FTC or your state attorney general’s consumer protection office.

About the Author

With an advanced international law degree from Georgetown University and more than 14 years of real world legal experience, Attorney Mike Young shows entrepreneurs how to protect and grow their businesses online. He's the author of "Internet Marketing Legal Secrets Revealed," "How to Create Your Own Internet Business Without a Lawyer for Under $175," and the creator of Website Legal Forms Generator^TM. Not just a lawyer who focuses exclusively on Internet and marketing law, Mike’s been working with computers for more than 27 years (his first computer was an Atari 400 with 8 KiB RAM) and started representing Internet businesses back in 1996.