You have a lot to think about on a daily basis when you run your own business, like scheduling staff, managing budgets, working with customers, generating leads, and figuring out how you can maximize your profits, to name just a few.

There’s not much more you can fit on your plate. And probably the last thing you want to worry about is dealing with legal trouble. Disgruntled employees, copyright issues, workplace injury, tax implications—the list of potential legal troubles goes on and on.

In order to protect yourself and your business from encountering legal battles down the road, it’s important to take these 4 steps.

1. Start planning before you even open up shop

When it comes to dealing with—and avoiding—legal matters, preparation is key. Before you even go through with your business plan, start by conducting a trademark search with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

This will help ensure that no other businesses have already registered a similar name or concept.

You can also search domain names to make sure there aren’t any websites with similar names as your desired domain name.