Legal Question in Business Law in New Hampshire

The answer to your question depends on what your contract says.

If your direct-sales business would compete with your old company as defined by your non-competition agreement, then your old company may have a cause of action against you under the contract if you put up a website; that may be seen as your entering the stream of commerce in violation of your agreement.

However, there should be no problem with developing a website to the point where it is ready to go live on the day after your non-competition agreement expires; just don't go live before then. There should also be no problem with getting your company established and ready to go once the contract is up, as long as you do not engage in competing activities through your company before the contract expires.

You may want to have your non-competition contract reviewed by an attorney in New Hampshire who, once s/he sees the contract, can advise you specifically as to what you can and cannot do under its terms. If you can't afford a lawyer, the business legal clinic at UNH School of Law in Concord is excellent.

THIS POST CONTAINS GENERAL INFORMATION AND IS INTENDED FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY. IT DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE, NOR DOES IT CREATE ANY ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP. FOR LEGAL ADVICE ON YOUR PARTICULAR MATTER, CONSULT YOUR ATTORNEY.