We all make mistakes in life, but that’s why there are services and methods to clean up our past so we can prepare for a new future. Unfortunately, in the world of business, it’s easy to delve into someone’s past because of all the public appearances you can make, and there’s always a trail that leads you back to whatever you’ve done in the past. Be it a DUI that you were issued before you became an entrepreneur or a contradictory comment you made years ago, someone is going to dig up dirt on you just to screw with your successes.

It can become a public relations nightmare if you don’t handle it correctly, so here are a couple of ways to ensure that you’re not getting punished for your past mistakes, and how you can handle the situation if someone does go to extreme lengths just to put you in a negative light.

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Deal With Your Past

If you have a bad past, then you need to sort it out as soon as possible. Whenever you get into trouble, whatever the case may be, make sure you speak to criminal defense attorneys as early as possible so you can get legal help to deal with the problem. It goes without saying that your past can quickly catch up to you, and your past mistakes need to be dealt with if you don’t want to have any weaknesses that your competitors can exploit. You’ll also want to clean up any issues that your employees have. For example, if your employee is accused of something like sexual abuse or is caught driving under the influence, you need to make the choice of either firing them or hiring a lawyer to help defend them.

Handle it Professionally

It’s important to remain professional when you encounter public relations issue. Perhaps someone dug up a past quote from you that is going viral and making your business suffer, or maybe it’s encouraging people to boycott your products or services. The last thing you want to do is lash out at the industry or certain individuals in an unprofessional manner. It’s important to hire a lawyer to help you in these situations because you don’t want to say something that you’ll later regret. Don’t dig the hole deeper and don’t pick at the wound. Calm down, focus, and sort the problem out in a legal manner. Don’t make things worse by engaging in pointless conversations. Issue a public statement to calm any immediate issues on social media, then release a press statement with the help of a public relations manager. If you want to take it further, seek legal advice to find whoever started the fires and seek justice.

Entrepreneurs work against all odds in order to make their business a success. However, it’s often difficult to be successful when you have a shady past that you’d rather leave behind closed doors. But sooner or later, someone is going to stumble upon your past and use it against you. They could blackmail you, they could slander you or they could try to incite hate against your company.