Legal Question in Business Law in California

If you signed a non compete contract (which it sounds like you did) you need t abide by the terms unless. It is overly broad. If you deal with clients immediately you may be in breach of contract. If there is no non compete clause you still you be held accountable because your may be interfering with an established business relationship.

You need time and distance from the old company. Following the contract is the best idea.

This is a very, very difficult area to navigate, as it is very fact-specific.

You need to meet with a lawyer who can review the contract, discuss your current job, and discuss what you intend to do. It is not possible to advise you in a public forum regarding your possible courses of action.

California has two strong policies expressed in its statutes, which occasionally conflict, but generally one can resolve the requirements and abide by both. One policy is that employees are to have complete freedom to change jobs, including leaving one employer and going to work for a competitor, or even starting a competing business. Due to this policy, which is reflected in statute, see Business and Professions Code section 16600, contracts restricting you from starting a competing business are void to the extent of the prohibition.

The other law you need to consider and observe is the California version of the Uniform Trade Secrets Act, which is part of the Civil Code, sections 3426 to 3426.11. This law provides fairly serious penalties for taking a former employer's trade secrets with you and using them to your own advantage. So, one might say, it's OK to quit and start your own business, but it's not OK to grab the old boss's Rolodex on your way out the door.

Deciding what is a trade secret belonging to the former employer and what's simply general knowledge of the industry you've worked in is a fine art that has resulted in some serious litigation. For example, when you bid on the new subdivision-development job, did you learn that it was going out for bids by reading you old boss's private mail, or was the job advertised in the local paper? That kind of stuff may decide whether you're lawfully competing or whether you're illegally benefitting from use of trade secrets.

I'd say that in close cases the courts seem to side with the right of the former employee to go into competition, but again, if you use information that the old company considered to be its trade secret and it took some precautions to limit access to it, you'll be violating the UTSA and setting yourself up for a suit.

You could most likely compete, but you cannot draw off and steal their customers.