If you consider yourself a coach or healer, you already know you are a special soul.
You probably have known from the start that you weren’t cut from the same cloth as everyone else, right?
I sure did.
I remember a zillion years ago when I was growing up, I would read the horoscopes in the newspaper at the family breakfast table. (I told you this was a ZILLION years ago – no browsing on smartphones yet!) I loved reading the Gemini horoscope to see what advice could inform my day ahead. I distinctly remember my mother telling me that they were just “fun” and not always based in reality.
But, I knew differently.
Somehow I always knew that there was something more to those daily horoscopes. They were words of hidden wisdom. Affirmations. Tools that went beyond the physical that had juicy nuggets of truth to them.
I knew that my interest in them wasn’t totally mainstream – even though I eventually chose a mainstream profession… yep! Law.
And, even though I was fortunate to get a coveted job in a large, prestigious law firm, I just didn’t quite fit in. My work ethic fit in, for sure (I was the 2nd highest associate in billable hours at one point), but I knew that parts of me were underutilized and that I looked at the world through a broader scope than a traditional law firm offered at the time.
I was different.
I knew it, and I began looking at other options where I could bring more parts of me to the table.
That’s when I left the big law firm and entered the world of non-profits (about as far apart as you can get from a prestigious law firm, right?)
Well, just like I knew that I was different, if you are a coach or out-of-the-box thinker like me, there’s something you need to know about legal protections that you may not know… they’re different for you too!
You’re unique and so is your business. Let’s talk about how.
1. How you book clients requires certain terms in your contracts.
When you work with one-on-one clients, you will need a contract that is unlike any other. Why? Because relationships are at the core of your business, so you’ll need special agreements that lay out the expectations of that relationship. What will you get paid and what will you provide? How much “access” will your client have to you? You need to be super-specific and have everything in writing.
There is NO other business arrangement quite like coaching, so you need a lawyer who totally gets it, and an agreement that covers it all! I am a coach myself (!), and so I have a Client Agreement designed especially for you.
2. How you protect your intellectual property is key to drawing your boundaries.
As a creative soul, you are in a unique position of having to protect not just yourself, but your work. Your work IS your value, so how can you make sure no one’s stealing, or running off with, your designs before they fully pay you, or your website content when they are viewing your site?
You need terms and conditions that make it clear what people can use for their own personal use, and what they can’t use for business or commercial purposes. You want to get crystal clear about where you draw your lines.
3. How you offer your services means you can’t guarantee results.
If you are a coach or creative who offers services, chances are they’re intended to yield certain “results.” But the thing about coaching or teaching is that the results are not dependent simply on what you’re delivering. They’re also dependent on what the client accomplishes themselves, and how they take action. If they’re not doing the work, you can’t be responsible for their results (or lack thereof) no matter how much money they paid to you!
So how do you get the right contracts and terms in place in an easy-peasy, legally legit way?
Damsel goes bare™ bares it all!
You may have heard that Gena Shingle Jaffe and I are helping lots o’ “Damsels” get their legal ducks in a row through our new combo course called Damsel goes bare™.
Our 8-week long legal education course has everything you need to turn legalese into legal-easy (because we hate legalese as much as you do!)
We’ll be there to guide you along, eliminate the legalese, and walk you through each and every step of customizing your legal protections and business setup.
You’ll receive your Client Agreement, Website Disclaimer, Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and more!
Click HERE to check out the course and sign up now.
Won’t you join us?
We start on January 11th, but the cart closes on November 25th (just in time for Turkey Day!)
Here’s to being different, reading horoscopes, and to getting legally protected in your biz!
