I had a crazy dream last night (you need a moat)

I had a crazy dream last night. I dreamt that I was a queen in a castle, and the castle had a huge moat around it.

Okay, I admit, clearly, watching back-to-back episodes of Game of Thrones all week must have caused me to have “castles” and “queens” on my mind.

(In case you didn’t know, I am obsessed with Daenerys Targaryan, the Mother of Dragons, brilliantly played by Emilia Clarke – she’s a little harsh as a ruler at times, to say the least, but she is a bad*** female queen who can keep up with the kings and nobles in a time when that wasn’t so easy for women… but, I digress….)

Back to the dream.

As the queen, I happened to reign over a beautiful kingdom consisting of rolling green hills full of wildflowers and a deep blue sea. It reminded me of Ireland.
It was a happy, peaceful kingdom and, fortunately, there weren’t too many disgruntled townspeople or raids from neighboring lands.

I was a nice queen – a loving queen – not cold or stoic by any means. I had poise and didn’t need to throw my power around, but I could be strong and stand my ground if I needed to do so.

After all, I was the leader of the land and people expected that I would protect them from danger, should danger unexpectedly arise.

(However, unlike Daenerys, I didn’t have any fire-breathing dragons chained up on the property.)

In my dream, I remember thinking, if I am a queen of such a peaceful kingdom, why does my castle have a moat around it? (Ever notice how you can be part of your dream and then almost step out of yourself and observe yourself in your dream while it is happening? It’s so odd.)

Why does the castle need that water border of protection when we aren’t often threatened in our land?

In case you don’t remember from your childhood, a moat is that deep trough of water to help deter knights on horses from riding right up to the castle walls and keep dragons from breathing fire through the open stone windows.

Then it dawned on me….ohhhhh! Having a moat around a peaceful castle is kind of like having legal protection for your business. (Clearly, I work waaaaay too much because I am always making dream analogies to business. #itsinevitable)

I realized it’s no different than being an entrepreneur who oversees a mostly “peaceful land.” Even if you don’t get into many “castle raids”, you need to have basic legal protection in case the crazies round up in the night, jump on their horses, and gallop to your big wooden gates (or the internet!) to invade your castle.

It all makes perfect sense.

Just like I was the queen of the land in my dream, so too are you the queen (or king!) of your business.

And if you are the queen or king of your business, and your business is your castle…then you need a moat.

Bottom line: Just like the moat surrounds the castle, it’s wise to have solid protection in place keep people from getting into your castle, harming its residents (namely YOU!) and swiping your stuff.

I know, I know…you might be wondering:

• “But, if the land is pretty peaceful, why do I really need a moat?”
• “Can a moat create negative energy that then attracts the bad guys to attack me?”
• “Won’t a moat scare away everyone who comes near my castle?”

I can see why you would ask these questions, but rest assured, it’s to the contrary.

A moat makes it feel very SAFE for those who live there – AND for those who enter your castle.

Castles have a lot to protect.

Riches and jewels and feasts and royal courts, to say the least.

Castles are the seat of power and wealth, and without a moat around the castle that houses and protects the queen (or king), the entire kingdom can be put at risk.

It may sound dramatic, you as the queen of your business are allowed to surround your kingdom with a light layer of (legal) protection outside the castle walls, so all those inside can let down their guards.

It’s not that those inside have to get all high and mighty and feisty… believe it or not, they can actually RELAX because they know that the moat is providing insulation to them so they don’t have to worry all the time about raids and theft and mayhem.

Not only that, but when friendly visitors or vendors are invited to come to the castle, they can kick back and relax and feel safe and secure knowing no external harm can come to them while they are inside.

It’s a GOOD thing to have a moat around a castle. It allows everyone to chill and not always be on guard.

You don’t need to have a swarm of fire-breathing dragons or armed knights ferociously guarding the gate and scaring away the visitors. A moat will do.
As I said, it totally makes sense.

So what kind of moat do you need?

If you:

• Have a website but no legal language on it at all, your first step is a Website Disclaimer.
• Offer 1:1 services, you need a written Client Agreement.
• Are a solo-preneur and you have NO idea about registering your business or taxes, check out the
  Sole Proprietor Biz Registration & Taxes Checklist.
• Have content on your website that you want to protect like your blog posts, you’ll need Website Terms & Conditions.
• Have an opt-in on your site, you need (and in some states and countries you are required by law!) a Privacy Policy.
• Have a group course you are launching soon, you’ll need Terms Of Use for Online Programs & Products.
• Have personal assets or a thriving high-5 figure business (or more!), you’ll want to find out if an LLC or S-Corp is right for you.
• Have a logo, tagline, or program name that you LOVE LOVE LOVE, you may want to find out if you should Trademark it.

Here’s to crazy dreams about queens and castles – and to building a moat to support your kingdom!