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How to Make Your Online Coaching Business Secured & to Cover You Legally
I wanted to write this blog post, because I see something having very commonly in the online space, is A LOT of business owners, not having their business foundation properly built. They are missing many vital pieces for their business, especially when it comes to the legal side of things.
I know that when you are first building your online business, you are literally hustling, to get income coming in and to really work on putting out content and improve your marketing. That is one of the toughest issues that online entrepreneurs face, is marketing. What I see ends up happening, is they get so caught up in it, because they are trying to build an audience and to have people to sell to, which is SO important. But there is a really big chunk that often goes unattended to, and that is making sure that you’ve got your legal side of things, in place as well.
The most common areas that I see online entrepreneurs missing, are contracts and things that will cover their but, not just for their clients but also when it comes to have a website online (they are certain things you need to have when you have a website), but I see so many online entrepreneurs who are lacking these.
Important Things to Have Done up Legally When it Comes to Your Website:
- Disclaimer
- Privacy Policy
- Terms & Conditions
Each of these documents has certain items that they need to contain and working with someone to write them for you, is a really good business expense. You might be tempted to just copy someone else’s and paste it onto your website, but I highly encourage you not to do this. You don’t know how well someone else’s is done, so it might be a copy and pasted one that doesn’t even cover their but, so keep that in mind. Not only is it copying and you can get in a ton of trouble, but you also don’t actually know if you are being covered for the correct things, for your specific business and the content that you have out in the online space from your website. The legal side of your business is very important and needs to be taken seriously.
Click here to download my Realistic Budget template!
Important Documents to Have Done up Legally When it Comes to Working with Clients:
- Client Contracts that include details such as: what your services specifically include, your refund policy, your payment policies and requirements, information about late payments, information about confidentiality, etc.
- Testimonial Release
Important Document to Have Done up Legally When it Comes to Selling Digital Products, Courses, Ebooks, Group Courses, etc:
This is probably the one that I see that is the biggest one that most online entrepreneurs and coaches are completely missing and often, they don’t even know they need it.
- Terms of Use for your digital product/service [keep in mind I said Terms of Use, this is totally different that your website’s Terms & Conditions that I listed above]
When you sell anything digitally such as a course or e-book, because you aren’t working with them one on one alone, you won’t have them sign a contract, but you still need to be covering yourself. You still have terms that they need to agree to, in order to purchase this produce or digital good.
You need to make sure that you have a separate Terms of Use for each program, course, e-book, group coaching, etc that you have. You can’t use the same one because you will be outlining in each of them, the items that are specific to that product, which will not pertain to your other products.
This one is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, because I see so many high paid business coaches who are not telling any of their clients, that they need to have these in place! Don’t keep brushing it off and telling yourself that you will “do it later” when it comes to the legal side, make it a priority to do it right away!
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If you are Doing Any In-Person Events You Are Hosting Yourself
- Event Waiver/Disclaimer
You will want to have a waiver form that each person has to sign, to help protect you legally.
I know that you are probably worried about the costs that these contracts/documents are, but let me tell you, they are very important business expenses! You need to remember that your business, is a business. There are some things you just can’t cheap out on, copy or go without and what I have mentioned to you, falls within those specifics.
How Do You Find Someone Who Can Create These For You?
Now you’re probably wondering, who can create these for me? I want to share who I worked with, because she was fabulous throughout this process! I worked with Christy Westerfeld and she is a lawyer who specifically works with online entrepreneurs such as health and wellness/fitness coaches, online business coaches, technology coaches, web designers and online service providers.
Christy Westerfeld is my go to legal person and I refer everyone to her because she is really fabulous to work with and she will let you know exactly what you need!
Please, do yourself a favor and treat your business like a real business and make sure you are covered legally where you need to be!
Do you need some extra help with getting your online business finances organized and to learn how to properly manage them? Click here to read about the service I provide for online coaches, to be confident with how they’re managing all aspects of their business finances!
Want a checklist of what you need to be doing, to manage your online business finances properly?
Click here to download my Realistic Budget template!
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Frequently Asked Questions about Financial Coaching