When it comes to the business space, contracts are important AF.
There’s no way around it.
But as a business owner, they can be quite a loft expense, especially if you’re going to hire a lawyer to create custom contracts for you. That can add up REALLLL quick.
But thankfully, there’s another option; legal contract templates.
In this post, I’m gonna dig into the best contract template shops for coaches, creatives, service providers, and digital entrepreneurs…
BUT FIRST, IMPORTANT NOTE: I’m not a lawyer, nor is any of this legal advice. I’m just really passionate about breaking down complex things in approachable ways, and giving easy solutions to online business owners. If you have legal questions, contact a lawyer. Also, there are affiliate links within this blog post. What that means is that if you purchase anything after clicking on a link in this post, I might make a small commission, at no cost to you. Affiliate links are one way I keep this blog & business alive & kickin’ 😉 – BUT I would never suggest things that I wouldn’t use myself!
Okay, now let’s get into it.
WHY are contracts even *that* important?
Contracts legally protect you, the business owner, and they protect your client or customer.
They’re legally enforceable agreements to help businesses operate smoothly. Having a written contract means that everyone knows what they’re supposed to do and when, and they make it easier to resolve any disputes that might arise. So in short, they help minimize risk and offer protection.
The purpose of a contract isn’t just to feel all safe and cozy, they help to establish and formalize a relationship by clearly defining the terms and obligations, as well as serving as a “written record” of the agreement decided.
Having contracts in place helps all parties involved understand what they’re agreeing to and can serve as a reference if either party wants to check the terms at any point.
Signing a contract demonstrates that both (or all) people involved commit to the agreement, which is pretty important when it comes to services, money, and doing business.
Related reading: How Does a Contract Protect Your Business?
Types of Contracts Needed:
The type of contract that you need for your business will depend on what business you have, who you’re serving, and how you’re serving them.
2 of the most common types of agreements needed, regardless of your niche or target audience, are Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions agreements, which legally should be on every website.
Privacy Policy:
Tells your users how exactly you’ll be using the data they share with you, how you’re keeping it safe & how they can exercise their rights. Privacy policies typically include how you handle & manage personal data for emailing, cookies, advertising, etc, who you share that data with, and how your visitors can opt-out.
If your website collects information from your website visitors, like their email, name, address, and credit card info, then it’s actually against the law to NOT disclose what info you collect, how you store it, how you’re using it, and how they can contact you about their information.
Terms & Conditions:
Helps guard against your website visitors holding you liable for any actions taken on your website. Plus it helps protect the content on your site and sets the rules for how to behave on your website. Terms & Conditions can typically include intellectual property disclosures, copyright ownership, your refund policy, links to other websites you oversee, and any disclaimers or guarantees you provide.
Learn more about Privacy Policies & Terms of Use/Conditions here!
OUTSIDE OF THOSE 2 MAIN ONES, OTHER CONTRACTS & AGREEMENTS THAT COACHES, SERVICES PROVIDERS, AND DIGITAL ENTREPRENEURS MIGHT NEED, ARE ONES FOR :
Group coaching or one-on-one coaching
Client Termination
Product/Licensing/Print Release
Giving or Getting Commissions
Liability Agreement
A non-disclosure agreement (NDA)
Providing services
Having a membership program
Hosting or Teaching a Workshop/Training
Hiring an independent contractor or an employee
Having an affiliate or referral program
Being or having a guest on a podcast
Contact Templates vs. Hiring a Lawyer for a Custom Contract
As you can see, if you got a custom contract for every.single.thing, then your lawyer fees would be through THE ROOF. I think I read somewhere that a custom contract can cost in the ballpark of $2500 😳
Multiply that times the number of contracts you may need.
And your legal fees could equal a full ass mortgage lololol
Which is honestly the main reason why legal contract templates are an AMAZING solution.
Legal protection, at a FRACTION of the price.
And they’re pretty simple honestly.
Typically all you have to do is find the contract template you need, add it to your cart, checkout, download it, and then customize it with your information.
Contract templates are ready-to-use and plug-and-play-type documents.
I’ve personally gone from searching for a contract template to straight-up sending it to a client, all within 30 minutes.
If you wanted the best of both worlds when it comes to a contract template AND hiring a lawyer, you can purchase a contract template from one of the shops below, and then hire a lawyer to look it over for you. That would cut down your legal fees in half, considering a one-hour consult with a lawyer is usually WAY cheaper than having them create a full custom contract from scratch.
If you want more details about using templates vs. hiring a lawyer, check out these blog posts created by a well-known attorney that specializes in the online business space:
Custom Contract vs. Contract Template
Do Contract Templates Work State to State?
What About Free Online Contract Generators?
The business contracts that you’ll find free inside your CRM (like Dubsado or Honeybook), or from a free online contract generator ain’t gonna work when it comes to protecting you legally, my friend.
Why?
Because they’re too generic & bare minimum.
That means, when you use them, you’re essentially leaving holes in your legal process.
And ain’t no one want their legal protection lookin’ like swiss cheese.
We want well-rounded legal protection so we can feel confident & secure with our business, especially when clients, customers, and money is involved.
The other issue is that a lot of those free contract generators fill a contract with legal jargon.
Like have you ever read one of those suckers? No one knows what TF they’re saying lolol
And the whole point of having a well-rounded & supportive contract is so that both (or all) parties & people involved understand what they’re agreeing to.
Wondering if LegalZoom is a good resource? Check out this blog post that weighs the pros and cons of LegalZoom.
