How to Ground and Protect Your spiritual Business with Legal Templates
When was the last time you had a legal checkup in your business? If you’re like most spiritual entrepreneurs, that answer is probably somewhere between never and, well, never.
As an intuitive entrepreneur myself, I understand that dealing with legal issues can be a bit overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be.
I like to think of legal documents as a nice grounding exercise for your business. This is a healthy step to reinforce the root chakra of your business so you can feel safe, supported and protected from bad vibes out there.
When I first launched The Sparkling Hippie Publishing Company, I realized very quickly that I needed to have stout legal contracts in place to protect both me and my contractors.
Whether you’re working with clients, contractors or other vendors, I HIGHLY recommend having contracts in place for everything. When it’s written in black and white, there is no gray, which means everyone is on the same page. This is especially true for spiritual and intuitive business women!
That’s why I’m thrilled to share one of my favorite legal resources for spiritual entrepreneurs like you and me --Your Legal BFF®. Your Legal BFF is owned by female entrepreneur, Annette Stepanian, a lawyer who helps entrepreneurs and small business owners with the legal side of running a business. The best part is – she’s a creative and intuitive entrepreneur herself, so her products speak directly to women like you and I!
If you’ve ever shied away from getting your business contracts in order because of the hefty cost of hiring a lawyer, then check out the ready to use legal templates from Annette Stepanian. (Confession - I’ve used her templates for 99% of my legal business needs. She makes it so easy and empowering too – especially if you’re a DIYer like me!)
Here are some of my favorite legal template recommendations for spiritual and wellness based entrepreneurs:
Event Rental Contract Bundle - perfect for retreats!
And there’s so much more.. These are just my top recommendations to my private clients.
(To visit Annette’s homepage and cruise all the templates yourself, just click here.)
Why legal bff templates are my favorite resource for spiritual businesses
This is hands down the easiest way to pump legal protection into your wellness business.
I've had clients spend lots of time and money on LegalZoom or with traditional lawyers, nothing against either of those practices but most startups are operating on a budget, including my own! For that reason I like to learn as much as I can about what I am investing in. Using Annette’s legal templates was empowering for me. It gave me the knowledge and the know how to legally protect my business at a price I could afford. I downloaded a template, followed her instructions and guidelines and then used the plug and play method to customize it for my business. It was so easy that I did it again and again for different legal needs.
Of course, if you desire a more robust option, you can take this customized template to your lawyer and he/she can review it. The plus side is, at least now you know a little bit about what you are asking them to do AND you may be able to have a comprehensive conversation with your lawyer, rather than feeling like an airhead in their presence!
Premade contracts make it sooo easy!
Being a spiritual, intuitive or wellness business owner, you have slightly different needs than other businesses. Your work is most likely highly intangible, intuitive and unique – which means the black and white specifics of the business can tend to get a little gray at times, leaving you specifically vulnerable to threats, attacks and unfortunately, lawsuits.
Specifically designed for spiritual coaches, consultants, etc. I also love that Annettte’s templates are specifically designed for online business owners. In my experience many well meaning lawyers in the “real world” have a very limited understanding of what an online business’ legal protection system looks like- especially as it relates to spiritual business. They are used to brick and mortar business owners, which demand very different needs than online business owners. Plus there are many nuances to working “globally” that physical businesses don’t have to deal with. Annette’s templates are again a great place to start for all your basic online spiritual business legal requirements.
Her website is easy to use for legal help
Annette's site has lots of contracts for photographers, event and wedding planners, graphic and web designers, and online educators, speakers and authors! Check out her easy-to-use website, which allows you to search by job title category, or by pure need. I’m literally there every time I need a legal contract.
Peace of mind in business is EVERYTHING.
This. This. This. This! Honestly, if I had one reason for you to implement legal procedures in your intuitive business this would be it. Within my first year of running the publishing company I had so many wild things happen. Clients complained about us over giving (read that debacle here), another client died and her family called me angry — they had no idea who I was, what services I had provided their loved one and were shocked she was writing a book at all. Yikes. All this to say, I was beyond grateful I had legal contracts in place!
Even if you’re just starting your spiritual coaching business with your first client - do not meet with them until you have at least a simple contract in place. This is IMPERATIVE to your safety and success as a wellness professional!
Technically, you shouldn’t launch your website until you have a legal T+C in place. In today’s world people love to sue others. It’s the unfortunate truth. My prayer is that neither you nor I ever have to witness something like this in our personal business, but it’s like my boyfriend always says before hiking trips, “it’s better to have and not need than to need and not have.”
A potential lawsuit could cost you thousands, if not millions of dollars that you don’t have. Oh, and if your business entity isn’t set up properly, your angry clients could legally go after your personal assets - yikes! So be a smart spiritual businesswoman and protect your business before you get into hot water.
Even if you’re a start up with a small budget, this is a MUST DO.
More important than spending money on Facebook ads. More important than spending a chunk of money on a logo. And yes, even more important than purchasing that fancy all-in-one email software that you don’t even need yet (don’t get me started.)
Again, this is something you should do first and foremost, before you ever meet with your first client. If you have already been in business a while and have graciously survived without legal templates - hooray! That’s wonderful news for you, but don't leave it to chance. Take action now by protecting your business baby before someone comes after it themselves.
What Legal Protection has to do with Chakras in Your Spiritual Business
Legal protection = root chakra of your business
Another, more metaphysical way to look at this action is to think about the chakra system of your business. This was a novel idea to me when I first heard it, but the more I meditated on the idea the more it made total and complete sense to me! If you think of your business as a separate entity from you – which it is – you’ll find that your business has its own soul, apart from you. Since it has a soul, it also has its own chakra system.
The first chakra is known as the root chakra. The root chakra has to do with all things safety and protection. It is the energy center of the body that allows us to feel grounded, safe, secure, stable and solid. Has your business been feeling the opposite of these things lately? That may be because it has an unbalanced root chakra.
Does your business have an unbalanced root chakra?
Your business may have an unbalanced root chakra if you answer yes to any of the following questions.
Has your business been feeling unstable, inconsistent and perhaps even unsafe?
Does it feel like your spiritual business is all ideas and no action?
Does the energy of your business feel weak and vulnerable?
Do you feel like your business isn’t legit or real?
Perhaps you’ve been feeling any number of the above symptoms. If that’s the case, then your business has a weak root chakra. It doesn’t feel safe, secure or protected. The best way to ground your spiritual business is to implement legal structures. I recommend the following contracts at a bare minimum for all online business owners:
I implemented all of these things in my business within the first month of opening my doors. Since then I have added even more legal protection. For example, I require every podcast guest of mine to read and sign a Podcast Guest Release Contract. I also have loads of contracts for our publishing clients, because I’ve learned publishing is such a sacred and intuitive event, it requires lots of safety and protection – both for me and my clients. I want to ensure that everyone involved understands the black and white of what is expected and what will be delivered. I also have Independent Contractor Templates for each of the members of my publishing team. This again, keeps everyone crystal clear on expectations and deliverables. Honestly, it saves me a lot of headache upfront, before our work ever begins. Thank you, Annette!
I believe you can’t be too safe or too protected. My intuitive coaching and publishing business is my baby and I will do everything in my power to keep it safe, grounded, secure and protected.
How to Easily Add Legal Protection to Your Business Now
Annette's site has easy to use contracts for photographers, event and wedding planners, graphic and web designers, and online educators, speakers and authors! Whether you’re a wellness business, a spiritual entrepreneur or an intuitive service provider, I recommend her easy-to-use website, which allows you to search by job title category, or by pure need.
Another handy product is her “Online Course Creator’s Contract Bundle” if you have a digital course, definitely check that out.
And the best part is, you can save 25% off your choice of templates from Your Legal BFF® with the code SAVEMORE used at checkout.
All this to say, do yourself a favor and protect your spiritual business now, before you really get in a sticky situation. Implement the Website Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy at a bare minimum, and if you meet with clients or provide abstract services, I highly recommend implementing a Client Services Contract immediately.
Happy grounding!