Legal.
It’s a topic most of us never want to discuss. It’s unfamiliar, overwhelming, nerve-racking, and most of all, expensive.
But, it’s also non-negotiable when you’re running a business, regardless of whether you’re a dog walker, a pet shop owner, a veterinarian, or a pet photographer.
Many business owners are intimidated by legal jargon, which contracts they need to run their business, how to protect themselves...the list goes on and on. When it comes to contracts, it can be overwhelming to figure out what to include, how to word things, and what steps need to be taken in order to legally protect yourself and your business.
I totally get it - that was one of the scariest pieces for me when starting my business. But, I KNEW it would be worth the investment for the peace of mind that I’d be protected. So I set out to find an affordable way to do so and came across Annette Stepanian, a lawyer for creatives and entrepreneurs and the founder of Your Legal BFF (she’s like a real-life Elle Woods, guys!).
She was the first person that I came across that offered a different way of handling the legal matters in your business when it comes to contracts. Instead of paying your life’s worth in lawyer fees, she’s set up contract templates for entrepreneurs at a more affordable pricepoint. You’re able to download the contract along with her step-by-step instructions to customize the contract to your business. Easy peasy!
SO, what contracts do you need?
Depending on your type of pet business, this varies substantially. However, when it comes to websites, there is a policy that 99.99% of businesses need on their website.
If you take information from anyone that comes on your website, whether it be:
A contact form
You link to a third-party software that collects your user’s information (i.e. a booking software)
An email subscribe box asking for people’s names and email addresses
You use Facebook Ads and have installed a Facebook Pixel on your website
You use Google Analytics or any other website analytics tool
Then, it is technically required to have a Privacy Policy (and Terms, although not legally required, are highly recommended) on your website.
(Disclosure: I am not a lawyer nor attempting to give legal advice. I am passing on information I've learned from building websites over the years).
So, now that you know a website privacy policy is required, how do you get one?
If you don’t have them yet, here are three options:
Consult a lawyer to create custom policies tailored to your business.
Find one online by doing your own search (Your Legal BFF is an option - She offers templates for $349).
If you're a PMU website template student or client, you can purchase one through us that our lawyer put together for the PMU community for only $249. Once you're in, we'll send you all the deets!
Otherwise, for your own research and exploring, I’ve partnered with Your Legal BFF in an affiliate relationship to promote and help you gain access to these types of contract templates at a cheaper rate than hiring a lawyer. This allows you to purchase contract templates and customize them yourself to your business.
She has contract templates for:
(P.S. she also has contract bundles to help you save if you need more than one - just browse her website to find them).
As glamorous as running your own business seems from the outside, we both know it can get pretty overwhelming fast.
If you’ve ever had legal questions such as,
“Would my contract hold up in court?”
“Am I allowing the legal requirements on my website?
“How do I get a client to pay me?”
“Someone’s copying my work, what should I do?”
Then, Your Legal BFF may be helpful to you. It’s hard to know where to turn when lawyers can seem out of reach, especially since their hourly rates are pretty steep.
So, I hope this helps. I’ve used Your Legal BFF myself in my business and have had several clients happily use her templates, too.
And bonus points (pro tip): If you really want to ensure you are rock solid protected for your specific business and area, you can bring your edited contract template to a local lawyer to review. This will still cost SO much less than hiring a lawyer to create a custom contract from scratch.
It’s worth it to protect yourself, petpreneur! So, whether you use Your Legal BFF, another resource, or your own lawyer, it’s time to get on it!
Want more resources and education when it comes to your website? Head on over to our FREE Masterclass to learn how to seamlessly onboarding your dreamiest of clients to your pet business.
