How to Grow Your Health Coaching or Nutrition Business Using Attorney-Drafted Legal Contracts
INTRODUCTION
The importance of having attorney-drafted legal contracts specific to your business as a tool to grow your business cannot be stressed enough.
We understand that it is perfectly reasonable to think that a contract may not be that important for your business. After all, you may be thinking that you’ve never had an issue that has come up where you’ve had to rely on your contact before, and therefore you probably never will. While we sincerely hope this is the case for you, there is a good likelihood this won’t always be the case.
In this article, we address the flaws in thinking that an attorney-drafted contract is not important for your business, and we share 3 ways that well-drafted legal contracts can help you grow your health and wellness practice.
BUSTING THE MYTH - LEGAL CONTRACTS ARE NOT NECESSARY FOR MY BUSINESS
If you do not have an attorney-drafted legal contract in place between you and your clients, it may be a big issue. Your hard-earned dollars are at risk and the failure to have proper legal contracts in place could easily cost you way more than any contract. Just because you’ve gone years without any issue, there is no promise that you will never have an issue in the future.
For example, let’s say you offer a 1:1 service that helps your ideal client over a period of 3 months, and your services were priced at just over $1,000. If you have even ONE client ask for a complete refund that would be against your refund policy, the contract template that you invested in would have already more than paid for itself.
Let’s take another example…you could have a client that has an unexpected reaction to something you recommended and now is looking to sue you for damages for doctor’s visits, etc. related to the recommendation. You could be at serious risk of liability and exposure without proper contractual protections in place. But, a well-drafted contract like the ones available from Dotted Lines allow you to contractually limit your risk to your clients on issues like these.
That is because Dotted Lines legal templates were drafted by two attorneys with over 20 years of combined legal experience, including significant experience at one of the most prestigious international law firms out there. The Dotted Lines DIY one-on-one client agreement, for example, includes specific provisions that limit your liability to your clients and helps you define crystal clear refund policies.
LIMITING YOUR LIABILITY
One of the most critical reasons that we recommend that all entrepreneurs have client agreements in place is that they can use these agreements to contractually limit their liability. Without a contract, a business owner’s liability is open-ended, meaning that you can get sued for damages in virtually any amount. A well-drafted contract will provide you the ability to limit your liability to a fixed amount in your contract. The amount of the limit is up to you, but we often recommend limiting your liability to just 1x fees received from the client for a period of 1 month to up to 1 year from the date preceding the occurrence of the liability.
USING CONTRACTS TO CONVEY PROFESSIONALISM, SET EXPECTATIONS, AND GROW CLIENT BASE
Besides protecting you from liability, your legal contracts are often one of the first impressions you will make with potential new clients.
It can be a huge red flag for new clients to see an unprofessional contract that is cobbled together or otherwise unclear. Or, worse yet, if you fail to have any contract at all, this too can be a red flag for your clients. We’ve actually had people tell us that they have purchased a course or service from a fellow nutrition professional, and they found it extremely concerning and unprofessional that the practitioner failed to utilize any contracts.
Think of it this way… if you haven’t put the time and care into your professional documentation, it could cause a client to wonder if you will put the proper time, care, and attention into the services that you provide them.
Moreover, a contract allows you to start off on solid ground with your clients since it provides an avenue for you to set forth clear expectations up front in writing. Usually, the key to happy client experiences is to meet their expectations, and meeting these expectations is key to getting referrals to help your next clients. A contract can be an incredible tool in helping to achieve the goal of happy, well-satisfied clients that refer your excellent services to others.
CONNECTION BETWEEN PEACE OF MIND & BUSINESS GROWTH
It is amazing how much of human thinking takes place subconsciously. Data shows that the subconscious mind controls 95% of your life. Incredible to think about, right? What we have personally discovered here at Dotted Lines is that the fear of the risks that come along in growing your business can hold many health & wellness entrepreneurs back. There is a thought that if I stay small enough or under the radar enough that I do not have to worry about risk in my business.
First, we all know that this thinking is not correct since technically there could be an issue even if you only had just one client. But, more importantly, we do understand that with growth, it is true that there is an increased likelihood of risk that comes along with that as well. In other words, there is a lot greater chance of something going wrong after serving 100 clients as opposed to serving just 3. If you can make sure you are protected legally, it will help put your mind at peace and allow you to grow past the limits that your subconscious mind has set for you! So, put your mind at ease and get proper contracts in place for your business. And, if you want more information on reducing risk in your business, make sure to check out our Free Webinar on the topic.
CONCLUSION
Here’s a quick summary of our take-aways from this article:
- Attorney-drafted contracts protect you from risk and losing money. Find them here.
- Well drafted contracts help you create better relationships with clients and convey professionalism to clients, which both will help you grow your business in the long run
- Reducing risk in your business through contracts will put you in a better headspace to grow your business without fear holding you back
Find the contracts you need for your business here. We offer everything from one-on-one client agreements, group coaching agreements, website policies, terms of use for courses and memberships, and much more. And, if you haven’t yet, please sign up for our email list for a Free Legal Start-Up Guide and a free weekly newsletter full of our best legal tips and tricks to help you grow your business.
ALTHOUGH KELLY AND KRISTIN ARE LICENSED ATTORNEYS IN THE STATE OF TEXAS, NEITHER THEY NOR DOTTED LINES CO.. LLC ARE YOUR ATTORNEY, NEITHER THEY NOR DOTTED LINES CO., LLC HAS AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOU, AND NEITHER THEY NOR DOTTED LINES CO, LLC KNOWS YOUR BUSINESS. THE INFORMATION IN THIS POST IS NOT TO BE CONSIDERED LEGAL ADVICE, AND YOU SHOULD NOT CONSIDER IT A SUBSTITUTE FOR LEGAL ADVICE. WE ALWAYS RECOMMEND CONSULTING WITH AN ATTORNEY IN YOUR LOCAL JURISDICTION SINCE THEY WILL BE ABLE TO ADVISE YOU AS TO YOUR PARTICULAR SITUATION AND ALSO PROVIDE YOU WITH INFORMATION SURROUNDING ANY NUANCES OF YOUR LOCAL LAWS THAT WE SIMPLY CANNOT ADDRESS IN THIS POST. FURTHER, WE DO NOT GUARANTEE ANY SPECIFIC RESULTS.
