Welcome to Part 5 of the Getting Started series.  Today's episode is the last one in the getting started series and I'm discussing the business of running your business.

The advantage of being an estate planning attorney is that I can advise my business clients on the importance of having a back-up plan in case of death or incapacity.  Many small businesses are owned by a single individual and that prevents others from gaining access to important financial information.  

In today's episode, I discuss the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT document every small business owner should have in place in case of an emergency.  I also go into more detail about tax obligations, recording keeping, and some tax planning tips that could save you a significant amount of money each year.  

This week's freebie is a little different.  I've decided to share with you a template for a simple Company Handbook you can use to create some company policies that can help your business run more smoothly.

Enjoy! 

DISCLAIMER:  All information on this podcast and on the artsteele.co website – including downloads are for informational and educational purposes only. Your listening to this podcast, or downloading the worksheets does not create an attorney-client relationship with me, artsteele.co or my law firm. If you have any specific questions, please consult with an attorney authorized to practice law in your jurisdiction.

Welcome to Part 4 of the Getting Started Series! I can't believe we're now on week four.

We've covered so much. By the end of this series, you guys will be experts - and that's exactly that way I like it. No more of this "legal stuff is intimidating." Here's a recap of the previous part in case you want to take a look.

In Part 1 we started at the very beginning, I discussed a wealth of information about how to choose the right entity for you.

In Part 2, we talked about legally protecting your website. If you collect any information whatsoever, even if it’s just blog insights and traffic – you are supposed to have a Privacy Policy and could get fined for not having one.

In Part 3, I interviewed Allison Puryear of Abundance Practice Building who was sued by a photographer for using his photo – a photo she downloaded from a free stock photo website. Something we all do every day.

THIS WEEK we're talking all about contracts! Contracts SHOULD be that best friend that always has your back. The one that is always there, watching over you, praying nothing goes wrong but if it does, right there to defend you. Do you have that type of trust in your contracts?

In this episode I explain four reasons you should use contracts and I'll also be discussing four specific types of contracts and what they mean to your business.

This week's cheatsheet is a 10-point Contract Checklist which includes lots of questions to answer for each provision, which will help you cover your bases.

Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: All information on this podcast and on the artsteele.co website – including downloads are for informational and educational purposes only. Your listening to this podcast, or downloading the worksheets does not create an attorney-client relationship with me, artsteele.co or my law firm. If you have any specific questions, please consult with an attorney authorized to practice law in your jurisdiction.

This week's guest - Allison Puryear - a clinical therapist in Asheville North Carolina was going about her business - which happens to be helping other therapist build their business - when she got sued for copyright infringement.  At first she thought it was a joke, then later discovered that a photo she downloaded and had been using for two years had been federally copyrighted and the photographer was coming after her.

So I know what you're thinking - she probably just cut and pasted it from google and didn't give the photographer credit (and I would never do that!).  Nope!  Wrong.  She downloaded the photo from a stock photo website - a free one as best as she could recall.  So she basically got sued for something we all do every single day.  

In Episode 13 - I talk about the benefits of registering your copyright.  But today, I flip the script and Allison and I discuss steps you can take to protect yourself so that something like this never happens to you.  

Allison contacted a couple of lawyers to help her through the process and in the end, had to pay this photographer tens of thousands of dollars.  (Imagine making that much on one of your photographs?).  But - there's another twist - Allison had to pay the photographer, but she didn't really have to pay - find out how it all ends.  

Enjoy!

All information on this podcast and on the artsteele.co website – including downloads are for informational and educational purposes only.  Your listening to this podcast, or downloading the worksheets does not create an attorney-client relationship with me, artsteele.co or my law firm.  If you have any specific questions, please consult with an attorney authorized to practice law in your jurisdiction.

In Part 2 of the Getting Started series, I discuss why you need to legally protect your website.

If you operate a blog or a website, you want to make sure to listen to this episode because to will get the scoop on how to minimize your liability by adding or updating these three documents: Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions and Disclaimers.

You'll have to excuse my voice because I recorded this at 2:00 a.m. in the morning.

All information on this podcast and on the .artsteele.co website – including downloads are for informational and educational purposes only. Your listening to this podcast, or downloading the worksheets does not create an attorney-client relationship with me, artsteele.co or my law firm. If you have any specific questions, please consult with an attorney authorized to practice law in your jurisdiction.

There is so much conflicting information about when and how to legally start your business and the answer is . . . .(drumroll . . . ) there is no right answer . . . IT DEPENDS!

Yes, that's right, it depends on the state in which you start your business, depends on what assets you may want to protect, and what your short term and long term business goals are.

In this episode, I thoroughly explain Sole Proprietorships, Limited Liability Companies, and Corporations. I break down the advantages and disadvantages of each and how to evaluate your own situation and conclude on which entity best suits your needs personally and will help you start and grow your business.

Enjoy!

All information on this podcast and on the artsteele.co website – including downloads are for informational and educational purposes only. Your listening to this podcast, or downloading the worksheets does not create an attorney-client relationship with me, artsteele.co or my law firm. If you have any specific questions, please consult with an attorney authorized to practice law in your jurisdiction.

Online courses are becoming very popular because they offer a win-win situation to both the provider and their audience. If done correctly, an online course becomes a valuable business asset. These tips will help you protect you and your content when you offer your course.

The five legal must-haves include:

(1) Avoiding false and misleading advertising;

(2) Stating a clear refund or no refund policy

(3) a comprehensive and specifically tailored "Terms of Use" document;

(4) copyrighting your digital content; and

(5) trademarking the name of your course.

All information on this podcast and on the .artsteele.co website – including downloads are for informational and educational purposes only. Your listening to this podcast, or downloading the worksheets does not create an attorney-client relationship with me, artsteele.co or my law firm. If you have any specific questions, please consult with an attorney authorized to practice law in your jurisdiction.

I'm really excited about this episode. As you see in the preview above, I had a bit of an epiphany. After participating in a legal clinic a couple of weeks ago, I realized that the "legal stuff" is very much still a mystery for a lot of new business owners.

Starting a business is hard enough, the last thing you want is be bogged down with figuring out the correct way to form your entity, which entity to pick, what your next steps are, and if certain rules applies to you, etc. So, I'm here to take away some of that stress and to educate and empower women business owners about their legal rights and obligations when it comes to their business.

When I started my law firm almost three years ago, my goal was to use my corporate background and expertise to remove the legal barriers minority business owners, especially women of color, face when starting a business. I started this podcast in order to create a platform that would expand my reach to to minority women business owners all over the country.

In that vain, I decided I would answer the top 5 questions that were asked at the legal clinic. You know, because maybe you have the same questions. And even if you didn't have this question right now, you could down the line and that's why I have included the above cheatsheet to go with it.

So here they are. I give a bit of explanation on the cheatsheets but go into way more detail on the podcast, so if you want to full story, make sure to tune in.

Top 5 Legal Questions from Small Business Owners

1. Do I need to file a separate tax return for my LLC?

2. Can I use my business funds to pay personal expenses?

3. Where should I register my business entity.

4. What is the benefit of registering my business name?

5. Do I need a privacy policy on my website?

I answer all of these questions and more. Enjoy!

All information on this podcast and on artsteele.co – including downloads are for informational and educational purposes only. Your listening to this podcast, or downloading the worksheets does not create an attorney-client relationship with me, artsteele.co or my law firm. If you have any specific questions, please consult with an attorney authorized to practice law in your jurisdiction.

I'm so excited about this post! This is a workbook I've been working on for the last month! It's a 12-page workbook that goes through a few exercises to help you come up with a sound and systematic pricing system that incorporates your value and the costs of running your business.

I was inspired to create this workbook because when I first opened my law firm, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to pricing of my services. I found myself constantly reducing my price with every client because I had no way of explaining to my value to them.

After gong to a practice management seminar for solo practitioners, the presenter briefly touched on budgeting and price. It was a light bulb moment and I came home, did the calculations and things have been smooth ever since.

That is not to say I haven't been turned down when I give my price - that happens more times than I get a client. However, I'm not longer afraid to stick to my price. I'm no longer negotiate my price down. It just means I understand my value and how much it costs for me to perform my services and the minimum I need to earn to make that job worth my time.

In this episode you'll learn to:

Value yourself, embrace your cost, and price yourself.

Let me know what you think. I would like to hear your feedback. I also want to know what methods you have used and what has increased your confidence about your price.

Lacoya Heggie started Hello Love Events in 2012 as she worked by day as a Systems Engineer.  Within four short years, Lacoya was able to leave her day job and run her planning and design business full-time.  

Instrumental to her plan to go full-time, was her determination to get her finances in order.  She went from no system of recording and keeping track of her expenses to using Quickbooks, which has allowed her to get a better picture of unnecessary expenses and areas in which she can grow her business.  

Lacoya also shares invaluable information about how she built her business from the ground up.

Growing up in the Crown Heights part of Brooklyn, Christine and Samantha remember having to go to Manhattan or Long Island to go to a gym.  So when they opened up Triple Threat Bootcamp, just six block away from where they grew up, they did so with the goal of bringing a facility to their community that promotes health and fitness.

The two sisters, and their mother, Aileen, run the very popular fitness studio in Brooklyn.  During this episode, we talk about their passion for health and wellness, the obstacles of starting a business and navigating their way through a male-dominated industry.