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Business 101 Checklist Part 3

So contracts and other legal forms I am the law talk. I love contracts. I love business contracts are like the ultimate customer service tool. I mean, they're great legal told their ultimate customer service till I've already given you guys that example is your time. Where that is your time valuable? Yes, yes, yes. And yes, we already know that you have an obligation on toe outline an obligation to your business. We have a responsibility to inform, educate and protect both parties again, not just your clients, but you need to protect yourself as well, ana, because some clients, they're green crais out there, and you need protection from your clients. And you, khun, go back. Teo, I always see people, and I keep referencing online for us. But that's, because that's where everyone's going for education and knowledge these days except creative life, I'm not asking these questions, and I'm going well, what do what do I do? And I always respond. I know people hate me for this. I was good wit...

h your contract, say and they're like, oh, my god, I wish she'd could china in in thinking but it's true is what is your contras say, what did you outline not to say there's, not protections that are provided by state law in your formation and everything but it's so much clear cut for me to be able to have a contract that a client signs they take care of everything I'm able to have a legal leg to look at using its customer service in order to move forward because and actually a contract to be a stumbling block to them you know how many people are what I must do you like all right good that's what I do I'm good with it go ahead and sue me but if you have a contract the client that is all puffed up I'm going to sue you because I didn't get x contracts probably going to deter them they don't really mean it you want to freak out you've seen refer them to the contract and then send them to your local attorney on dh you'll be good to go s o find a contract lawyer a reputable reputable template from a photography contract vendor on this I'm glad this asked the question earlier about legalzoom there is a lot going on so box for a second lawyers go to school for a reason and I'm not just saying this because I am one but I had no idea what intel in the law for example what we're just talking about with her having whether or not so detached or attach studio those tunnel little things split hairs and also contracts do not sell draft your contracts sit and think about what you want in clues such as like archival fees because the typical attorneys probably not going to know that you want archival fees which are completions, schedule other things that you can add in and then take that to your attorney don't start with them and try to add it on it's easy to start and think like the different things that you want to get in there for example we're talking about the permits and licenses are you going to require your client to pay for the license? I'm gonna put that in there because I can wave it if I want to but if it's not in there it's going to be hard for me to come back to the client and say by the way you have to pay two hundred dollars to shoot it acts and they're going to go where's that at and I'm like I don't want to pay two hundred bucks I mean that's not going to make me look very good if I could say we'll put the contract that says, you know and then and then if I don't want them to pay it, I could just wave it and make sure he pointed out for customer service to my benefit don't just do it I don't always like try to like kind of highlight is my example of this is like when my kids clean their room and you ask them to they going clean it. And then they kept and they come down and go rooms all clean. You want to see it rooms all clean to make sure I saw that they do it kind of the same thing with your client. You want to pull their attention? I don't want you to go. Look, I just wave this for you, but you kind of wanna go. Well, you know, for the contract there was archival fee or there was a feed, a shooting, a certain park to get the license. But I'm gonna waive it for you. No problem. So you get that extra and benefit that you're able to provide to your client for a customer service on and it's used with your contract. See contracts there fine there's a whole bunch of things. I mean, really it's endless that what you can put into a contract start with the different policies that you want to include, and then go see attorney, because there's a lot of contract law that you that we don't, you don't know I mean, there's a reason I was joking the other day that self drafting a contract when you're not a lawyer, is like me logging onto you true, but trying to fair hugging. Myself my own root canal like I'm not a dentist I don't know how to do and it has really severe consequences people think that it's just typing on a piece of paper but there's a lot of theories and laws behind it that you mean drafting get yourself I'm kind of harped on that a little bit, but it's just trail I mean it's, you don't want to do everything else and then have a great credit contract in the end. Yes, so there's been a topic of, like having a studio policy assess what was a contract? Yeah so in the sense funny you've seen how do you like do it nonchalantly and not being like, well, here's my forties studio policies and here's my ten page contract like, you know, like how our first off when do you separate like policies versus stuffing your contract? I everything's in my contracts that's the legal document not that it could be incorporated depends on it situations, but I used my policies page like we're going talk about and like my client that I use, I use the policies page to highlight the most important things like the needs a nonrefundable retainer sales tax is not included those types of things, so they're very little it's not five hundred pages but that pretty much all under the contract so that everything isn't everything is together in one place because I don't want five hundred different documents either really really I'm probably going to go to the bottom of the contract and sign I'm not going to go back and go look at your policies page two right I like this because I'm weird but a typical clients probably not going rule a swell and length of contract means nothing to a point because you could have a lot of really crappy provisions but at the end of the day if they don't mean anything than why did that length me you know but then if you have a contract like this big we're probably not covering everything you need teo I mean just didn't think about past circumstances that you encounter with clients that you don't that you've been burned by the or that you've seen other people get burned by on ben I try to keep it really core pertinent once they're really going to call what issues or that I can use for customer service I mean there's some filler for that uh tough title in the chat room is saying I'm a little nervous now I just hired a small business later to draft all my contract no no no don't be nervous I'm wondering if there will be a photography specific enough and then they ask if there's a list of things somewhere to make sure that the learned it's only there was a website that had a whole legal section. Yes, I actually have a legal section that talks about key provisions and stuff to have my web course also go super deep and howto how for you guys to understand provisions and how to explain provisions don't be nervous I'm not knocking on small business lawyers I am just showing you the benefit of finding one that really works in that industry all the time because it's more than just writing as a legal document, you're also writing it for customer service and marketing opportunities as well you're going to get it, you're going to get a if there are going to turn in their bart and they're all good, you're going to get a good contract out of it, but you may look at you have some things that you need to add on later on you can revise it war you can go out and find for talking to contract templates that are available on dh, then take them to your local attorney is going to reduce your attorney rate overall? I mean, I've done the numbers and multiple jurisdictions it's going to reduce overall in the time so you will get those photography specific provisions like we're talking about you wouldn't get necessarily with legal zoom or something you're going to get the target specific provisions that that small business lawyer could then adapt and it's gonna be a smaller overall with them, because what the typical attorney, you're going to have a consultation time, and then you have the drafting time in your view and amending and keep doing. You're going to have multiple hours. It depends on the rate depending on where you live in a lot of dollar west coast and my my cousin actually attorney here in seattle, so if you'll need anybody, but the rates are pretty high out here. So one of the questions are there any, uh, smartphone aps that worked with contract? Actually, we are talking about that in the digital section here in a little bit of efficiency see, the key thing is to find some that works best for you and integrates with you to be able to save on an email to the client. I think I haven't my resource list on the block. I'm trying to think of a few of the officers like sign now, which I can't figure out how to work it out if I don't know, a lot of people really enjoy it. Maybe I just haven't had time. There's you can hear the other ones there's, another like ik something is listed. If you go to law, talk about common, the top and resource is they're all listed. Right there are a few that I recommend the biggest thing is if you and we're going to talk about here in a little bit how to put it into your website so that it's all digital and it's done for you you don't have to worry about in your clients don't have to worry about it the biggest thing is making sure that it protects client information because there's a lot of free services that don't and I actually stumbled across this when I started doing visual contracts a couple years ago I google myself checking my sdo and my contracts came up and my client's personal information came up and it is a I'm not going to say the website turn your suit but it was a web site that I've reached out to them but it was a web site that a lot of people use it was free and the information was really available and I as a client would not be happy for my personal information to be put out there simply because you wanted to save a few bucks that along the same lines I'm personally using a service it's a it's a paid service but it's a service where I send the link and they sign on everything but it seems like it's I still can't tell if it's I don't how do you know if it's legitimate enough if the person is entering their email and their signing it are there? Do you have a list on your site of yes, I do that which I have a block post about it. I mean, there's the sign act that basically says the digital contracts are legit for photography. I mean, doesn't say specifically photography, but its commercial in general, there are specific set of requirements and all contracts and digital it's all listed there. I mean, I could talk for hours when the requirements for that, but I think the biggest thing is that you're letting your clients no it's a contract. You don't want to call it a questionnaire, and then I'm assigning, you can't just have to see them. You know what I mean? You can't just see them into signing something, and then it not being what it is. I mean that's, common sense. So any other questions? So folks in the chat room were wondering if you could show the checklist again. There we go. That's, the major over this you're talking about. Okay, perfect. Fantastic. Sorry, I thought I had the slide next for and that's great.