Archives for May 2017

Ep. 16 – Getting Started Series Part 4 – Learn To Review Contracts Like A Boss!

May 30, 2017 by Art Steele Leave a Comment

Welcome to Part 4 of the series – Start Reviewing Contracts Like A Boss!

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? Why not?

There are four key purposes to any contract:

1. To make sure each party is on the same page – in the legal world we call this a meeting of the minds

2. To define or limit the scope of your engagement

3. To put some context around the price you are charging –especially when you are charging a flat fee.

4. And lastly, not really a legal reason, but if you want to be taken seriously then you have to use contracts – because many businesses won’t work with you if you don’t use contracts or they will put one in front of you and you won’t know what you’re signing.

For the purpose of today’s podcast, I will be discussing four specific types of contracts and what they mean to your business.

1. Client Services Agreement – defines the scope of what you do
2. Independent Contract Agreement – for long-term work
3. Non Disclosure Agreement – protect your business’ trade secrets as you work with other professionals
4. Audio/Video/Photo Release – permission to use the audio, photos or videos of people you work with

Key provisions for these four contracts are included in the 10-Point Contract Freebie. Download it and let your contracts have your back.

Enjoy.

Listen to Episode 16 here.

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Are you looking for a community of supportive entrepreneurs working together to tackle their legal needs? Then join the Legal-EASE For Entrepreneurs Community. Plus, I do Facebook Live videos answering your questions every other week. You can JOIN HERE.

Social Media Info

Connect on Instagram: Art Steele – @artsteele_esq

Twitter: Art Steele – @ArtSteele_esq

Ep. 15 – Getting Started Series Part 3 – Avoiding Copyright Infringement and Why It’s Important to Protect Your Content

May 23, 2017 by Art Steele 2 Comments

Hey Guys,

I’m back with Part 3 of the series – Avoiding Copyright Infringement

Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you downloaded a photo from a stock photo website? Or when was the last time you used someone’s photograph without permission? Let me ask you another question: Do you have $20,000.00 lying around or maybe $30,000? Because that’s how much it could cost you for doing any of those things.

**Get this week’s cheat for 3 tips to avoiding copyright infringement.

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 was copyrighted and the photographer was coming after her.

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 12, I discuss the benefits of federally registering a copyright for your work (not just using the © copyright symbol). Especially given how inexpensive and accessible it is to do. Furthermore, having a registered copyright makes it much easier to pursue a copyright violator.

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. In that vein, today’s cheatsheet is all about how to avoid copyright infringement and some best practices when using other people’s content. I list three steps to take before posting someone else’s content.

In the end, 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.

To find out more about Allison and her practice, you can visit her website, check out her podcast, and visit her Facebook group.

Enjoy!

Listen to Episode 15 here

Listening Options

Listen on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher

Join My Facebook Community

Are you looking for a community of supportive entrepreneurs working together to tackle their legal needs? Then join the Legal-EASE For Entrepreneurs Community. Plus. I pop in with live videos every now and then. You can JOIN HERE.

Social Media Info

Connect on Instagram: Art Steele – @artsteele_esq

Twitter: Art Steele – @ArtSteele_esq

Ep. 14 – Getting Started Series Part 2 – How to Legally Protect Your Website

May 16, 2017 by Art Steele Leave a Comment

Hey Guys!

So last week I had the privilege of being on the Side Hustle Pro podcast! If you haven’t heard it, you should definitely check it out and make sure to download the cheatsheet I created just for that episode here. Nicaila and I answered legal questions from new business owners such as yourself. I’m so happy to have had an opportunity to use a platform to reach more people. Thanks for all who listened and welcome to the Legal-EASE for Entrepreneurs!

In today’s episode, I focus on three things that every website needs: a Privacy Policy, a Disclaimer, and Website Terms and Conditions. Not only do I explain WHY every website or blog needs these contract but I’ve also included a cheat sheet outlining WHAT should be in each document.

From a legal perspective, the Privacy Policy is the most important because it’s required by law and without it, you could expose yourself to a $2500 fine. Furthermore, you want to make sure you understand what’s in it because if you use one that doesn’t apply to your business, this could get you into legal trouble for not abiding by your own policy. I go into more detail on the podcast about exactly what you need to include on yours.

Next document is your Disclaimer and it serves to limit your liability by clarifying any claims you make on your website. So you know, your freebie that says: Get 100 Instagram Followers in 2 days. That’s a claim, and what happens if I follow your advice and don’t get 100 followers? So you want to let your visitors know that you’re providing this information but the results are not guaranteed.

The Terms and Conditions is necessary to protect digital content, limit your liability, and regulate how visitors interact with your website. It is a legal contract between you and your visitors and one that they agree to when they use your website. So make sure you use your Terms and Conditions to set the rules for how they behave toward other visitors and how they treat your content.

As an added bonus, the first TEN people to download the cheatsheet above will get a FREE Privacy Policy that will include all of the provisions listed above. [update – no longer valid]

Listen to Episode 14

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Connect on Instagram: Art Steele – @artsteele_esq

Twitter: Art Steele – @ArtSteele_esq

Ep. 13 – Getting Started Series Part 1 – Choosing the Right Entity For You

May 9, 2017 by Art Steele Leave a Comment

I’m back! I took a month off, but it was a much needed break. It gave me a chance to reassess and improve my content. During that time, I made some calls, conducted a survey, and scoured Facebook groups to find out which questions are troubling you in your business. I received great feedback and it looks like many of you still have questions about how to get started and how to choose the right business entity for you. So I’ve created a Five-Part series which I will release over the next 5 weeks. The series will cover (1) choosing the right entity, (2) legally protecting your website, (3) protecting your digital content and avoiding copyright infringement, and (4) reviewing and entering into contracts, and (5) a bonus: the business of running your business.

You guys are in for a treat – lots of good legal information coming your way.

First up is “Choosing The Right Entity For You.” The most popular (and most stressing) question I received was where do I start? What kinda of entity do I form? Do I need to form an entity before I get started? So I’m going to start from the very beginning: what are your entity options and how do you choose the right entity for you.

The best part of the series is that each episode comes with a cheatsheet. And in this week’s download (which you can get up above), I’ve made it as painless as possible for you. I’ve included an exercise on how to choose the right entity for you, a list of the entity forming agencies in each state with hyperlinks to their website, and I’ve created a worksheet that will help you keep records of your fees and other obligations each year. I’ve also included a separate link for you to download the hyperlinked document for the entity-forming website for each state. Download that HERE. (Click below to get the entire cheatsheet)

I begin this episode by talking about your entity options. When it comes to starting a business, you generally have three options: (1) Sole Proprietorship, (2) Limited Liability Company (LLC) and (3) Corporations. Each one has its pros and cons but no one entity is the right answer, it’s up to you.

Next, I discuss the factors you should consider and what you should weigh for your own personal situation that will lead you to make the choice that works best for you and your business needs.

Finally, I give you clear actions steps and break down the step-by-step process you need to go through to weigh the factors, look at the pros and cons of each entity, and to make sure at the end of this episode, you know what to choose, why you chose it and how to actually form the entity.

And that’s what we’re all about. I want to empower small business owners and entrepreneurs to tackle and handle their own legal needs. This way you spend more time doing what you really love . . . mmmkay?

Now go and enjoy the heck out of this episode. I’ll see you next week.

Listen to Episode 13 here.

Listen on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher

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Social Media Info

Connect on Instagram: Art Steele – @artsteele_esq

Twitter: Art Steele – @ArtSteele_esq