5 reasons Why your DIY Contract is Costing you Big Time

I get it. When you're first starting out, dealing with the legal side of your business is the last thing on your mind. While having something you pieced together by cutting + pasting clauses you found on the internet is (usually) better than nothing at all, here are 5 reasons why you need a better contract that will work as hard as you do for your business:

1. YOU’RE LOSING MONEY.

Tired of clients ghosting you or watching the value of your packages go down the tubes thanks to endless revisions and ‘check-in’ calls? A good contract can help you enforce better boundaries with your clients and protect your time (and time is money). 

2. IT MIGHT NOT BE LEGAL.

If you downloaded a template from a non-Canadian template provider, it might not be enforceable in Canada — and you definitely don’t want to find that out the hard way. I'm a Canadian business lawyer who has drafted all the templates with Canadian business owners in mind, so even if you have clients all over the world, you can rest easy knowing you’re protected under Canadian laws. 

3. IT’S GENERIC, AND YOUR CLIENTS CAN TELL. 

A coaching business is a lot different from a creative services business, so a catch-all generic agreement just doesn’t cut it. Plus, the business world has changed quite a bit over the years but a lot of the old-school contracts out there have not kept up pace and simply aren’t built for most modern-day service providers. On the other hand, I’ve spent almost a decade creating custom contracts for all kinds of business owners and have used those insights to create templates that are tailored to your specific business needs. 

4. YOUR CLIENTS DON’T FEEL SAFE.

The best business relationships are built on trust. While it can be nerve-wracking to sign a new client (‘Will they like my work? Will they pay?’), it can also be a daunting experience for your clients (‘Will they deliver the work? Will they steal my ideas?’). Good contracts protect both parties so your clients will feel secure in their choice to work with you. 

5. IT’S NOT PROFESSIONAL.

Your clients are spending good money to work with you. Being professional from the start can help reassure them that they’ve made the right decision and set you up for success from the get-go. Our contracts are easy to download, can be customized to your company’s branding, and seamlessly integrated into your CRM for a super-smooth signing process. 

Check out our industry-specific contract bundles to find the right one for you or reach out so I can point you in the right direction!

- Jaime