Hi Reader! We’ve all had the dreaded experience of a customer asking for a refund. Sometimes, we think their reasons are valid. Sometimes, we think their reasons aren’t valid. And that’s where your refund policies come in. You probably already have them on your website explaining when you will and won’t offer a refund. But your refund policies are just policies and not legally enforceable if you don’t turn them into a contract. For those of you who offer services, you have a services…

Hi Reader! Today is the artist’s J.D.’s 11th birthday. And to celebrate I’m announcing the first installment in a new series: For Real. This edition will be the “Do I Need a Permit for This?” It’s a 5-day supportive challenge to help you figure out which permits, licenses, and registrations you actually need — and what you can skip. No law degree required. Just what you need to know, right now. Because we all know more than once, you’ve Googled, “Do I need a license for this?” And then…

Hi Reader! Ozzy and I have started our slow trek north from Arizona to our summer digs in Wyoming. We take about six weeks to go the 1,000 miles, so we get to enjoy the journey and visit friends and family along the way. This week, a situation came up where a client wanted me to bend one of my standard boundaries, “I don’t start work until the invoice is paid.” The reason I have this boundary is simple: I don’t have the staff or want to spend the time tracking payments down. As a bonus, this…

Hi Reader! Most creative business owners eventually reach a point where the legal side of things feels too big to handle alone. It happens all the time to my 1:1 clients and recently happened to one of you when a trademark copycat forced you to rethink going at it without the support of an expert. Doing this research before you need it might seem pointless, but doing it now will save you stress when you are already in a heightened emotional state. This week, your task is to spend 15 minutes…

Hi Reader! Every business should have a central legal file where its important legal documents are stored. This might seem like a hassle, unnecessary, or even pointless. However, having a centralized file of legal paperwork can save you time and effort when you’re asked for important documents like your sales tax certificate, EIN number, or W-9. Why should you take the time to do this dreary and mundane administrative task? Because keeping accurate and up-to-date legal records will: help you…

Hi Reader! You probably know I’m a big fan of keeping your personal and business finances separate. I’m a big believer of this because: It makes tax time so much easier, because you automatically know if an expense is potentially tax deductible or not. It gives you a firm grasp of whether your business is making enough money to sustain itself. It helps you start thinking of your business as something other than yourself (which is VERY important on the legal side) And these days with dozens of…

Hi Reader! We all want happy working relationships. None of us enter relationships wanting to disappoint the other side or to not deliver what they want. But that’s the risk we run when we don’t use a contract. When we don’t use a contract, we run the risk of unintentionally disappointing the other side. And that’s because you run the risk of the vision you have in your head not matching up with the vision they had in their head. Rather than thinking of a contract as a bad thing that lords…

Hi Reader! An EIN is a little bit misnamed because it’s called an employer identification number. But, you don’t have to have employees to get one. Instead, it functions as your business’s Social Security Number. You can use it on W-9s, you’ll be able to provide it to PayPal and Stripe, and you can give it to your bank. You’ll use it instead of your Social Security Number. It adds a layer of protection to your Social Security Number. Because you’ll be giving your EIN instead of your Social…